Registered nurse, new mom and, oh yeah, four-time CrossFit Games athlete Christy Phillip Adkins is a busy, fit woman. While she hung up her competition shoes after the 2017 Games to start a family, Adkins is still ingrained in the CrossFit world, having competed since 2007. This made her an ideal candidate to host a Reddit AMA, or Ask Me Anything, a question-and-answer session on the CrossFit forum of the news and discussion website. The evening of Oct. 24, Adkins answered questions regarding her life as mom to 5-month-old Bo, her time at the CrossFit Games and her new Beyond the Whiteboard program, Training United.
Adkins is only the third woman to host a Reddit CrossFit AMA, following Julie Foucher and Steph Chung in 2017. Previous hosts also include Dave Castro, Chris Hinshaw and Lucas Parker. Participants can post their questions for the host as comments to the original post announcement, and the host then answers the questions at a designated time, allowing for some back-and-forth as time allows (usually about an hour).
Here are some of the highlights from the Adkins AMA:
Reddit user rudleyscrudley asked:
“Can you talk about how you deal with injuries? We all get sore, tweak something, and sometimes have to completely stop for a bit. How do you train through it and /or mentally get past not being able to workout and taking a step back?”
Adkins reply included:
“The two biggest times that I’ve had to step back from training since I started CrossFit have been when I tore my bicep tendon in Fall 2015 and this year during the last month of my pregnancy and this postpartum time…especially the first 6-8 weeks. I’ve realized that for me, when the pressure of training for competition is not there, all I really need to feel like myself and less antsy about not being able to workout like I want to is to do SOMETHING. In the first weeks postpartum, that was walking while hold my baby in a baby carrier, it made me feel better to move. I gave myself a goal of 5 minutes out and 5 minutes back and a few days later extended that walk longer and longer and within a few weeks was walking carrying him and dragging a sled behind me…finding just something to do and giving myself an objective helps keep the stir-crazy away.”
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Reddit user Futbolover92 asked:
“How do you balance competitive CrossFit training with an intensive job as a registered nurse and a new mother? Lots of help from your partner and meal prep with not much downtime?
Adkins replied:
“I do have lots of help from my partner! When I was training full time and also now as new parents. And we eat Territory Foods pre-made meals for about 8-10 of our meals a week! But the answer is- I don’t balance competitive training, work and being a new mom. Something has to give! I now CrossFit for health, fitness and enjoyment so it is a lot less time consuming than when I was competing.”
Reddit user SuperTopSecretStuff asked:
“Knowing what you know now after all of these years of training and competing, if you had the ability to go back and tell the Christy that was just starting CrossFit something, what would you tell her?”
Adkins replied:
“Believe in yourself, you have what it takes to be the best, it is a worthy pursuit so feel good about the time you are putting in. Be kinder to yourself and others.”
Reddit user RealPayTheToll asked:
“Do you have any concerns about where the games are going? Anything that you would currently change about how the event is done/run?”
Adkins replied:
“I think this is an interesting time to say the least! I feel grateful for having been part of the CrossFit Games since 2009 so I have seen lots of changes over the years and its seemed to me that it has always improved upon the last. Currently, what I would change is just being able to get our eyes on the 2019 rulebook as soon as possible and knowing the full list of sanctioned events.”
Read the full AMA here.
Photo from the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games
