1) Who is Emma Rogers? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I am originally from Durban... Hillcrest to be exact. But I always tell people that I am a bit of a nomad as I started moving around the world with my family when i was 8 years old. I lived in Botswana, Doha and Indonesia and then came home for high school on the South Coast. I then travelled alone to America and more recently, Hong Kong.
I am the proud owner of CrossFit Ballito. I just recently opened the Box 8 months ago and am loving every minute of it. Prior to that, I was coaching CrossFit at a couple other Boxes in South Africa and Hong Kong. I have been coaching CrossFit since 2015 and have just started taking competitive CrossFit quite seriously.
I am extremely passionate about health and fitness. I love working out, coaching and cooking healthy meals for myself and my family. I'm not going to lie... I don't have may hobbies outside of CrossFit as it is very time consuming running a gym and getting in my own training. Most of the time I end up chilling at the pool or beach or watching series when I have some down time.
2) How many years have you been training? (Including how you got started, etc)
I started CrossFit when I was studying a BSc at Rhodes University in Grahamstown (2015). I was originally personal training at the university gym during my first year. One of my friends then convinced me to give CrossFit a go... I was immediately hooked! I have always been an athletic person but never really took any of the sport I did very seriously. About a year ago I made the conscious decision to give competitive CrossFit a good go! This meant quite a big lifestyle change from being much more flexible diet wise to a little more strict. It is still a work in progress.
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 most challenging part of my journey so far has been settling into a proper training and eating routine. Until this year, I haven't really been settled in one place and my mind hasn't been 100% focused on CrossFit. Opening my own CrossFit affiliate has really focused me and motivated me to focus on becoming better as an athlete. I want to make a good name for myself and my Box and I have so many more people to make proud than I did previously.
I have seen so much progress this last year purely because of the focus and dedication I have put towards my training and CrossFit in general. It is tough building a business from scratch AND putting in the hours of training and discipline... but it has made me a better athlete.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like? (With any particular protocols you rate).
I follow CompTrain programming and train 5 x week, 1 x active recovery day and a full rest day. I usually train between coaching and work which is usually at 10am and then again around 2pm. With regards to diet, I don't follow anything specific like macros. I just stick to eating whole unprocessed foods. My stomach is quite sensitive so I avoid all dairy and gluten as well as sugar. I get meal delivery from SimplyB for convenience. I think THE most important thing for performance, especially for women, is to eat ENOUGH food and good quality food.
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).
At the beginning of the year I went off of hormonal birth control which I had been on for 10 years. Doing that completely changed my entire life. I had done a lot of research on it before I went cold turkey and was shocked to find out how terrible it was for the body... especially performance. Since going off the pill, my body composition has changed drastically! I really used to struggle with gaining muscle mass... now suddenly I have muscle! I also got REALLY strong VERY fast. My Snatch went from 65kg to 72kg and my clean and jerk went from 85kg to 93kg in a couple of months. I wish I had gone off of it years ago... or better yet... never have gone on in the first place.
Another thing I learned this year was consistency! If you want to achieve anything... you have to consistently put in the effort. You can't just decide one week to eat well and then the next over indulge. And you can't half-heartedly following a program for weeks and then give it horns for one day and expect to see any results.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
My favorite TREAT meal is a gourmet burger with sweet potato fries! I am a sucker for a nice, big, juicy burger!
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
Ooooh that's an easy one! My Vegan Chocolate protein from Nutritech. It goes in my oats every morning and I have it for dessert every night!
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with both your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
I would never have gone on to hormonal birth control and I would have started CrossFit when I was 3 haha.
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
I look up to all the top female CrossFit athletes. The things that their bodies are capable of absolutely blows me away and it really inspires me to keep chasing my dreams. Because, if they can do it, then surely I can too!
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
START SLOW! Enjoy the process of discovering new skills and building strength. Don't let your ego get the best of you!
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
I would love to go to the CrossFit Games in the next couple of years.
I want to keep growing my CrossFit Affiliate
I just want to be the best that I possibly can be at CrossFit
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
Instagram: @emfitrx
Website: www.crossfitballito.co.za
