Emirati CrossFitter Shahad Budebs doesn’t shy away from telling women - “Let’s get bulky”.  Because getting swole is exactly what will get you to the top of the sport. The four-time Fittest in the UAE athlete sits down with us in-studio days before she dives into her intense training for the  CrossFit Games semi-finals in June.

The 28-year-old, who only began CrossFit in 2017 after being on the UAE National football team and the UAE athletics team, has had a meteoric rise in world rankings. In just five years, she went  from 34,506th worldwide and 90th in the UAE, to 257th worldwide, 7th in Asia and 1st in the UAE according to CrossFit.

She tells us what it takes for an athlete to move up the ranks in the game and the support this requires from family and sponsors. Shahad talks about her drive to keep growing in the sport and why she’ll make every sacrifice to raise the flag of her country at the games. She also addresses common misconceptions that women have about the sport.

We, Dawn and Afshan, met in a CrossFit class, so this episode brought back fond and painful memories of squatting 20kg barbells and doing burpees over bars. We hope you enjoy!

To follow Shahad’s journey, head to @shahad.budebs

Find her rankings and all about the CrossFit Games on games.crossfit.com

Today’s episode was supported by the awesome and adventurous team at Deep Dive Dubai, the world’s deepest pool. Check them out for some truly awe-inspiring scuba and freedive experiences. Visit www.deepdivedubai.com

Our wider support team for this episode includes Editor JJ Thompson and our Artwork is by the talented Alexandra Hickey of Studio Theodore.

For more info,  visit www.themettleset.com , and follow us on @themettleset

Dawn & Afshan

@dawnable

@afshahmed