👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
Hi, I’m Gabriele de Biagi (aka Coach Gabry), I am 29 years old and I live near Milano (Italy). I’m a CrossFit coach since 2015 and online coach, so i can say i “split my job” in offline and online job, both linked by the purpose of creating a healthier and fitter community around me.
I’m studying right now to become a Crossfit level-2 trainer and a nutrition coach (with the “Precision Nutrition” certification) and I am about to achieve both these goals very soon.
I have a beautiful girlfriend, Mariaelena, who is also a “business partner” for me (she graduated as Biotechnologist and she’s following the “Master Degree” to become a Nutritionist next year); we share our knowledge and we have fun testing “fit recipes” or creating new ones. She is a “crossfitter” too, we train together on a daily basis and we took part to CrossFit Couple Challenges together around Europe.
I’ve been practicing sports since my early years, I started with swimming, then I switched to football (which I practiced for 12 years), then boxing, MMA and finally CroosFit, which I started in 2013.
I started training, like I said, when I was very young because my parents thought doing sports is very important for their children’s growth and since then I never stopped! There’s never been a period in my life that i stopped myself from training, in a way or another, and that’s because it makes me feel very good!
I have a sort of predilection for gymnastics and bodyweight training in general, I really love the idea of training everywhere and in every condition, just with my body!
In fact, I created an App based on it (FIT SUPERHERO), which drives people to create strength, a better shape, and achieve their physical goals.
What I love the most about fitness is definitely the sensation I feel after training, that makes me feel alive and puts everything back in the right perspective (for instance, the problems become smaller).
I firmly believe in Law of Attraction and the quality of my environment so I love to be surrounded by nice and positive people, who possibly love fitness or health in general.
I definitely love reading (actually I read a lot!), especially about personal growth, law of attraction, meditation…and sometimes a nice “thriller” between them; my other big passion is FOOD! I really love to test new tastes, from alla round the world, try new recipes, create a “fit” version of them, experiment new cooking styles and so on.
I have a nice partnership with Prozis, a famous supplement brand, that helps me to achieve my physical goals in a easier and healthier way!
By the way, you can use my personal code COACHGABRY to benefit of the 10% discount on all the products (plus other cumulative and always varied promotions). Give it a try!
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
I train six times a week, with four heavy days and two “lighter” ones; in the “rest day” I do some stretching, go for a walk or just rest.
My training sessions are always different but it sticks to a solid pattern, which consists of:
- generic warm up
- specific warm up + bodyweight/gymnastics conditioning (few rounds not for time of simple gymnastics movements, to build volume on them)
- weightlifting session (typically snatch, clean and jerk, split jerk etc.) or strength session (generally on back/front squat, deadlift or presses)
- gymnastic session (ring, bar, handstand…)
- workout (high intensity workout, typically total body, mixing gymnastic movements, weightlifting movements and aerobic ones)
- cool down + stretching
This is what I do on a daily basis. Sometimes, I train alone, but most of the times I am with my partner Mariaelena. It’s special to share my training session with her and it’s now part of our routine.
The complete session generally takes us about 100/120 minutes. It varies depending on the period of our preparation: there is no bulking/fat loss sessions, but “off season”, “pre-season” and “in season” sessions. I aim for performance first.
In my bag you will always find: A jump rope, two different pairs of shoes (CrossFit shoes and weightlifting shoes), my block notes and a huge bottle of water. Why a block notes? Simple! To write my performances, personal records and tips on it, everyday!
I practice intermittent fasting so when I train in the morning, my pre-workout is just gallons of water and my post workout meal is lunch; when I train after lunch (this is my pre-workout meal), I prepare myself my favourite post-workout meal: a tasty Frozen Porridge!
Frozen Porridge is great! It’s made with Greek yogurt, rolled oats, oats and topped with cacao cream. Let me say: it drives me crazy! I’m like a happy child when I have it!
As I mentioned before, I use Prozis products (you can use the code COACHGABRY to save 10%); you can find this (and more) recipe on my YouTube channel Coach Gabry.
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
If you care about something, give it time, even little, but make sure you do it every day so the habit you create will be stronger than any circumstance.
Going to the gym is part of my routine right now, I don’t need any “extra” motivation. I like to set my goals and that’s what I do with physical goals too; I planned every step of my “path”, I know what it takes to achieve the goals I fixed and so I know what to do, this is my motivation, the final and bigger picture.
A trick that helps me to stay on track is meditation (and visualization), I meditate every morning to calm my mind from anxiety and thoughts, so I can clear it and have awareness of what I am going to do that day.
Making training an important part of my day is now a ritual for me so, as I said before, I don’t need external motivation, but only motivations from within; I created a strong habit and that’s what allows me to go on.
My personal way of improving myself as an athlete is increasing the intensity, the loads and the “thoughness” of my training session; and that becomes possible because i track my progresses on my block notes (so i can check them later) and i eat to perform at my best.
Eating the right way is fundamental to continue improving; that’s why i include a meals program in my Online Coaching Sessions (you can find me at [email protected] if you want to have further information).
The biggest challenge I faced was to start again after an injury that turned me away from training for more than six months. It was a “psycho-somatic” injury, due to personal events that caused me a huge amount of stress, which led me to a wild hormonal reaction and forced me to stop. I came out of it through meditation and through the strong habit I created before.
So, my suggestion is: If you care about something, give it time, even little, but make sure you do it every day so the habit you create will be stronger than any circumstance.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
The sensation you feel when you get out of your comfort zone is one of the best I have ever felt.
I am in off-season period at the moment so I am trying to improve my maximal strength on powerlifting movements and my technique on weightlifting exercises; for example, i’m doing a huge amount of snatches, snatch pull, overhead squat and so on.
