Member Spotlight: Meet Irene Wasilewski

We have some pretty amazing members here and want to share some of them with you.

It’s been sometime now that Irene Wasilewski has been turning coaches and members heads in class. It’s impossible to miss her energy, determination, technical proficiency and last but not least her transformation. Irene has been slaying workouts now for almost two years at Starke and it’s inspiring to see her getting better every day. Here’s what Irene has to say about her training experiences and how she’s grown as a person and athlete…

Starke: What have you learned about yourself doing CrossFit?

I learned I could do more than I thought I could do. Literally, after every single class, I walk out thinking, “wow, didn’t know I could do that, pretty cool”. I’m also an extreme introvert so working out with others has helped me practice getting out of my shell.

Starke: What would you tell someone who is just starting?

Irene: Don’t worry that you’re not the fastest or strongest person in the class. I’m still often the last person to finish an RFT workout but I know that working out with people that are faster and stronger pushes me to do just a little bit more than I would have done if I was working out on my own. And all those people that are faster and stronger very likely spent years working really hard every day to reach their goals. I can reach the same goals if I put in the same effort.

Starke: How has training affected your daily life?

Irene: Starting training at Starke was the spark to start looking at my total health. Along with training most days, I developed better sleeping habits and started to eat better. All 3 of that help reduce my stress and increase my confidence. I also started to explore other physical activities that interested me like hiking. Now I hike most weekends and am normally at the front of the group instead of struggling to keep up like I used to do.

I travel for my job and sitting in an airplane seat for hours as a plus-sized woman was torture. Fitting into an airplane seat a little more comfortably makes traveling a lot less strenuous.

I can do more everyday activities around the house with a lot less pain. I used to have horrible back pain after an afternoon of cleaning my house probably due to lack of core strength. Now I can carry more and be active longer and I rarely get winded or experience my old nagging back pain.