Claude has been a member of the Queen Street community for over 5 years! Claude originally started in the 7:30pm class when he joined at the church, which then switched to 10am and noon, and now consistently comes to the 9am class! Claude started his crossfit journey with classes, and over the last year and a half has added extra programming to his routine and has seen some huge progress. Continue reading to find out more about Claude!

What does an average day-in-the-life look like for you? (food, training, work, recovery, leisure time, etc.): My day is an attempt to balance training, working on my PhD (research and writing), and work. With lockdowns and gym closures, I try to schedule my day for productivity and down time. I sneak in some video game time during the day as well (it’s part of my downtime). Typically, I am up at 07:30, have a coffee and light breakfast to fuel me through 9-11 (9 am class followed by strength training). Work on whatever work needs to be done during the day, at the moment that is remotely. Every other day try, not always successfully, to get in around a 5k run. I head to bed around 23:30 and read for an hour or so. No screen time in bed!

Have you changed the way you eat since you began CrossFit, If so, how?: Yes, since May 2020 I made significant changes to nutrition to align with my fitness goals. I’ve cut out almost all processed/refined sugars and foods. I track my nutrition (and sometimes macros) in a journal or Cronometer. Most of the time I measure/weigh food. Now I am trying to find a nutritional balance that allows me to lose the remaining fat I have and put on some muscle.

How does training/CrossFit fit into your life?: CrossFit is part of my everyday life. It is my daily opportunity to be social. It is one of the things I look forward to each day. It has such an impact on my life that even when the gym is closed, I incorporate workouts into my daily routine. I cannot imagine a time when I will not be training and working to be better.

What reasons did you have to train when you started CrossFit? Have those reasons changed? If so, how?: I started doing CrossFit originally to lose weight and become a bit healthier. However, I didn’t get serious until a couple of years ago. I went from 220 pounds (100 kg) when I started to 158 pounds (72 kg) currently (most of that lost over the past 18 months). I didn’t want to go to a regular gym as I find working out in a standard gym very boring. I like the variety of exercises, a different set of movements every day, as well as the support and camaraderie of the coaches and members. The reasons I started doing CrossFit still apply but now I am working to get stronger so I can do the exercises that I have scale.

What improvements have you made in the past 6 months that you are most proud of?: I ran my first 10k race. In the summer I decided to supplement my workouts with running and worked my way to a 10k (with my running group). At the gym, I am finally able to do toes-to-bar and strict pull-ups are progressing nicely.

Do you currently have a main focus or goal(s) with your training? : Currently, I am strength training four days a week with coach Callum in addition to classes and a bit of running.

What would you consider to be your greatest strength as an athlete?: I continually challenge myself to do better, make sure my form is good, and I’m always open to coaching.

What is one thing that you do everyday that you feel is essential in contributing to your success in the gym? : I show up and I keep doing the workouts even if it is a workout/movement that I do not like (like partner workouts, seriously I am much happier being on my own without worrying about letting a partner down, that being said, Vivien is the best partner!). I continue to challenge myself to do the exercises that I am not so great at, add more weight, and whatnot.

If you could give yourself one piece of advice when you started CrossFit, what would it be?: Stick with it! Realize that it is intimidating at first, but everyone was a beginner at some point. Additionally, everyone is supportive. Show up, do your best, and come back the next day.

Do you have a go-to self-pep talk? (i.e. something you tell yourself when things get hard with training or during a workout): What I tell myself during workouts: Slow and steady is ok. You can do it, you can do it, you can do it (especially helpful when I’m trying to do 1-5 reps of something heavy).

Is there anything you would like to add? : Queen Street Fitness is a special place in Kingston. I’m fortunate to be a part of the QSF community.