Gladiators Star Sabre, aka Sheli McCoy, in Two-Piece Workout Gear Says "CrossFit Changed My Body...and Life"

Sheli McCoy, also known as Sabre from Gladiators, is a fitness expert whose dedication to CrossFit and other sports has not only transformed her physique but also her mindset. In a recent Instagram post, McCoy shared how CrossFit helped her break free from societal expectations, allowing her to embrace her athleticism with pride. “CrossFit changed my body, yes … but more importantly, it changed my mindset and thankfully my life,” she writes. Beyond CrossFit, McCoy enjoys surfing and golf, constantly pushing herself to improve in these areas. She’s become an advocate for being comfortable in your own skin and staying strong, mentally and physically. Her approach to fitness is both empowering and inspirational.

1. She Does CrossFit

As McCoy mentioned in her Instagram post, she likes to do CrossFit to stay in shape. Dignity Health reports that the exercise has a lot of benefits. “There's a reason CrossFit is so popular: Its workouts do a great job getting people in shape. Participants are drawn to the competitive atmosphere and camaraderie that their box's WODs foster. But CrossFit isn't just for the athletically inclined: People of all fitness levels and walks of life can participate in the training, although some WODs may need to be modified for beginners. Practitioners attribute their fast transformations to CrossFit's high-intensity and continuously changing workouts. Training consists of compound exercises to build cardiovascular endurance, strength, flexibility, speed, and balance while burning more calories per minute than traditional weight-training activities. In addition to body-weight movements, the program utilizes a variety of equipment -- from barbells and medicine balls to jump ropes and elastic bands -- as part of its daily WODs.”

2. She’s Comfortable With Her Body

McCoy has learned to be comfortable with her body. She talked about this in the caption of her Instagram post. “No longer chained to the idea my body must look a certain way to fit in. My body must be frail, small and soft in order to be feminine …. Gladly detaching myself from “cute” “sweet” and “girly” as the only desirable traits and instead…Becoming less concerned with the opinions of others and more considerate of how I feel about myself. Sports taught me more about myself and how to be happy in my own skin than societal norms, current trends or beauty industry standards ever could. And so I’ll say again … I’m proud that my physique , my fitness , muscle and general athleticism isn’t your cup of tea … I’d rather be someone’s shot of whiskey anyways 😘”

3. She Works Hard

McCoy makes sure to work hard when it comes to her fitness. She also talked about this in her Instagram post’s caption. “Learning how amazing my body can preform when I apply effort. Pushing limits to develop my resilience to overcome any hardship - not just sporting challenges. Celebrating daily progress in skills and fitness over weight loss and clothing sizes - being proud of my body muscle and finally not ashamed I ‘looked like a man’ (thanks kids at high school 👍🏼)”

4. She Surfs

McCoy loves to surf to keep herself in shape. She shared this photo on Instagram of herself with her board in Dubai. She captioned the post, “T Minus 4 weeks until I’m back with the Turf Games Team in Dubai for The Fittest In The City comp and I can’t wait !!” Better Health states that surfing is very beneficial. “Surfing provides many health benefits including: cardiovascular fitness – from paddling, shoulder and back strength – these muscles will strengthen from the paddling, leg and core strength – once you’re standing up on the board, strong legs and a strong core will keep you up.”

5. She Plays Golf

McCoy loves to play golf to stay in shape. She even installed a golf net in her backyard, and revealed this in this Instagram post’s caption. “If I’m doing something… I’m DOING it 🤣😂 this is my toxic trait guys. So, unsurprisingly I’ve went and set up the @golfbays Eazy Golf net and Hitting mat in my spare outdoor gym space so that I can learn a little faster and progress with plenty of practice !! Lucky all the lads are thrilled to have a shot before and after classes too !! The net was so easy to put together and the mat is a dream to hit from. The aim for me right now if to find a consistent swing pattern and with some help from my golf coaches I’ll have drills to improve set parts of my game 😃🙌🏻⛳️🏌️‍♂️”