Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

Tyler Knott Gregson said it best when he said, “It is in herself she will find the strength, the strength she needs.” Women are powerful, beautiful, courageous, and resilient, and Christy Vargas Jaccuzzo has embraced these traits as she’s challenged herself for over a decade.

She started her fitness journey ten years ago with Crossfit Houma, looking for something different. She got married and eventually became pregnant with her daughter. During maternity leave, she decided that she wanted a different workout program. After having her daughter via C-section, she was cleared to work out after 12 weeks, and she made the switch to Crossfit Homebrew. She set her goals, started moving forward, and prioritized a healthy lifestyle.

Christy started competing locally when her daughter was a baby. She didn’t think about going out of state for competitions until after she had her second child, a boy, in 2018. She set a goal and wanted to push her body to see what it was capable of after coming back from having a second child, and being in her thirties.  “Coming back and wanting to see how far my body could go, I pushed into the competition world,” she said. After meeting friends through mutual friends at her gym, the ladies created a team and went on to compete in the Emerald Coast Throwdown, a fitness competition in Florida.

“Emerald Coast wound up being one of the best competitions any of us has done. The energy there, and the whole dynamic were amazing,” Christy explained. The competition team consisted of herself, Kylie Dufrene, Taylor Pickard, and Whitney Champagne. When one of the original team members got injured, Taylor was asked to join in. The women worked well together and Christy said it was like they have all known each other forever. “We ended up taking first place in our division and winning the whole thing for that specific competition,” Christy said.

Believing in the Crossfit lifestyle of fitness and nutrition Christy adds that Crossfit also has a family dynamic. Crossfit promotes the magic of movement and different workouts every day.  The workout can be modified to each person and level. According to Crossfit’s website, Crossfit is a lifestyle characterized by safe, effective exercise and sound nutrition. Crossfit can be used to accomplish any goal, from improved health to weight loss to better performance. The program works for everyone — people who are just starting and people who have trained for years. 

Christy encourages anyone that wants  to become a better athlete or version of themselves to just start somewhere. She explains that Crossfit has so many different levels that you can begin where you need to. “That’s what’s so good about Crossfit is that it meets you where you’re at and it’s up to you how far you want to take it,” she said.  How hard you want to push yourself is your only limit. 

While embracing the Crossfit competition scene, Christy says that community that it brings means the most to her. “It’s not just the camaraderie, it’s the family dynamic that it brings to the community and competitions. Whether it’s an individual workout or fun competitions within the gym, it brings us together,” she explains. 

Christy added, “It’s never too late to begin your own fitness journey- it’s just that: a journey. If I can be in the ‘prime’ of my fitness married, two kids later, a full-time job, and in my mid 30’s, then you can start too. We all have to prioritize our life to fit our journey. What matters to you? My health and fitness matter to me- with a little friendly competition to go along with it!”

Image by Christopher Ellender