Fitness_South_Africa_JulyAugust_2017

AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH
AFRICA’S FITTEST WOMAN
CELESTE’S
CROSSFIT
COMEBACK
HSPU:
Africa’s Fittest Woman, Celeste MacIntosh was
fresh off the plane after CrossFit Regionals, held
in Madrid, Spain, when we caught up with her at
Jo’burg’s iconic strength and conditioning facility, The Yard
Athletic.
She had just competed in what is arguably the most
competitive CrossFit region – Meridian Regionals – thanks to
the sheer number of countries it encompasses and the high
calibre of athletes who compete, particularly those from Europe.
And despite the many challenges she faced on route to
placing 18th overall. “That’s a seven-place improvement over
last year, which I’m happy with,” said Celeste.
second since the new regional structure was implemented,
though, which made it all the more rewarding,” she adds.
An acronym for the ‘hand
stand push-up’ BW exercise.
48
OVERCOMING
ADVERSITY
However, while the result
itself is worth celebrating,
Celeste was more elated at the
fact that her development and
progress now seems to be back
on track after taking a serious
knock in 2015.
at the CrossFit Games in 2015,
which is the pinnacle of the sport,
so I put everything I had into my
preparation,” recalls Celeste.
“While my build-up went well and
I was feeling strong, on the day I
perform anywhere near my peak.
I realise now that when the stress
of competing kicked in, my body
shut down.”
Bitterly disappointed at her
result, Celeste returned home to
assess what had gone wrong. “I
began consulting with US-based
homeopath, Dr Drobot, who
suggested I have a full blood
panel.”
JULY - AUGUST
When the diagnoses came
back, the reason for her underperformance
was clear – she was
suffering from adrenal failure. “It
was more severe than adrenal
fatigue, or what many athletes
term overtraining syndrome or
burnout. My hormone levels were
all over the place... the doctor
said I had the oestrogen levels
of a post-menopausal woman,
for example. I had also failed to
pick up on an important health
indicator, as I’d lost my period. I
initially thought this was normal
for female athletes who train at
my level, but I now know that
it’s not, and that it should set off
alarm bells.”
UNDER-RECOVERY
When Celeste and her medical
team delved deeper into
the cause of her condition a
multifactorial picture emerged.
“It was clear that I wasn’t
eating enough to support
the metabolic and anabolic