It can be a struggle to keep life, business and fitness in check, but sometimes all you need is a bit of motivation. Sports massage therapist Vicki Marsh is a mum, business owner and competitive Crossfitter. She trains at CrossFit RNA in Cambridge.
Who are you and what are you doing here?
I’m a 32-year-old Crossfit mum, I’m notoriously late for class and although I complain about WODs, I’m one of the first people signed up for class each week. I run Headstart Sports Injury and Performance clinic in Cambridge and I’m here because Graeme guilt tripped me into helping him with this article. (Truth)
Plenty of people don’t exercise because they say there’s no time. You have a kid and a business and still do Crossfit. How is this?
There never feels like there is enough time! It’s not easy, and I’m inherently very lazy, so lying on the sofa is always the easier option, but I’ve learnt ways to make it work – I have a babysitter come twice a week so I can go to class. That way there’s no excuse.
I fit in open gym and adhoc training around patients at work where I can. I respond much better to intensity than volume, so having 1 or 2 rest days a week actually helps.
I have some great patients in clinic and we’ll often fit in a little training or rehab together. Also, sometimes the owner of the gym where I work, will do an intense lifting technique session with me.
How did you get into Crossfit?
Someone mentioned it to me a few years ago but at the time there weren’t any Crossfit boxes in my area so I thought nothing of it. I’ve been a single mum since my son was 6 weeks old, and Crossfit kept popping up on my Facebook feed, but I ignored it.
When my little boy was about 9 months old I started looking into ways to try and meet new people. I was pretty stuck as I had no childcare or family near by to watch him so kept getting disheartened, resigning myself to staying at home just the two of us.
Eventually, I checked the timetable of a local Crossfit box. They were running some ladies only classes at 09:30 which kinda worked for me. They said I could bring my son along, and as it goes, I was hooked!
And do you compete?
When I can. The online qualifier format that most competitions have works really well. Gives you something to aim for, and makes you accountable. I really enjoy team competitions, they’re great fun! Its much nicer to be able to share the load and play to your strengths.
Tell us something that having a young child has taught you about life…
That you can achieve anything so long as you have a purpose. The summer before I fell pregnant I was so unwell I was bedridden. I lost my business, lost contact with almost all my friends and family, couldn’t sleep or eat properly and I vividly remember feeling so overwhelmed by what was happening that I couldn’t imagine life being any different.
Having a purpose, like my son, everything is simple. All decisions come back to the same questions – Does this choice help me provide for my son?
Does this action make me a good role model? What things does he value from me and therefore does this thing I’m stressing about ‘actually’ matter?
For some people finding their purpose is the hard part – mine is currently chattering away to himself in his bedroom as he falls asleep.
In your clinic you must see the same injuries time and again. What are some simple tips for avoiding (or treating if it’s too late) some common ailments?
There are some pretty cool resources out there nowadays for educating yourself about bodies. Coaches at your box will have a tonne of knowledge and you only have to do a quick search online to find all sorts of tutorials.
My basic advice is that your body is pretty awesome. It’s an incredible self-regulating system that’s designed, through movement, to heal.
Pain is a sign the body can’t cope. It has done everything it can to deal with the issue on its own, its not worked so its asking for your attention. Listen to it!
My approach in clinic, if you’ve either been unlucky or just ignored the symptoms, is heal, mobilise, strengthen, in that order. The stages are different for everyone, but always focus on healing first, then get the mobility and strength work going once the pain has reduced and the body is healing.
What are the main problem areas for Crossfitters in terms of tightness and pain, and how can they be fixed?
Because Crossfit works the entire body we see all the classic imbalance patterns coming out; certain muscle groups too short/tight/strong and others too long/weak. Without fail all Crossfitters will present with some degree of the following:
- Restricted ankle, hips, thoracic spine and shoulders – Mobilise these
- Weak hamstrings, glutes, lumbar spine, scapular control – Strengthen these
By working on these you’ll reduce your injury risk and increase performance, without a doubt!
Can you really be a mum, Crossfitter and business owner? You must be taking every supplement going, right?
Actually right this second I am. My supplement regime is something like 35 tablets over the course of the day! But that’s only temporary! In order to get everything in I’ve worked really hard on learning a lot about nutrition, training, productivity, recovery strategies etc. The upshot is sleep. Sleep and nutrition.
If you are feeling rubbish, get yourself checked out, clean up your diet and add supplements if necessary.
Design your perfect WOD…
Build to a 1RM snatch over 20mins. Loads of recovery and minimal work! Perfect! But if I had to compromise then something like heavy snatch EMOM for 10mins with a burpee penalty for any missed lifts followed immediately by a short kettlebell, burpee, wall ball 6min AMRAP.
What’s your 1RM bench press?
Its currently 72.5kg – but haven’t benched in a loonnng time!!
Who’s winning the Games this year?
Ohhh I’m so bad at predicting stuff like this. Assuming all the contenders get through Regionals then I want to say Annie T – but I think Briggs might take it given she’s got that engine to keep the performances going over the course of the Games. Men’s side I don’t have a clue! (she means Mat Fraser.)
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