Brantford Member of the Month July 2025 - Emily Ruddick

Tell us about yourself!

This question is always so hard to answer. My name is Emily and I like most anything to do with anything. 

I have been married almost 9 years, have one fantastic kiddo (age 4) and one of the best dogs ever (age 10). 

I come from a health care oriented family and followed suit becoming nurse (11 years now). My biggest passion is anything water related; spending time in or around the water is definitely my happy place. I am naturally introverted and it takes a bit of time to warm up to people/places. The introvert mixed with my unfortunate case of resting ***** face makes meeting people a little difficult but Alchemy has become a second home and a comfort place (as long as it is at 5 am ) 

What got you into crossfit?

I have always been an active person but with some pregnancy complications came a lot of doing nothing which then became a bad habit. My cousin has been into CrossFit for a number of years and finally after watching enough of her Instagram stories and talking about it SJ did some research into local CrossFit gyms and here we are. 

What do you like about Alchemy?

You become part of a family very quickly. There is a very welcoming atmosphere even with the sleep deprived 5am crew.

What has been your proudest moment at Alchemy?

It actually isn't a moment for me but for SJ and it was more of a mix of pride and envy. 

He got his first muscle up the last week of June and that was very cool to see but the competitive side in me is jealous.

What are your Crossfit goals for the future?

See above....to get my own muscle up.

If you could design the perfect workout, what would it include?

A hyrox type running/cardio based workout but with some ab work thrown in and maybe some muscle up work (because goals).

What's the biggest change you've seen in yourself since you started Crossfit?

Despite waking up at 4:30 to workout at 5am, I have more energy through the day and just feel more mentally prepared for the day. 

When you're not at the gym, what's your favourite thing to do?

Anything active. I love to go mountain biking or any water activity (scuba diving, wake boarding or floating)

What’s your favourite food spot? Doesn't matter where it is

See now this is a very complicated question. Nothing can beat my dads home cooking so I guess that would be my favourite but if we are talking restaurants, I would have to say Counterpart Brewery in Niagra (I highly recommend the chicken sandwich).