Charity Vale: The running, jumping, lifting, not-so-stay-at-home mom

Published 11:50 pm Monday, September 7, 2009

SNOHOMISH — For many mothers, a full day with the kids — feeding, clothing, laundering and chauffeuring — is all the workout they have time for.

But not Charity Vale of Snohomish. Rather than letting motherhood get in the way of staying in shape, she determined to include regular fitness training with her other daily responsibilities after the birth of her third daughter almost three years ago.

And that dedication paid off in July when Vale placed second at an international competition sponsored by CrossFit, a strength and conditioning program for people of all ages and abilities that includes running, calisthenics, weightlifting and other exercises.

“She is,” said Jeff Vale, her proud husband and coach, “the second-fittest woman on the planet.”

The CrossFit Games were held in mid-July in Aromas, Calif. Seventy-five women and as many men vied for individual titles (there was also a separate team category) in a decathlon-like competition, except these events included such tortuous activities as running up a hill carrying a 35-pound sandbag and throwing a medicine ball at an overhead target on a wall.

“I would have all three of my kids over again on the same day, rather than go through the Games again,” Charity Vale now says with a laugh. “On the first day I thought, ‘Are they trying to weed us out by making us drop?’ It was just crazy.

“I’d gone there with the hopes of getting in the top 10, so I was shocked (to finish second),” she added. “But I think I was more happy to be done than I was to be second.”

Charity Vale, who graduated from Lake Stevens High School in 1994, had been a national-level gymnast as a younger girl, and then went on to play high school and college soccer. She received a physical education degree, and after school began working as a personal trainer.

Then came marriage and motherhood. Wanting to shed some weight and regain some tone after her third child, she took up CrossFit at the urging of her husband, a Seattle firefighter. He had started the program about eight months earlier.

“It took probably a week,” she said, “and I was hooked.”

The regimen typically involves three consecutive days of workouts, followed by a day of rest, and then another three-day series of workouts. The first day might include pull-ups, push-ups and squats for 20 minutes; the second day heavy back squats; and the third day some 400-meter runs and weightlifting. The day’s routine is available on the organization’s Web site.

Over the years, Vale had tried other means of keeping fit, including ellipticals, stationary bikes and other health-club staples.

“I just got really bored with it,” she said. “Bored with doing the same things and with maintaining my same level of fitness.”

Likewise, she played adult-league soccer. “But I feel like if I only did soccer — and soccer is a great sport and I love it — but then my upper body wouldn’t be very fit. I wouldn’t be that strong, I’d be missing fitness, and then I’d have to add to it somewhat.”

The beauty of CrossFit, she said, is the total-body workout. “And for a busy mom that has a lot to do, I’m spoon-fed my workouts. I don’t have to think about what I’m going to do the next day. It’s constantly varied. And I really like how it’s short. They’re usually way faster than an hour in the gym.

“And, it’s got me back in shape after having babies.”

She is undecided if she’ll try again at next summer’s CrossFit Games, though the opportunity to finish first has a certain appeal. But the payoff from her post-pregnancy training is really less about accolades and achievements, and more about some very significant inner rewards.

“Overall, this has made me a healthier person, mentally and physically,” she said. “I just feel better about myself.”