My main goal as an athlete is qualifying and competing in other CrossFit Couple Challenges around Europe and outside Europe, with Mariaelena, so we can combine two big passion of us: Training and traveling.
As a coach, my main goal is to create a big CrossFit Box with a mix of athletes who compete and people who just want to train, get in shape and have fun.
I also want to become a great online coach so I can help and inspire lots of people around the world; this way I would give my contribution to make this world a healthier and fitter one.
I planned to do it in the next five years and I am already moving towards my goal; three big things I’m doing right now are:
- Studying for CrossFit Trainer Level-2 Certification;
- Studying for Precision Nutrition Coach Certification;
- Helping many people as Online Coach through one to one coaching sessions, groups challenges and YouTube videos.
The thing I would change if I start over in this journey is just start earlier sharing my passion to the people and don’t shy away. The sensation you feel when you get out of your comfort zone is one of the best I have ever felt.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
Exception made for the injury mentioned before, I have never suffered any injury; I try to avoid them doing a good warm up, generally around 15 minutes, and stretching my body after training to recover faster.
I also sleep around seven to eight hours per night because I believe sleep is fundamental for recovery and for a lot of other reasons.
Before sleeping, I practice few minutes of breath-work to calm the mind and then I read for at least 20-30 minutes; no phone, no television, no socials, just reading to allow my body and mind to get ready for the night.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
Talking about diet, I follow an intermittent fasting routine that consists of 15-16 hours of fasting and eight to nine hours of eating window. I started this practice in 2016 for health reasons and I never abandoned it, it helped me a lot with the systemic inflammation after my injury and it sticks pretty good to my routine.
It’s important to eat a lot of water during the fasting window to help the body to perform its functions and it makes you feel full or don’t suffer hunger.
Generally, I plan my meals and my macronutrients intake, I am around 2800kcal per day right now and I use an app called MyFitnessPal to track them.
As I mentioned before, I eat to perform and my goal is to stay lean all the year, exception made for the summer time, when I usually try to get a bit more shredded LOL.
I concentrate the bulk of the calories in meals around the workout, especially in the post workout meal.
I don’t have any planned cheat meals because I would rather eat 90% clean and leave a small place for little treats everyday; this strategy allows me to stay on track without any kind of problem.
If there is any social event (birthdays, dinners with friends, etc.), I would only think about enjoying them without firm restrictions or guilt sense; a trick I take is to stay lighter in the other meals of the day and maybe the next day (if the dinner was particularly heavy).
I use supplements such as protein powder and omega-3, I buy them on Prozis and i’m pretty much happy of their quality; on this website I buy many other products and healthy food, such as lean protein burgers, rolled oats, protein bars, peanut butter (which is my favourite product!) and many others. If you want to take a look, remember you can save 10% with the code COACHGABRY.
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
My inspiration comes everyday from within, through my meditation and visualization session; when you create a specific plan you just need to stick to it precisely and the habit will be more reliable than motivation (because it can go up and down).
It’s simple but actually not easy so when I need any motivation, I rely on books and speaking or technique sessions.
If I were to name a few I would point to “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, motivational speaking of Conor McGregor (especially when I talk about law of attraction) and Joe Rogan’s Podcast. Another man in fitness who really inspires me is Ido Portal and his movement culture.
I usually listen to the music when I train, it’s always different but my favourite one is the Folk-Rock music or something like Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rise Against.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
Create a plan and then follow it!
If I were new to fitness and training i’d look for a sort of “mentor” or a coach, someone who can help me at the beginning of the path, someone who shows me the right execution of the movements and the right structure of a training session, so I can workout safely, avoiding injuries.
I said that because sometimes you see at the gym people training without awareness of what they’re doing; I remember that day I saw a guy doing loads of repetition of heavy deadlift with his back completely bent and crooked that I thought it could break at any moment. This is definitely one of the most stupid things I have seen as I believe in “Technique First!”.
If I should suggest just one thing to people who train it would be: Create a plan and then follow it! You should know your goal first, then you create the right path to achieve it; so train with purpose! If you do not have the skills to do it properly, then rely on an expert coach.
So train with purpose and aim for progress, not perfection; one little step at the time (or, as I like to say, “one brick each day” and you will build a great wall!). This is true for “gym life” but also for everyday life, outside the gym.
My best hack (and it’s not that easy most of the times) is to enjoy the present moment, living “here and now” and celebrating everyday’s little milestones and achievements.
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
I’m currently taking on clients, both “real-life” clients and online ones, over the internet.
I’m doing it because my purpose is to help as many people as possible to achieve their fitness goals.
That’s why i created different coaching sessions: real life one-to-one, real life group sessions, online one-to-one and online group sessions.
We start working together for at least five weeks so clients can see their first progresses, but most of the time the collaboration goes on much longer because they actually trust the process.
The continuous availability and constant support I give my customers so they never feel alone or abandoned is the most appreciated thing by them.
The most common training (and fitness in general) question i get is: “How long it takes to achieve my goal?” (and they mean precisely!); my answer is always: “Stick to the plan and be patient! If you do that, you shouldn’t worry about it”.
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
If i you want to learn more about me, you can find me on my website (still in progress but already active), on my instagram page @coachgabrielflaherty, and on my YouTube Channel Coach Gabry.
0 thoughts on “I Love Training! This is My Plan to Become a Better CrossFit Coach”
I think you are doing a great job, for both you and your cross fitters students.
Go on like this, Gabry …BEST COACH EVER????
Thank you very much Giulia! So glad you appreciate my job, it’s guided by passion!
Thank you very much! 🙂 a big hug!