1) Who is Kelly Wild? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I'm from St. Paul, Minnesota. I'm a Doctor of Physical Therapy by day and weightlifter by night. I played Division I hockey at The Ohio State University. After college, I did CrossFit for a few years and competed on a team, Timberwolf Crossfit, at the CrossFit Games in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
2) How many years have you been training? (Including how you got started, etc)
I got started in Olympic Weightlifting through CrossFit. My old CrossFit coach got me started in competing in weightlifting in 2014. About 2 years ago, after the 2017 CrossFit Games, I decided to switch to strictly weightlifting.
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)
I'm a type I diabetic (and have been since age 5) so that alone offers a daily challenge! In addition to that, I had shoulder surgery (labral repair) in May of 2019 so it's been a challenge coming back from that.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like? (With any particular protocols you rate).
I workout 5 times per week. Each session is roughly 3 hours each. I wish I had more time to dedicate to training, but with working 40+ hours/week, 5 sessions/week is all I can squeeze in. My diet is pretty simple- typically every Sunday, I meal prep chicken, ground turkey, sweet potatoes, quinoa and an assortment of vegetables. Keeping it simple allows for easier control of my blood sugar.
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 past year, I've tried to focus on every way to maximize recovery, from surgery as well as with training. Dialing in my nutrition, utilizing supplements such as fish oil, creatine, aminos, etc, and taking advantage of the sauna and normatecs in the gym- I've found that working on the little things can add up to make a big difference.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
I LOVE pizza- specifically Jupiter in Berkeley, and being from the Midwest- I also love Dairy Queen.
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
I think that I could get by without supplements, but if I had to choose, I've found fish oil to be very helpful on a daily basis.
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with both your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
I would make sure to focus on improving my mobility from the start. Coming into CrossFit after hockey, my hips/shoulders/back/ankles were all so tight and I'm sure that contributed to all of my injuries that I experienced throughout my CrossFit career (and I've continued to have to address them with weightlifting).
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
I think that Kate Nye's weightlifting story has been amazing to follow because of her short, but swift ascent in the sport and her impressive composure on the platform.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Focus on form over everything! Working on form at the beginning will make it that much easier to add weight to your lifts in the long run (versus loading up on weights in the get-go and having to try to backtrack and fix form later on- speaking from experience!)
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
Right now, I'm trying to get back to my pre-surgery numbers while maintaining being in a lighter weight class. And also, cleaning up my form on my lifts (see question 10 above!)
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
instagram: @kellywild8 and @cal_strength https://www.californiastrength.com/store/shoulder-stability-protocol
