The balancing act
Wife, mom, professional, elite CrossFitter. Yes, Tonia Osborne proves that with dedication, sacrifice and a solid support system, you can do it all.
inding balance is tough as a mother with a full-time job. And it's damn near impossible to do while training as an elite athlete. Yet CrossFit athlete Tonia Osborne, 45, competes in the masters women's 45-49 age division while being a mother of two and working full time as a program manager at Panasonic Avionics Corp.
As the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games kick off Tuesday in Carson, California, Osborne -- who finished first in the open portion of the games for the Southern California region, and ranked second overall in the masters qualifier -- is a serious threat to win her division.
"I never thought I'd be where I am today with this career and this sport," says Osborne, who placed fifth in the 40-44 age division at last year's Games.
Hailing from Racine, Wisconsin, Osborne competed in gymnastics until the age of 18, and it was those similar elements of CrossFit -- muscle-ups, handstand pushups -- that drew her to the sport nearly five years ago.
Now, the 5-foot-2, 140-pound competitor credits the mental and physical preparation of that early gymnastics career with her success at a later age -- something she hopes could empower others. "Hopefully, I'm inspiring to other people," Osborne says. "If I can do it, they can do it."
"I've been athletic throughout my whole life," Tonia Osborne says. "After my second child, I was feeling stagnant and wanted a challenge. There was this new thing called CrossFit, so I tried it and loved it right away."
Handstand walks are one of the CrossFit elements that uses Osborne's gymnastics skills. She competed as an elite gymnast until the grind became too much. "As I got older, injuries and fear factor kind of deterred me from wanting to [compete] any further."
Osborne squeezes in at least two workouts each day -- one at lunch, one after work, and sometimes a third whenever it fits best.
"Most athletes get down time after a hard workout. I don't get to go relax or recover. I have to go get birthday presents, take the kids to activities -- I'm constantly moving."
"I've really tried to make my workout schedule around when the kids aren't home, so that I can be home with them."
"We enjoy being together and doing family things, especially on the weekends when we're all around and don't have activities."
"In CrossFit, there's a lot of strong-man stuff. You lift heavy stuff. It's taxing, but it really focuses on stabilization and your core."
Osborne prioritizes her family and her kids as much as possible. She says they're an active group and will go swimming, go to theme parks and movies, and love to play games together.
"The expectation is high. If I'm not first and instead am second or third, then that's what it is, as long as I feel like I did the best that I could."
The CrossFit Games are held outside of the StubHub Center in Carson, California, in the hot Southern California sun. Osborne has been training outside, but it still makes her a bit nervous. "It's an element you can't really predict."
"The community of CrossFit really makes a difference. The support and the friendship really drew me in."
Osborne works as a program manager at Panasonic Avionics. She often takes conference calls in the morning and during breaks for her workouts to fit everything into her daily schedule.
"I have a great support system. I have my husband who supports me, and a live-in nanny who helps with the kids. She's been with us for six years, so she's a part of the family. They help me with my time management and the house and just the day-to-day stuff."
"I don't want to have any regrets. I have this opportunity and I'm going to go for it."
Osborne is fitted with the NormaTec recovery system, a $3,600 machine that is used in the medical field on dialysis patients to flush out fluids after treatment. It is also popular with elite triathlon and CrossFit athletes for the same reason.
"I'm a mom, a wife, an elite athlete, a professional, a PTA mom, I do it all. But like anything, it takes dedication and sacrifices at times. It's a give-and-take with everything in my life."
"There are a lot of things I would never do if it wasn't for CrossFit. We have track workouts. I don't like running very much, but having people around you creates a little competition, which helps."
"A lot of top CrossFit athletes were high-level athletes in some sport. Obviously gymnastics is one where it translates to CrossFit very easily. There are a ton of gymnastics elements that I was good at right away because of my background."
"I'm a competitive person. I like challenging myself and having something to shoot for. I guess I'm good at [CrossFit]. When you're good at something, you want to put the effort into it and excel at it."
"Being a top athlete at my age is an incredible accomplishment. I started doing this for fitness, but then I thought, 'Why not push myself?' It's empowering as a woman to be able to do all that I do and be successful."
"To be successful, I think you have to have that blind belief in knowing that you can win. You've done the work and put in the time, so why not me? Why can't I win?"
"I want to win this year. It would be the highlight of my career with CrossFit and all the hard work I've put in. Showing that I can win doing all that I do is a good story for people."
