“So, you get to the CrossFit gym, and you see- or I see other moms, I see other dads, I see people who have competitive aspirations and Im able to mentor, and so, it kind of feeds a lot of things at once. And thats 45 minutes to an hour and a half, and then you walk away feeling very fulfilled and able to be your best at the rest of your day.” – Christy Adkins

Christy Phillips Adkins is an 8-time CrossFit Games athlete, competing as an individual seven times between 2009 and 2016, and once on team CrossFit Balance in 2017. Over the course of her career, she overcame both physical and psychological challenges, including narrowly missing the cutoff for the 2015 Games, and recovering from a torn biceps tendon in time to qualify in 2016. After retiring from competition to focus on starting a family, she quickly became pregnant with her now 15-month-old son, Bo, and has embraced what it means to train for longevity and health as a post-partum athlete.

Lindy Barber is a former collegiate soccer player who began competing in CrossFit in 2012 after rehabbing a fractured vertebra in her back. She has competed at the CrossFit Games twice as an individual, and has had three podium finishes as a member of Team CrossFit Mayhem Freedom. In Lindys final season, she found herself losing some of her excitement for training as her back injury flared up and she knew that her body was asking for a break. She knew it was time to shift gears with her training to protect her long-term health and to preserve her joy for the sport. The 2019 season marks the first year that Lindy has not been training for the CrossFit Games, and it has been a huge transition for her to figure out what life looks like when not training 6-7 hours per day.

I had the chance to sit down with Lindy and Christy during the 2019 CrossFit Games in Madison, WI for a live podcast recording at the Reebok tent. We shared stories about the life and fitness transitions all three of us have undergone over the last few years, and what it looks like to shift from training as a competitive athlete to training for health and longevity.

In this episode we discuss:

• The recent life and fitness transitions Christy and Lindy have been through, and the factors that helped them make decisions about these transitions


• What training for health and longevity means, and how that differs from training like a competitive athlete


• Body image and how their relationship with their bodies have changed


• How they structure their time and find balance now that their primary focus is not competition


• The need to cultivate other interests and what theyve found to be important outside the gym

You can follow Christy on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. You can follow Lindy on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Links:

• Airrosti CrossFit Testimonial: Christy Adkins


• Update Show: Skype with Christy Adkins


• Lindy Barber: A CrossFit Story


• Lindy Barber: Living the Active Life


• Shinrin Yoku Forest Bathing

Related episodes

• Ep 01 Rich Froning on competition, shifting priorities, and discovering his purpose


• Ep 06 Women of the 2015 CrossFit Games Demo Team Christy Adkins, Jennifer Smith, and Talayna Fortunato


• Ep 25 Christy Adkins on overcoming injury, training for the 2016 CrossFit Games, and the future


• Ep 55 Lindy Barber on Overcoming a Life-Changing Injury and Finding Her Flow on Team CrossFit Mayhem

If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating. Id love to hear your feedback in the comments below and on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every other Tuesday.

Disclaimer: This podcast is meant to share the experiences of various individuals. It does not provide medical advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from your physician or health care professional.

The post Ep 121 – Christy Adkins & Lindy Barber on Transitions in Life and Fitness appeared first on Julie Foucher | Reebok CrossFit Games Athlete.