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How Tia Toomey turned into the Fittest Woman on Earth

The biggest lesson that the 24-year-old Tia Toomey can teach all of us is to never give up on dreams. The Australian athlete was the winner of the 2017 CrossFit Games held in Madison, Wisconsin, making her the "fittest woman on earth." She was in Dubai for the opening of the new CrossFit GoldBox in Business Bay.

While talking to City Times, she told us why failure is not a bad thing. "You have to have the confidence to be yourself and that comes with being surrounded by very supportive people. You should always go out and try to get what you want because failing is not a bad thing. You can learn a lot from failure. I can guarantee you that if you look at what your experiences were then, you will be out to find so many positives in that journey. It is not the end because you have not failed, you have probably developed and improved yourself to become a much better person and that will help you to succeed in what your initial goals were. I think there is a fantastic opportunity for females to definitely strive to be what they want to be."

Toomey, who is well known for her fierce approach to competition, mental toughness, and astoundingly sculpted physique said it is a great quality to be competitive. She told us that she was into sports from a very young age because of her parents. "My parents have always encouraged me to participate in some kind of sport. I learned very early that I was very competitive, not just towards other people, but within myself. I always wanted to push myself and see how far I could really go. That was always something that I really enjoyed doing. It kind of led from there. As the years went on, I got more confident and exposure to the workout and I started enjoying it more and more."

She also revealed why CrossFit is not as scary as everyone thinks, "It is not very different from HIIT (high-intensity interval training). There is obviously a higher standard when it comes to intensity since we focus on full range motion. We try to make sure that everything that you are doing is functional and you can use it outside of the gym as well. Once someone tries CrossFit, they will understand that it's nothing to be scared of. Though it may not be for everyone, it is not as daunting as people make it out to be."

Tia has an advice for Dubai's fitness fanatics. She says that they must hydrate themselves with lots of water and electrolyte. "Electrolyte will help add some sodium in your body so when you are sweating and losing sodium while working out, you won't get any cramps."

Tia was in Dubai with her husband and coach Shane who she calls her biggest support.

Eat like a champ
Breakfast: Sometimes I'll have bacon and eggs with avocado, sometimes just yogurt and granola, but I always have a green smoothie when I wake up, with coconut water. It's very refreshing and hydrating. It's a good start to the day.
Lunch and Dinner:  It changes on a daily basis, but generally I have some sort of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. I always try to make sure that it is good, whole food. My husband Shane is a good cook and makes my food.
Snacking: Throughout the day, I have nuts, fruits or yoghurt.

'I don't enjoy eating unhealthy food'
I avoid unhealthy food, but say, for example, if there is a special occasion on a weekend or if I am going out with a friend, then I will definitely have like a slice of pizza or a little bit of chocolate but that's very rare. Because I actually don't feel good when I eat that. I don't enjoy eating unhealthy food. I always eat healthy (food). If there is a cheese or a cracker, then I might eat that if I feel good but it kind of depends.

Workout when you are feeling down
Everyone has those days when you are feeling a little bit down and you just want to chill out and enjoy some time relaxing. But that's when it counts most. When I feel a little slack, I will get up and have a smoothie maybe and go for a workout. You just have to put one foot in front of the other as it comes and try and enjoy and look at the positives. I really enjoy it!

A day in Tia's life
*I get up at 4.30 in the morning and then go for some coaching at my gym. I conduct 5am and 6am classes. Then, I go back home and have breakfast.
*Following that, Shane and I go to track. We may also go for a bike ride. It depends on the day, and we try and change it. We could also go for a swim.
*I come home after my first session and have something to eat so my recovery is on point.
*After that, I will just chill and do some work on my book. I have a book that I am writing. I also have my online workout programme, so I make sure to reach out to my clients through that. I generally spend two to three hours on that.
*Then, I have something to eat and go to the gym with Shane and we train for about four hours. The workout consists of doing weightlifting, strength work and gymnastics and a bit of conditioning. It is a variety of things and that changes every day, depending on what I have done a day before and also what I have coming up.
*Then I coach once again, I conduct a 4.30 and a 5.30pm class.
*Following that, Shane and I go home and walk our dogs. We then have our dinner and go to bed at 10pm.
arti@khaleejtimes.com