She Could Be the World's Best

Meet Emily Bridgers. She’s fit, fierce, and a serious force to be reckoned with…

Standing 5’1”, this former competitive gymnast (UGA Gymdog) and trainer at CrossFit Decatur (on Church Street) currently ranks #1 in the Southeast and 4^th in the World in the 2012 CrossFit OPEN Games. Impressive stats to say the least (and she has only been at it for 1.5 years!)

I was first introduced to CrossFit last September by my friends and husband (all
who have become obsessed with it). And of course, I had watched Bob on the Biggest Loser and knew that he was incorporating some of the CrossFit training
techniques into his team workouts (burpees, box jumps, wall balls, etc.). Or if
you watch ESPN, you have probably seen the Reebok CrossFit commercial where Annie (blond girl aka 2011 CrossFit Champion) whips up on Chad Ochocinco…?

In short, I decided to give it a try myself. Emily was my 6 a.m. trainer. It
didn’t take long to figure out she was “gifted,” but I had no idea HOW good she
really was.

Others have started to take notice of Emily, too. CrossFit Games did a spotlight on her and interviewed her as part of their Games update (tip – skip ahead to 6:26 minutes).

When I asked her what attracted her to CrossFit, she said, “My career in gymnastics ended a little early as a result of a back injury. I was missing the
‘competition’ in my life; CrossFit provided me an opportunity to still do what
I love.”

Originally from Lilburn, Emily graduated from Parkview High School before moving on to the University of Georgia. She joined CrossFit Decatur as a trainer in 2010. Her favorite workouts are named “Diane” (which features deadlifts and handstand
pushups) and “Amanda.” (Check out Emily making short change of this workout here).

“I am thankful every day that I get to do what I love,” adds Emily. “There’s a lot
of hype surrounding CrossFit right now, which is great for introducing new
people to the program – and for getting folks involved with the whole community
aspect of CrossFit. My goal is to make the Top 10 in the CrossFit Games this
year, and hopefully compete for a number of years to come. I will do my best to
represent CrossFit Decatur well.”

Next up for Emily is the CrossFit Games regional competition, which is the last
weekend of April in West Palm Beach, FL. The top three athletes in each region
move on to the games, which will be held in California in July. FYI: The 2011
Finals are currently being shown on TV right now if anyone is interested in
getting a better sense of what is asked of these athletes.

Good luck, Emily! We’re all cheering for you. I personally will be disappointed if I
don’t see you featured in a CrossFit commercial really, really soon (watch out
Ochocinco!)