Enjoy getting to know Tony Shadforth in this edition of Athlete Spotlight!
Please tell us a bit about yourself. I am 44 years old and I currently have 2 main occupations as I am a commercial and residential builder plus I am a director of a group that owns and runs a couple of Hotels. I have spent most of my life on the Sunshine Coast after moving here from Ayr in North Queensland when I was 3, my parents moved down soon after. I have 2 kids, one of which trains with us at Coastal, Jack and a younger one named Max
How long have you been training at Coastal CrossFit? I have been training at Coastal for about 3 years
You have an endurance sport background – what drew you to the idea of CrossFit? I had a few friends training at Coastal at the time and they were singing it’s praises but in the end my partner, Claire dragged me into the box for an introduction. It was very different to everything I had ever done before and I guess that made it quite exciting, so now I sometimes come along to the odd class (sarcasm).
You still participate/compete in the odd endurance event from time to time. Can you give us some examples of the events that you have completed and what role your CrossFit training has played in the preparation for these events. Well as competing for me means I go a little crazy and get a little intense I try to stay away from it nowadays. I like to consider myself as the ultimate training partner though, so if I have a friend training for an endurance sport and they need some motivation or a pacer I am there for them. I find that because of CrossFit, no matter what the discipline, I can hold my own with them. On occasions I have run with them for 35km having not done it before or swim 4km after not being in the pool for years or even ride in excess of 100km just to keep them motivated. I love that I don’t have to take the time or put the body through all that stress or those long training sessions day in day out but I can still go and do it when required.
Your son Jacko (17) does CrossFit along side you most mornings at 5.00am, for which we commend you both. Can you elaborate on what role CrossFit has played in the bigger picture of raising your boys? I have many views on this and I guess that we may have to wait for other stages in their lives to see if the lessons that I hope it teaches them have been learnt, but our lives have changed in many ways either directly or indirectly through CrossFit and always for the positive. Because I attend a fixed class time (5.00am) I have been able to make more time for my kids in the morning which started us doing morning walks on the beach. Each morning I would get home and slowly wake them always being aware that it was meant to be a fun experience so never trying to turn it into a negative one for them. It took 6 months until they realised I was never going to give up and they actually started to love it. Those walks were life changing for us all as they started our day with conversation and often some great laughs. Something that I can never lose and a massive lesson to me about priorities in life.
What goals do you have for your future training? Sometimes if I am nursing and injury, as I have had a few, I feel like I am just there to start my day and keep sane. But as I start to feel a little better I start to think about areas that I can improve, and I also have a few. So I am really keen to start working on my flexibility and then my technique as I think this is where I let myself down in more then one area.
You are one of our most consistent and disciplined athletes who trains religiously at 5.00am almost every day. What is it that keeps you coming back? I guess it started out to be more about wanting to change the focus in my life, I used to get up, smash myself on a run in the dark and be sitting at my desk at 5 or 5.30 every morning. I grew to realise that I needed to be a bigger part of my kids lives and be more involved and so I started do the 5am class then go home and get the kids up for our walk. This grew into having breakfast together and even later starts at work. I also started to learn that the rounded elements of training the full 5 day program was very beneficial to me and the way I felt so I have kept it up. Now days I don’t have to think about I just know that I will be up so I go.
What are you favourite and least favourite types of workouts? I really love the gymnastic side of CrossFit so all the gymnastic and bodyweight movements are definitely my favourite movements. As for my least favourite, I think that would be pretty much anything with that cold and unforgiving steel bar involved!
Do you have any advice for other CrossFitters or potential CrossFitters based on your experience? Never forget where you came from. I think that for all of us who struggle in areas it is important to remember how far on the journey we have come as it is easy to forget and think we are not progressing. With this it can give you the focus to keep trying and eventually reach your goals.
