1) Who is Carys Webster? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I grew up just outside of London and now live and work in East London with my boyfriend. I graduated as a Medical Doctor in 2014 and am specialising in Anaesthetics. I was working full time until August 2019, but am now working part time for a year or two so that I can spend more time focusing on training and competing in CrossFit. We love hiking so that’s what we do with most of our holidays, finding new parts of the world to explore on foot!
2) How many years have you been training? (Including how you got started, etc)
I started CrossFit at the end of 2015. My Aunt had joined a box, so I had heard about it before, and then I moved house with a CrossFit gym 5 minutes round the corner. I thought I’d give it a go, fell in love and haven’t looked back since! I couldn’t do a pull up and had never heard of a snatch so the learning curve was very steep!!
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)
Last year I was balancing working full time, training, and sitting my anaesthetics specialty exams, which was really tough! I then ruptured my ankle ligaments during the first 2019 open, which I think may have actually been a good thing! It meant training slowed down a bit, I passed my exams and could then switch my focus back to CrossFit with them out of the way.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like? (With any particular protocols you rate)
I’m generally working 2 long days a week in the hospital at the moment. These are 13 hour shifts, so I don’t train on those days, and then I train double sessions on the other 5 days. This is a mix of strength/accessory/metcon/cardio depending on the time of year. My coach does all my programming so I just do what I’m told! Food wise, I’ve been veggie since I was 13 so my diet is mostly plant based. I’m super boring and basically eat the same things every day- oats, loads of fruit and veg, potatoes, rice, soy protein, brown pasta, whey, chickpeas etc. I don’t really restrict any particular foods, just try and eat a well balanced diet.
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 changed coaches after the first 2019 open so this year I have learnt a huge amount about my own weaknesses and biomechanics . RedPill are famous for their lunges so I have definitely learnt the benefits of hundreds of lunges per day!
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
Veggie burger and skinny fries with loads of mayo, chocolate doughnut for dessert
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
Creatine is probably the most well researched and best evidenced supplement out there so that’s the one I make sure I take every day.
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with both your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
This is hard, because if I did anything differently then I wouldn’t be where I am today! The only thing I wish I would have done earlier is gymnastics. People who do gymnastics from an early age seem to have such an advantage in body awareness and core strength, I think it’s a real benefit for CrossFit.
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
There is such a problem in the fitness industry with unqualified people giving out advice about things they have little or no knowledge about. So I admire anyone who limits their advice to subjects that they are actually qualified and expert in, and have researched properly.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Enjoy it! Especially when you’re starting out in this sport that’s 100% the most important thing. Otherwise there will come a point where it feels like a chore and you stop. If you love it then there are still days when it’s hard, but it will feel like it’s worth the struggle!
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
This season I want to compete in some more Sanctionals. I have Norway in 2 weeks then I’m hoping to qualify for Lowlands and French. Do a little tour of Europe, test myself against other great athletes, get that competition experience and see what I need to be working on!
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
My Instagram is @caryswebster and I also write an exercise physiology blog, which you can find at exercisedoc.org
