Interview with CrossFit Games 14-15 Teen 2nd Place Champion, Haley Adams.
The very first interview on my blog features the one and only, Haley Adams! Haley Adams is the youngest female at 16 years old to qualify for Regionals in the sport of CrossFit. She has competed in the CrossFit Games as a teen in the 14-15 year old division and is currently the silver medal holder of 2016 in that division. She competed in the Atlantic Regional this past weekend and will be competing in the Games this summer as a teen, but now in the 16-17 age division. I have had the chance to meet Haley a couple of times and she is SUCH a hard worker and a sweetheart. Literally an energizer bunny. I am not shocked in the slightest that she made it to regionals (and did so well - 14th!) with all of the hard work she puts in. She's truly passionate about this sport and I hope you all enjoy the interview!
What is your background like? (Hometown, hobbies, sports, etc)
I live in Lexington, North Carolina. I've been active my whole life and have always played some type of sport. I did gymnastics for most of my life, then switched to cross country and swimming right before crossfit!
How did you get started in CrossFit?
I knew I would be quitting gymnastics soon and always wanted to be playing some type of sport. I obviously didn't want to be a couch potato and it just so happened there was a crossfit gym right beside my gymnastics gym and I could always see in there every night!
When was your first CrossFit competition?
It was in January of 2016!
What does a day in the life of Haley Adams look like?
I wake up around 7 and do school work for about 2 hours. Then I eat breakfast and prep my food for the day. I'll train from 10-1 and then have lunch and start another training session. When I get home, I do school for about 2 more hours and then it's almost bed time!
I know you're about to compete this weekend at the Atlantic Regional. What have you been doing in preparation for that, physically and mentally?
Going into Regionals, I'm trying to have no expectations for myself. I'm just happy to have made history by being the first 16 year old. I've always had a good mental game, so I don't need to work on much for that. For training, I have to be very careful not to over-train because it's very easy for me to do.
What are some things you do in between events at competitions to recover?
I put headphones in, put some kind of muscle stimulator on and get some good carbs in!
Favorite workout?
Anything with lots of cardio and gymnastics
Least favorite workout?
1 rep maxes
Biggest weakness?
1 rep maxes and binge eating!
What's your favorite food?
I love any kind of dessert, no joke.. but for food, I love steak and potatoes!
What are some of your future goals?
To win the crossfit games in the individual division one day :)
How do you balance training, school, and a social life?
I do online school so that helps. I have a certain amount of lessons to get done per day, but it doesn't take too long and there is plenty of time to train. I don't have too much of a social life, just a few very close friends :)
What's one piece of advice you'd want to give to someone interested in doing CrossFit for the first time?
Don't be nervous at all! Anything and everything can be scaled! It will seriously change your life for the better and you'll never look back!
