We have recently been expanding the Sleekgeek team so that we can service our community better and grow our Health Revolution by making quicker strides towards our vision of changing 1 million lives!
We hired “fit-mom” and experienced coach Tash King part-time to make magic with content management and creation. She will be taking over much of my and Eric’s work so that we can focus on building other valuable areas to grow our Sleekgeek dream.
Tash has a rare combination of skills and brings a wide range of expertise to our team. Not only is she a highly qualified fitness and nutrition coach with a speciality in pre and post natal women but also has a long background in content, marketing and media. She is also a lovely human! (a key pre-requisite to work for Sleekgeek.)
So we asked her to complete our standard QA so that you can get to know her better!
Name: Tash King
Age: 32
Location: Cape Town
What do you do? I wear many hats! I am a coach at Cape CrossFit specialising in Pre and Post Natal health and fitness and I am Precision Nutrition Coach. I am also a Content Creator and Social Media Manager.
What else do you do? I run around after a wild little 2
You and Sleek Geek
How did you find Sleekgeek? I found Sleekgeek via the founder Elan – he and I trained together way back in the day when he was still a CrossFitter 😉
How long have you been a member of Sleekgeek? Since 2013
What is your favourite part of the Sleekgeek Community? The positivity and the genuine desire to help each other out. Every question or interaction is responded to from a place of caring and understanding. That’s a pretty special thing on a forum so huge.
I am super excited to be able to share my knowledge within the community. I have always been drawn to health and fitness as a means to create positive change and to be able to play a role in changing others lives via Sleekgeek is pretty damn cool. I am really looking forward to going on this journey with all of you, members and SG team.
How am I going to help change the world with SG? Showing up everyday and bringing my best whether it be Instagram posts, creating content or answering questions. I think that changing the world will happen when you are 100% invested and passionate about what you do and I am 100% invested and passionate about what I do.
I am very lucky that I can go to “work” and combine 2 of my favourite things: content creation and social media as well as health, nutrition and fitness.
YOUR TRANSFORMATION
Describe the “old you” before you made your transformation. How did you get there and what were you like?
I have 2 points in my transformation. The first being transitioning back to basic health and self-love and the second is transitioning from focused competitor to balancing life and mom-hood (but that’s a story for another day.)
I am fortunate in that I was always a sporty kid. I grew up playing and loving sport. I played Provincial Hockey, then played league soccer. My early life revolved around training towards some sort of sporting goal. I also managed to maintain some sort of activity when I went through 7 years of absolute reckless abandon which involved late nights, hard partying, quarts of beer and lots of
Old me continued to exercise to some degree while running wild. But I was by no means healthy even though I could play a full game of soccer while smoking a pack a day.
Mentally I was a mess, physically I looked well but I most certainly wasn’t.
What ignited your initial motivation to change?
I did some really stupid stuff and hurt people. I knew I needed to channel that energy elsewhere. So I first stopped all the substance abuse and really started focusing on soccer and running. I began to train a little harder because it felt good to be a bit faster on the field. I ran the Gun Run and decided I wanted a better time.
I am also very competitive by nature so I used that as motivation – self improvement was a big driving factor.
I found CrossFit and I dove in.
What are some of the things that the new you does differently now?
Everything. My life changed drastically and it began to revolve around health. Mentally and physically. In 2012 I quit the rat race and committed to becoming a CrossFit coach. I have never looked back.
What are some of the things that the new you still struggle with?
Body image issues. This reared its head again in a different capacity after having Max. I used to really loathed how I looked. And even when I was fit, I still battled with it. Was I lean enough? Was I too bulky or muscular?
Then those early days were rough after having Max. They brought up a lot of insecurities and I continue to catch myself in negative
If you could give yourself one piece of advice to help with that struggle, what would it be?
A lot of what you perceive is created in your own head based in a lot of external factors which are not in any way related to you at all. Breathe and see the wood for the trees.
Did you plateau, get stuck, or get disillusioned, or even slide
Yes! I still do. It’s part of the process. I brush it off and carry on.
What is better since you got healthy?
Everything. Everything has been better and it keeps getting better because this bleeds into all areas of my life.
Relationships with others, my relationship with myself.
Training
What’s your favourite form of exercise?
CrossFit because it combines weightlifting, gymnastics, power lifting and cardio.
But I often go through spells when I will just focus on weightlifting or powerlifting. Sometimes I will just do bodyweight stuff or yoga.
How long have you been training and how did you get started?
I started Crossfit in 2012 because I wanted to get stronger.
What does your typical workout look like?
Right now I am focusing on building up my strength again so I am running a weightlifting program.
Lots of Olympic lifting, presses, squats and variations of deadlifts. Also a lot of strict gymnastics. Cardio is things like
Favourite exercise?
The Deadlift and Back Squat
Least favourite exercise?
Rowing
How does exercise make you feel?
Calm. Focused. Alive. I find it incredibly meditative.
Do you prefer to train alone or with others? Why?
Both!
Sometimes I need to put in
Most embarrassing training moment?
Oh so many. Once I did a pull up facing the wrong way and ended up hitting my forehead on the rig. I have also been stuck under a bench press and had to call my boyfriend to help me – actually I’ve done that numerous times.
Top 3 things you must have at the gym or in your gym bag?
Lifting shoes, knee sleeves, food.
Your next training goal?
I think I may train for a Powerlifting meet or
Top 5 songs on your training playlist?
I listen to random classical music. Right now its Ludovico Einaudi. The King Arthur Soundtrack is pretty cool as well.
How has exercise/training/Sport Changed your life?
Sport taught me teamwork, it taught me how to make decisions which would benefit me by taking me towards realising my goals. It taught me commitment and perseverance.
It took a while but it taught me to value failure as a tool for learning.
It has taught me the value of being fit and strong over aesthetics which was incredibly important for me to learn as a woman. It has taught me selflessness.
Nutrition
What is your favourite meal?
Sushi
OK, now what’s your favourite healthy meal?
A well cooked steak or fish, potatoes, Chris’s Tzatziki and a feta and butternut salad.
Favourite protein?
Fish
Favourite fat?
Avocado
Favourite carbohydrate?
Butternut
What’s your nutrition philosophy/approach?
I eat balanced meals and make sure I eat enough to sustain my training as well as breastfeeding. It’s pretty tough as my hormones are still all over the show so I do have to be more “strict” than I would like to be. This means making sure I do not undereat.
How many meals a day do you eat?
6: Pre workout oats, post workout shake, breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime snack.
Do you have a cheat
Nah, I don’t really cheat. I just eat things I feel like eating, I just don’t really crave “cheat” foods but if I did happen to, I would eat it and move right along.
MINDSET
Most memorable personal best achievement to date. Something you maybe never imagined you could do?
Having my son was pretty epic.
Favourite quote?
I have 2:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt
“You are the universe in ecstatic motion” Rumi
Favourite book?
One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel García Márquez
What inspires and motivates you?
My family.
The mom and dads who come in every day to get an hour of training in. The varsity student who is meal prepping on a Sunday. The
Ordinary humans.
For what are you most grateful?
I am the most grateful for my family.
What do you want to say to other community members who might be nervous or hesitant to make a start?
Take one step forward, no matter how small or scary it may seem. You are the creator of your life, you make all the choices, you are in control. How powerful and amazing is that? It may seem nerve racking but embrace it, let it make you feel alive and then go all in.
What are your top 5 tips for anyone starting on a healthy journey?
- Start small
- Be consistent
- Give yourself grace
- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
- Always be open to learn and ask for hel
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