1) Who is Maggie Szczepanczyk? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I’m originally from Poland but have lived in the UK for almost 14 years. I am a full time student and try my best to juggle university life and training. My course is journalism and I’m currently heading into my final year which is quite exciting. Crossfit is definitely my biggest hobby but not the only one. I have quite a lot of hobbies, travel definitely being at the top of the list but I also enjoy reading and playing on playstation, I’m quite a nerd.
2) How many years have you been training? (Including how you got started, etc)
I started Crossfit around 6 years ago, firstly doing classes and I have only been doing it professionally for about 2 years since I realised it is something I absolutely love doing. However, I have been doing sport my whole life. When I was younger I used to swim but most of my teenage life I spent on the track trying different events and I stuck with hurdles and long jump the longest. I even tried high jump for quite some time, and finished on top of the podium quite a few times during various events. Not that I was amazing at high jump since I’m only 5’4 but it was something I really enjoyed doing. I did track and field for about 7 years before changing to Crossfit.
3) Whats been the most challenging/hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
The hardest part of my journey so far has definitely been my knee surgery. I tore ligaments and cracked my cartilage in my left knee around 3 years ago and fully recovering was quite tough since I had to go from doing a lot of sport to not being able to move from the sofa all day long. But I managed to get my strengths back pretty quickly, although it did take around a whole year before I got back to training properly.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like? (With any particular protocols you rate).
My training routine varies from day to day but I do try to stick to similar training times whenever I can. Being a student can sometimes really mess up a whole schedule, especially during exam period. Usually my day looks something like this: Wake up around 7am, drive to university, finish around 3pm and drive straight to the gym, train, coach and head back home pretty late in the evening. During my days off from university I also have personal training sessions so I’m always doing something. When it comes to a specific training schedule, I would love to train twice a day but for the time being it’s impossible. So I tend to do a double session in one, meaning I’m training for around 4 hours each day, with roughly 1 sometimes 2 days off depending on how I feel. My sessions usually consist of conditioning, strength/gymnastics, metcon and if I have time at the end I tend to throw in some accessory stuff like functional bodybuilding.
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition? (And How has it changed your focus for the future).
This year has actually taught me so much, and not just about training but also about myself. I learned how I should eat and what exactly works for me and what doesn’t. I tested different diets, different macros and how I should be fuelling my body for performance. I have definitely learned a lot about how to train and increase my performance and what kind of exercises work best for working various weaknesses. I’m still learning and growing as a person and athlete, with every day teaching me something new.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
My favourite cheat meal or treat has to be doughnuts. I could literally eat a whole box of 24 in one go.
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
When it comes to supplements I don’t really take much, except for the usual whey protein, creatine and bcaa’s but something I have been testing for a while is CBD oil and it has to be at the top of the list of supplements I take. It not only helps me sleep better but also helps me feel more relaxed and ready to take on the day.
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with both your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
If I had to start my journey from scratch then I would definitely come onto a training programme as it is something that helped me improve my performance massively. Also, working on weaknesses is something I never used to do, because honestly who likes to look ridiculous trying something they’ve never done before or are terrible at. But as I learned over the years of training, weakness work is what makes you better and going into competition knowing that you have done all you could to prepare then it’s probably one of the best feelings. Nutrition wise I would definitely have read more and focused more on eating for performance rather than physique because it’s something I didn’t really pay attention to at the start.
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
I look up to a lot of people, especially Games athletes who can juggle their private lives, whether that be university or their careers and still be able to compete at such a high level. It’s definitely admirable.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
I would say, start reading and asking questions from the start of your journey. Coaches and athletes are the best people to speak to as they can help a lot in terms of moving forward, working on nutrition and giving golden advice. As a coach myself, I love it when I have people coming up to me and asking for training advice and help, I love sharing my knowledge because I used to be a beginner too who was constantly asking questions, it means a lot to me when I can help others get better.
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
For the time being my goals are pretty simple and straightforward. I just want to get better, get fitter, turn weaknesses into strengths. But also I have a few competitions coming up during the year so preparing for them to the best of my ability has to be on top of the list.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
I can be found on Instagram and Facebook. My instagram is @maggieszczepanczyk and the same for facebook.
