Barbell Shrugged — Let’s Not Be Perfect w/ Emily Abbott

Emily Abbott is a 4x CrossFit Games Athlete (‘14-’17) and 8th fittest woman in the world (2015). She grew up on a farm with a couple of loving, “crazy” parents, who raised her to work hard to get what she wants.

Emily was always into physical activities and sports. In college, she played basketball for the University of Windsor, where her team won two national championships back-to-back. During that time, she learned so much about mental toughness, accountability, and pursuing a dream–no matter how ridiculous it appeared.

Emily spent her childhood in Calgary and later moved to San Diego. She still enjoys many sports, such as snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and rock climbing. Recently, she gravitates towards these activities more, especially if she gets burnt out with training.

In this episode, Emily talk about the emotional release that she gets from training, and how to be ok with not being perfect. She also touches on some of her bucket list life experiences, like living in an RV and going completely nomadic.

Emily is working on shifting her perspectives on life from being focused on being competitive and grinding, to being present in the moment and trying to enjoy her life more.

She is also working on a new YouTube series called Psychedelic Gypsy Fitness, which is an expression of her letting go, having fun and being a little less serious.

Enjoy!

– Mike, Doug and Anders

“The world doesn’t need more successes, accolades and accomplishments. It needs people who are fucking comfortable with themselves and happy to be in their own bodies.” — Emily Abbott

A post shared by Emily Abbott (@abbott.the.red) on Apr 4, 2018 at 8:02pm PDT

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Mix it up: There is no need to take the fun out of training — Not all training has to be grinding through heavy loads or skill work in the gym. Mix in other sports, like rock climbing or snowboarding, as ways to supplement training and keep things light and fresh.
Optimism: When Emily gets injured, rather than sulk about how she is taking steps backward, she views the experience as a message to excel elsewhere — If she hurts her hand, she takes it as the universe telling her that she needs to run more often and develop that skill.
Own being a woman — Emily encourages women to embrace their feminism as a strength, and to love all of the emotional hormones, menstrual cycles, and womanly things that are a part of being female. If she wants to conquer a workout, she knows how to switch on the masculine side of her brain when.
Life is not perfect — Recognize that the lives you see people live on social media are not an actual representation of their lives. Social media is like ducks sitting on the water, they look calm and beautiful on the surface, but below there is a lot going on. No matter how her life looks on social media, everyday Emily is trying to figure it out and continue evolving.
There is life beyond CrossFit — Emily points out how brutal CrossFit is and encourages women to know that there is life beyond training. Know that you can rest more and chill out more often.