Written by Team Juggernaut
Name: Mattie Rogers
Age: 17
Height/Weight: 5’7″, 133 pounds
Hometown: Apopka, Florida
Current City: Apopka, Florida
Years Training: gymnastics: 12 years (stopped at age 13), Crossfit: 5 months, oly lifting: 5 months, cheerleading: 4.5 years
Years Competing: gymnastics: uh… I’d say 9 years? Crossfit: only done 1 competition (last month), Oly lifting: 4 months, cheerleading: 4.5 years
PRs: Snatch: 65kg, C&J: 82kg
Check out this video of Mattie clean & jerking 187 pounds!!
Where You Train: Altamonte Crossfit & Champion Athletic Center (cheerleading)
Day Job: gymnastics/cheerleading/tumbling coach
What Got You Into Training/Competing: Started gymnastics when I was literally a baby, so i had no choice. Was introduced to cheerleading by a friend, and from there my cheerleading coach introduced me to Crossfit and I started training Oly lifting as part of Crossfit. Fell in love with lifting, so i started competing.
Who Have Been Influential People in Your Training/Life: Definitely my cheerleading coach. Also members of my Crossfit gym
What Are The Greatest Challenges You Have Faced In Your Training/Competing: Learning to keep pushing myself (even if its just getting out of bed in the morning to go train) when I am exhausted mentally, physically or emotionally (or all the above). I had to learn that if I can do it on my worst days, I can do even better on my good days.
How Do You Balance Competing In All That You Do: I honestly have no idea how I manage all the things I do, but I somehow do it, so I’m not complaining! I like to think that I have become a pro at time management.
How Has Your Gymnastics/Cheer Background Helped You in CF/Weightlifting: I give gymnastics FULL credit for my success in CF and weightlifting. Learning to walk on your hands at the same time as you learn how to walk on your feet has given me a huge advantage in coordination, core strength and just overall athleticism. I definitely owe it to my parents for putting me in gymnastics at such a young age. It has honestly changed my life and has helped me in literally every sport I have ever trained.
What Is Your Typical Diet Like: I eat very clean. I try my best to stay away from processed foods, dairy (sometimes there will be a few exceptions) and foods with added salt or sugars. I have never counted calories or carbs (unless I’m cutting weight for a competition) and just eat what and when my body tells me. I’m not a food measure-er, nor do I think I ever will be.
What Upcoming Competitions Do You Have? What Are Your Goals For Those: My next weightlifting competition is Junior Nationals on Feb. 16-17, but I will not be attending it. (I have cheerleading Nationals on the other side of the country the same weekend.) I will be attending University Nationals in April and Senior Nationals in August for weightlifting to take its place. My goals for those would obviously be to do my best, get new PR’s, and place as high as possible. I also have cheerleading competitions about every other weekend during this time of the year.
What Advice Do You Have For Someone New To Your Sport: Crossfit: It will suck. It will always suck. But when you learn to embrace the suck, that’s when it becomes fun. Lifting: Not much advice I have for that one, except just lift heavy shit.
Thank Yous, Etc: I definitely want to thank my cheerleading coach, Ben Hazlerig, for introducing me to the world of Crossfit and weightlifting. If he hadn’t done so, I would not be anywhere near where I am today fitness wise. So I owe all my thanks to him for getting me involved in all this, pushing me through workouts (he’s also my workout partner) and becoming like another parent to me. Also, I want to thank my weightlifting coach, Daniel Camargo, for teaching me everything I know about weightlifting and being so generous and understanding with my involvement in the 10 billion other activities I do.
