Women's Health 's Next Fitness Star: Emily Schromm

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Women's Health has been hosting a contest the past few years looking for their fitness star of year. This years winner was Emily Schromm and I was fortunate enough to be able to ask her a few questions. I'm always inspired by others following their passions and Emily is great example of that!

Life's Better In Yoga Pants: What inspired you to get into the world of fitness?

Emily Schromm: Five years ago I had NO clue the world of fitness would become not only a serious passion of mine, but a career! All I knew was that I had hit a point in my life where I was very unhappy. I wanted to change my body, I wanted to be strong, and nothing was going to stop me. That determination turned into a strong desire to learn about fitness, learn about food, and I have forever been sucked in!

LBIYP: Aside from Crossfit, what other workouts do you do? Any yoga or spinning?

ES: I actually work with a yoga instructor on a daily basis who challenges me with inversions and poses. Outside of the gym, snowboarding is my favorite workout in the world. I am lucky enough to live by the mountains and go up every week. My other favorite workout? Rock climbing. It challenges me to use finesse and technique like yoga does, instead of relying on strength.

LBIYP: Why do you think people love "race against the clock" workouts as opposed to go at your own pace? (I personally love bootcamp style classes when people are telling me to go, go, go!)

ES: When we "race against the clock", we can have a tangible number of how we did. For instance, in one minute, you did 10 pushups. The next time you do pushups, you know that you are going to try your hardest to hit 11. We challenge ourselves more, we fight a little harder, and we get that competitive itch that deep down we all have.

I especially love it for classes! We are SO much stronger than we think we are! When we have someone telling us that, or pushing us past that point in our head where we want to stop and call it good, we see CHANGE happen. Not only are you distracted from what your mind is telling you (STOP! PLEASE!! NO MORE!), you are pushing your body outside it's comfort zone.

LBIYP: What are a few of your favorite workouts for runners?

ES: Runners tend to have very tight hip flexor and quads, so I really make sure to develop that backside on my runners. Hamstring strength and most importantly, that booty! Balancing out your legs prevents injury in hips and knees, and also will make you faster! My go-tos?

• Weighted stepups, 3 sets of 10 each side.
• Good Mornings, 3 sets of 10 each side
• Reverse lunges to balance, 3 sets of 10 each side
• Single leg deadlifts, 3 sets of 10 each side

Before Emily became a fitness guru, she was a former MTV reality TV star. She now lives in Denver and is a full-time personal trainer and CrossFit coach. Emily’s workout style focuses on function fitness for every level that allows people to unleash their inner superhero.

Check out her Next Fitness Star Body Burn DVD here.

Xo,

Lynette