Stacy O’Reilly recalls her first workout with CrossFit more than two years ago; she found herself unable to do a single pull-up. “It kicked my butt,” she says with a chuckle. “But I took that as my personal challenge to work hard at it and find the fit, athletic person in me.” Since that first workout, O’Reilly has lost more than 30 pounds, eliminated her risk of diabetes, and can now do pull-ups “like a crazy person,” she says.
Her fitness success is due in no small part to CrossFit, a fitness program that offers group and individual coaching in workouts that are made up of broad and constantly varied movements (like pushing, pulling, squatting and lifting) performed at high intensities. “It’s no-nonsense,” says O’Reilly. “I go work out for an hour and I go home.”
This past summer, O’Reilly finished seventh in the world in her age group (she turned 46 in July) at the CrossFit Games, described as “the world’s premier test to find the fittest on Earth.” Held in Los Angeles, the games are a series of timed workouts, similar to those in regular CrossFit classes, held over the course of three days.
While the workout is a commitment, for O’Reilly, who is the owner of Plunkett’s Pest Control, it’s a no-brainer. “It’s important for me to be consistent with it because I feel fantastic,” she exclaims. And her enthusiasm is clearly contagious; her 5-year-old son William recently started CrossFit Kids.
O’Reilly’s one-hour-a-day, five-days-a-week indoor CrossFit workouts keep her in great shape year-round, but she also focuses on eating vegetables and avoiding sweets during these comfort-food-filled especially in the winter months. She also plays backyard hockey with William, though she admits she’s certainly not the seventh-best hockey player in the world.
