Tuesday 14 January 2020

12 Questions with CrossFit Athlete Emily Rolfe

1) Who is Emily Rolfe? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)

I am 30 years old and I competed at my first crossfit games this past year finishing 18th overall with an event win in 'The Ruck'. Crossfit aside I grew up in Kamloops BC and was always chasing after my big brother. I was a National level gymnast for 6 years until I 'retired' at the ripe age of 22. I then competed in Pole Vault for a year before starting crossfit. My parents are the fittest on the block and as a family we used to do so many active things like hiking, swimming, biking and skiing. My mom was a javelin thrower and made the Olympic team for Canada. My dad was a collegiate wrestler and weightlifter, and he was my first olympic weightlifting coach. He still coaches me today sometimes and I get many many lessons and tips from him. Non fitness related I love to travel and scrapbook. I also love to play piano and I have played from the age of 5.   

2) How many years have you been training? (Including how you got started, etc)

I started crossfit at the end of 2014 and just passed my '5 year anniversary'. I was helping my husband (boyfriend at the time), who was a personal trainer and had a booth at a local crossfit competition, with selling stuff. We were watching the girls and he said to me "you should try that, you'd be good at it". I politely declined and then found myself two weeks later visiting my cousin in California getting pulled along to a class and LOVING IT. I was obsessed with learning all the movements and spent hours at the gym. The type of training brought me back to my gymnastics days and I loved that feeling of getting a new skill and getting stronger and fitter. 

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 being a pro athlete has been fitting my work schedule into my training and competition schedule. I work a full time job as an MRT at the local hospital so when I am not training I am working. This sometimes gets exhausting with the shift work and around the clock training sessions. Sometimes I think I'd rather not work and just train but working gives me fulfillment and I love helping people. It also is a good outlet to keep my mind from thinking about crossfit all day. 

4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like? (With any particular protocols you rate).

On a typical day I will do a strength session in the A.M. session and then more metcon/crossfit style workouts in the P.M.  Although I would rather do the opposite, I've learned that tackling my weakness first thing in the day when theoretically my body has the most energy, will give me the most bang for my buck. My husband Kyle Rolfe (the loud one you cant not hear at competitions), is my strength coach and he always coaches me everytime I compete. We work extremely well together and I am so thankful we can have these experiences together. My crossfit coach (Isaac Payne) does all my afternoon training and he owns the gym that I train at. He agreed to start coaching me just before Regionals 2017 and I haven't looked back since. Hes great! 

Nutrition wise, I eat 3100 calories a day and this actually goes up in the competition session to about 3400. I have a nutritionist (Married to my Macros) who calculates all this for me which is well worth the way I feel and what my body can do. 

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).

I've learned that even if you are good enough to compete with the top girls, if you don't believe you belong, you wont. I've hired a mental coach this year and it has made a world of a difference in the way I think, act and compete. 

6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal? 

Peanut butter and chocolate ice cream with peanut butter drizzled on top. 

7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?

Magnesium! So good for sore muscles and sleep! 

8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with both your health & physique what would you do differently and why?

I would do nothing different except start crossfit earlier than I did. 

9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?

Sam Briggs. She is a legend. Not only is she still competing with all of us at 37 years young but she is still a huge force to be reckoned with. I've had the opportunity to chat with her in the warm up hall at the games and Dubai and she is a genuine down to earth person who believes in hard work. How can you not respect that! 

10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?

Fall in love with the process. Don't try to rush and compete. Sure its fun but make sure you eat well, move well and work hard and the rest will come. 

11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?

Make it back to the games this year is the obvious first one, and then lets see what I can do! 

12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)

instagram @emilyrolfe19 

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