Sharon Ong (#ONGSTRONG) is a force to be reckoned with. She has been with us at the gym for over 2 years, but has been chasing fitness for much longer, and has built an impressive arsenal of strength, skills, and a killer mindset. Even though she needs to leave Kingston often for work, Sharon is an integral part of the CFQS community and 6:30am crew, bringing her intelligent approach, sharp humour, and huge capacity for kindness. Read below to learn about how Sharon finds balance in her life, fights negativity, and what her goals are for her fitness going forward.

How has the gym changed in the time you have been here? Since I first stepped foot into CFQS, I have seen big changes from the gym layout- from when there was still an existing stage, to new wall paint colours and décor, staff changes and community growth. I had about a year in between finishing my drop-in sessions to when I moved to Kingston and a lot of change happened in that year, so it was pretty cool to see the growth and changes to a gym and community.

How would you characterize your growth as an athlete since joining the gym? When I joined the gym, I would say I had a pretty good base knowledge of fitness and health within CrossFit. In the last two years, my growth as an athlete has been focusing on the little things to improve my movement. Whether it be in Olympic lifts, gymnastic movements, strength or even my endurance. I think continuing to be realistic in my goals and also being patient continued in my growth as an athlete to make sure that I celebrate my successes no matter how big or small it is.

What does a day-in-the life look like for you these days? With my work, a have a day-in-the life while I’m in Kingston and when I’m away, it's so unpredictable. 

When I’m in Kingston, this is my usual:
6:00 - Wake up, change, brush teeth, get my things 
6:15 - Leave for the gym
6:30 - CrossFit Queen Street WOD Class
7:30-8:15 - Extra work (Olympic lifts/gymnastics/strength work)
8:30- ~17:00 - I shower and eat breakfast at work and finish my work day
~17:30 - Home, make supper, eat and get ready for the next day, including prepping my meals, change of clothes and whatever else. I also usually have an hour where I don't do much and unwind by watching some shows or hanging out with Peter. 
22:00 - I'm in bed and probably asleep five minutes later. 

When I’m not in Kingston and away, I try very hard to workout at least once a day whether I drop in to a CrossFit gym, go for a run or do an outdoor activity depending on the nature of why I am away.

What do you eat on a typical day? What are your nutrition priorities? Oh man, this is a tough question to answer simply. I guess on a typical day I would normally eat yogurt and granola or something like eggs, protein pancakes or hash and corn beef for breakfast after my morning workout. They are never big meals which I counter with lots of snacks throughout the day with either fruit, granola bars and sour candy for a pick me up. For lunch, I usually have leftovers from the night before so it's quite similar to my dinners. It really varies depending on my mood but I would say I usually have a starch whether it be rice, quinoa or sweet potato then I will have it with some marinated chicken breast, salmon or a ground meat option then I will have some veggies from broccoli, string beans, mushrooms, or carrots. 

I love food so it's hard for me to have the same thing over and over again. When it comes to nutrition, I prioritize moderation and enjoyment. I understand that not all food is good for the body but a little bit won't do any harm as long as there is balance. I LOVEEE chips but I usually control it by placing it in a regular sized bowl and put the rest of the bag away before I start eating. 

Peter and I also love to eat out when we can and we try to minimize it as the expenses increase but we do like to indulge and have fun too :)

What improvements have you made in the past 6 months that you are most proud of? In the last six months, I would say that I have definitely decreased the amount of alcoholic drinks and sleep usually 7-8 hours per night when work permits. I normally don't drink that much anyways to begin with but I've been able to resist when there is peer pressure and still have a good time with friends and family.

What would you consider to be your greatest strength as an athlete? I think my greatest strength as an athlete is my mindset to keep me level and realistic. I push myself hard when I can and I understand my situation when I cannot. I try not to be negative on my abilities knowing that my routine is not always the same but I always try my hardest to improve my skills with the time and space that I have. I love encouraging people who want to improve their fitness whether it be at the CrossFit gym or outside of that community. I like to make sure that my training as an athlete is fun so that other people around me can also have fun at the same time.

What are your current training goals? What are your current life goals? My current training goals are to maintain my current fitness skills and strength ability. With my line of work, my schedule can be so unpredictable that I want to keep working out when I can and be ready physically whenever I deploy overseas. It helps to know that I don't have to worry about my physical abilities when I consistently work on it when I'm at home. 

With regards to specific skills goals, gymnastics skills with HS walking, linking ring MUs and butterfly CTBs and I can always work on Olympic lifting skills. I LOVE OLYMPIC LIFTING :) 

My life goals are to be a badass, fit and strong Mom. I want to be an amazing partner-in-crime to Peter and enjoy life together by learning, helping, doing good things and teaching all of these things to our future kids. Sounds super cliché but those are my goals :)

Do you have a particularly memorable or challenging workout to share? My memorable workouts are with my 6:30am class. I love the energy everyone brings and the encouragement that comes along with it. No matter the skill level, scale or Rx, everyone cheers everyone just as much making sure that we don't give up and finish the workout.

How do you see fitness fitting into your life long term (beyond our community? I see myself doing CrossFit for a long time. Since joining CrossFit for the first time in Saskatoon at CrossFit Brio South, I realized how I can incorporate fitness into my life even when I think about starting a family. That was a very hard concept for me to understand as I never saw it happen in my surroundings. I saw amazing, strong and energetic female coaches and members who were moms or mom-to-be's crush workouts (Smartly) and show us young folks that you can still take care of yourself even though you are going to or have children already. I will continue to do Fitness because I enjoy the community and I have such a great time with like-minded people. I really call it my social hour. Some people like to go out dancing on a Friday night, well I love to get a good sweat in with my friends at 6:30am. Plus who says I can't dance at 6:30 am? =P