Stacie Tovar

Stacie Tovar is an American fitness model, training coach, and former professional CrossFit athlete. With eight CrossFit Games behind her, Stacie is one of the longest standing veterans in the sport.

Growing up in a small village of 700 people, Stacie worked on her family’s farm as a child – learning the value of hard work from an early age. This is something that carried onto her CrossFit career, where she displayed a remarkable dedication and discipline to reach the top.

Between 2009 and 2014, she took part in all but one CrossFit Games contest, winning numerous prizes along the way. In her last CrossFit competition in 2017, Stacie received a standing ovation from the crowd. This just shows the impact she’s left in the sport.

Although she’s now retired from competitive CrossFit, Stacie still follows the same philosophy towards training and life, which is; “I want to hold myself to these same high standards and help others along the way. I want to motivate women and men alike to be a better version of themselves.”

This is her story:

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Athlete Statistics

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“As a Professional CrossFit Athlete, my goal was always constant – I wanted to compete at the highest level possible and have fun doing it, all while continuing to be a positive force in the CrossFit community. When it was all said and done I wanted to be remembered as a hardworking, talented athlete. Ultimately, I wanted to redefine strength as beauty.”

Accomplishments

2009

• 5th Place CrossFit Games Rocky Mountain Regional
• 36th Place CrossFit Games Final

2010

• 2nd Place CrossFit Games Rocky Mountain Regional
  
• 14th Place CrossFit Games Final

2011

• 1st Place CrossFit Games North Central Regional
  
• 37th Place CrossFit Games Final

2012

• 2nd Place CrossFit Games North Central Regional
  
• 12th Place CrossFit Games Final

2013

• 2nd Place CrossFit Games North Central Regional
  
• 20th Place CrossFit Games Final

2014

• 3rd Place Individual East Coast Championships
  
• 1st Place Team East Coast Championships (S. Tovar, E. Akinwale, R. Froning, C. Spealler)
  
• 1st Place Garage Games Battle in the Bluffs
  
• 6th Place CrossFit Games North Central Regional
  
• 1st Place Crush Games
  
• 4th Place Granite Games
  
• 1st Place Team CrossFit Team Series (S.Tovar, E. Bridgers, B. Smith, S. Panchik)

2015

• 2nd Place Team WODAPALOOZA (S. Tovar, M. Vollmer, J. Zambruno)
  
• 4th Place Individual East Coast Championships
  
• 5th Place Team East Coast Championships (S. Tovar, E. Akinwale, R. Froning, C. Spealler)
  
• 3rd Place CrossFit Games Central Regional
  
• 11th Place CrossFit Games Final
  
• 1st Place Team CrossFit Team Series (S.Tovar, E. Bridgers, B. Smith, P. Tremblay)
  
• 5th Place Dubai Fitness Championships

2016

• 2nd Place Team WODAPALOOZA (S. Tovar, L. Fisher, M. Vollmer)
  
• 2nd Place CrossFit Games Central Regional
  
• 28th Place CrossFit Games Final
  
• 1st Place Team CrossFit Team Series (S.Tovar, E. Bridgers, B. Smith, S. Panchik)

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Biography

Stacie’s Early Childhood

Stacie Tovar grew up in a small agricultural community in North-Eastern Nebraska. As the second oldest child, she was tasked with working on her family’s farm. Because of this, she quickly learned the value of hard work and the skills necessary to move towards her goals in life.

Outside of her farm chores, Stacie enjoyed playing sports. Whenever she had the free time, she’d take the opportunity to play with her friends or siblings. These activities made Stacie strong and athletic. So much so, she often beat the boys in her class in most sports and activities.

Scholarship in Volleyball

As the years passed, Stacie’s passion for sports kept growing stronger. During high school, she became a multi-sport athlete, receiving scholarship offers in volleyball and track.

She accepted the offer for volleyball and went on to play for the University of Nebraska Ohama. After four years of undergrad school, she graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Physical Education.

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Unforgettable CrossFit Workout

In 2008, over a year after completing her education and leaving sports behind, Stacie was suggested to try CrossFit. Eager to try a new sport, she decided to give it a shot.

She remembers her first CrossFit workout as “nothing short of unforgettable.” As Stacie described, “it involved deadlifts and box jumps and I was unable to finish the workout. I even scaled the weights and movements as many that are new to CrossFit often do.”

Despite the outcome of her first CrossFit workout, it wasn’t long before Stacy became ‘hooked’ on the sport. From there, she began training in CrossFit regularly – gradually building a body that represented her new lifestyle.

Chasing CrossFit Full-Time

Stacie’s experience in CrossFit was amazing. She not only became stronger and leaner, she also ‘re-ignited’ her competitive desire from her college days. One thing led to another, and Stacy soon left her corporate job behind to pursue her passion for competitive CrossFit.

She says this decision was “the best decision of my life as every day I feel blessed to have found the CrossFit methodology and the amazing CrossFit community.”

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Eight CrossFit Games

Throughout the years, Stacie became known as one of the most longstanding athletes in CrossFit, with eight competitive Games under her belt. She competed in almost every CrossFit Games between 2009 and 2014, displaying the discipline and tenacity to make it to the top.

After her final CrossFit Games in 2017, Stacie was invited to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from her Alma Mater University. She ended her competitive CrossFit career in the most cheerful way possible, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd in Madison Wisconsin.

Trainer, CrossFit Athlete, and Fitness Model

Today, Stacie is known as a CrossFit coach, online influencer, and fitness model. She leads a busy life, traveling to work with clients, business partners, and modeling companies.

