Emily Bridgers has been a competitor for most of her life. After a 16-year career as a gymnast, she competed at the CrossFit Games as an individual five times. Her best finish was 6th in 2014.

So what do competitors do when they stop competing?

In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Emily speaks with Sean Woodland about her competitive career and why she decided to retire after the 2018 Games—despite being pulled off the field early with a dislocated ankle.

She shares what fitness looks like for her today as she manages CrossFit Terminus and raises her first child. She also opens up about how hard it is to turn the competitive switch off and what it would take to get her back on the floor.

Links:

CrossFit Terminus
Two-Brain Business Free Tools

Contact:

Instagram: @emilybridgers

Timeline:

1:50 – Finding competitive drive in gymnastics.

2:42 – The physical and mental toll of years of gymnastics training and competition.

4:25 – Dealing with the end of her gymnastics career after injury.

7:01 – Finding a new competitive spark in CrossFit.

10:21 – Emily’s first Games experience: fueled by nerves.

13:14 – Taking on new opportunities in fitness competition.

14:16 – The 2015 and 2016 Games: “The biggest disappointments of my entire career.”

15:03 – Wrecked by Murph and pushing through anyway.

19:01 – Finding fun in off-season events.

20:24 – Deciding to retire in 2018.

23:03 – “Is my foot facing the wrong way?”

24:52 – Why there (probably) won’t be one more year of CrossFit competition for Emily.

26:25 – Life as a new parent.

28:07 – Training one hour a day and loving it.

30:05 – Setting an example for daughter Riley.

31:00 – Turning off the competitive switch—it’s not easy.

32:55 – What it would take for Emily to compete again.

34:12 – Emily’s message to the next generation of athletes: Make sure you truly love it.

#425:Jay Jay French/Guitarist for Twisted Sister