Amidst all the duties and work, Stacie also makes sure to spend some quality time with her family and friends. As she says; “you’ll find me hanging with my husband, Dustin, and my 70-pound Double-Doodle pup, Louden. If the sun is shining, you’ll most likely find me outside being active, sunbathing, grilling, or relaxing with some friends by the lake.”

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Training

Grueling and Intense Training

Stacie’s workout program changes depending on her goals. When she competed in CrossFit, she trained six or seven days a week. It wasn’t unusual for her sessions to last over two hours. Everything was grueling and intense, especially her strength workouts.

“I think strength training is the hardest part of my training. It takes time, focus and a super strong mentality.

Now that she doesn’t compete anymore, Stacie still trains hard, but her workouts are much more flexible and laid-back. If she feels like she needs to take a break, she’ll take it. Since she hasn’t to prepare for competitions anymore, Stacie is able to stay much more relaxed with her training.

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Stacie Tovar’s Weekly Workout Plan

Here’s how Stacie’s training plan looked when she trained for CrossFit Games;

Monday

• 15 – 30 minutes of mobility exercises for warm-up
• 30Box jumps 24″
• 25-30 Power cleans (127#)
• 30 Box jumps 24″

Strength

• Back squat: 5×5 @225lbs on a 3:00 clock
• Deadlift: 5×1 @309lbs on a 0:30 – 0:45 clock

WOD

• For time:
  • 21-15-9 Atlas stone to shoulder
  • 42-30-18 calories on rower

Tuesday

• Rest and mobilize.

Wednesday

Strength

• Front squat: 3×3 @ 240lbs on a 3:30 clock
• Push Press: 6×2 @ 193lbs with minimal rest between

WOD

• For time:
  • Buy In: 20 x 20-yard yoke carry sprints with 0: 15-second rest between sets. Increase weight each set. Rest 10 minutes.
  • 200 double unders
  • 200 thrusters (trainer kettlebells)
  • Swim 200 meters
  • Buy Out: Endurance swim for 15 minutes

Thursday

• Gymnastics Skill Work

Olympic Weightlifting

• Power snatch on 0:30 clock:
  • 3×2 @ 133lbs
  • 3×1 @ 138lbs
  • 3×1 @ 143lbs

WOD

• For Time:
  • 9-7-5 Strict muscle up
  • 9-7-5 Squat cleans @ 123lbs

Friday

Strength

• Press: 5×5 @ 99lbs on a 3:00 clock

WOD

• For time:
  • 21-15-9 Deadlift @159lbs
  • 15-12-9 Overhead squat @123lbs
  • 9-6-3 Freestanding handstand push up

WOD

• Hang Power Snatch: 5×1 on a 2:00 clock. Increase weight each set.
• 75 ring dips for time

Saturday

Tabata

• Air squats
• Double unders
• Chest-to-bar pull-ups
• Sit-ups
• Power cleans 95lbs

Olympic Weightlifting

• Squat clean and split jerk @203lbs on a 2:30 clock

WOD

• 10 Rounds for time:
  • 3 Shoulder to overhead @95lbs
  • 21 Double unders

Sunday

• 5 reps max bench press

WOD

• For Time:
  • 40-30-20-10 GHD sit-ups
  • 40-30-20-10 Back extensions
  • 4-3-2-1 Deficit parallel handstand push-up

 

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Stacie Tovar’s transformation in CrossFit.

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“I am always trying to get stronger and typically my strength sessions include heavy sets with a 5×5 or 3×3 rep scheme. I’m always back squatting heavy, dead-lifting heavy and working heavy cleans.”

Nutrition

Paleo vs. High-Carb

During her competitive days, Stacie ate mainly a paleo diet. She consumed high-fat and high-protein food sources, such as beef, avocados, olive oil, and coconut oil. The food groups that she avoided were dairy, grains, and rice.

However, Stacie later started experimenting with adding more carbs to her diet. To her positive surprise, this improved her results. Her muscles were filled with glycogen from all the carbs, resulting in more intense and longer workouts.

Because of this, Stacie doesn’t restrict herself too much with calories anymore. She eats what she needs, when she needs. In her words; “I’m now Zone-paleo, and I’ll stick with this a long time. As an athlete, I have more energy. Elite athletes have to do what’s best for them. If that’s eating ice cream, eat ice cream. I have a cheat day, I’ll drink some red wine.” – Stacie Tovar

Her diet nowadays includes lots of vegetables, meat, healthy fats, and some bread. She allows herself a couple of ‘cheat’ meals every week to replenish any nutrients lost through her intense workouts.

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Idols and Influences

Stacie Tovar is proud that she’s inspired other women to lift weights and eat healthily. She continues to work hard on her goal of redefining strength as beauty – showing everyone that girls who lift heavy can look awesome too.

In terms of her own inspirations, one of them is her husband. It was him who encouraged Stacie to give CrossFit a try in 2008. Since then, she’s never looked back.

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What we can learn from Stacie Tovar

Stacie Tovar has always known the value of hard work and dedication to make her goals a reality. From a child who worked on her family’s farm, to a competitive CrossFit athlete. Stacie loves her journey and success that’s been brought with it.

She’s inspired by the community of athletes who train together and push each other to accomplish their goals. This is what first inspired her to compete in CrossFit.

While she doesn’t compete professionally anymore, Stacie still keeps the same mindset – driven to be the best person she can be, while helping others in whatever way she can.

If there’s anything we could learn from Stacie Tovar, it would be this; your consistency determines how far you’ll get in anything that you do in life.