Queens Resident Meg Reardon Competing In 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games

(CBS New York)- There aren't many cooler titles in sports than the ones that come with a "World" or "Earth" tag to them. The winner of the strong man competitions is named the "World's Strongest Man". Winners of the 100m dash at the Olympics are crowned "World's Fastest Man or Woman" respectively. For the CrossFit Games, the title for the winner is "Fittest On Earth" and one local New York resident is taking her shot at gaining that crown.

Queens resident Meg Reardon is in Madison, Wisconsin making her second appearance at the Games as the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games get underway on Thursday.  In her first time out in 2016, she finished 33rd, but placed in the Top 15 of three events including a 3rd place finish in the Suicide Sprint. In the three intervening years between Games appearances, Reardon says she has learned a lot, most importantly, balance both inside and outside the gym.

"I've had to shift my mindset and create the balance because a lot of times athletes do overtrain often," said Reardon. "You're doing the same things and it's very monotonous in the gym every day. So, being able to have that balance and also just have a really good mindset. You have to really enjoy being in the gym and doing these things because otherwise it's not even worth it."

"This year I switched coaches, and have been with a new coach on a new program and being able to find a coach that really understands you and understands what you need is big," continued Reardon. "Then, it's just going in the gym and doing your best every day. That is what has been a big growth process for me the last three years. I was close a couple of times making it back but there were still some things I needed to tweak and fine tune. It has been a really successful year so far and I'm excited to see where it takes us."

The 27-year-old, who trains at CrossFit Queens in Astoria, New York, qualified as both an individual and as part of a team for this year's games. She won the Mid-Atlantic Challenge to earn her individual ticket back in April before joining team Invictus Boston and winning the CrossFit French Throwdown in June. Reardon decided to compete as an individual because she wanted to test herself and take advantage of the opportunity following 2016.

"I think when I qualified that year (2016), I really wasn't expecting much out of it, I was just happy to be there," said Reardon in an interview with CBS Local's Ryan Mayer. "My mindset has shifted now and I'm no longer a rookie. Now, that I'm considered a veteran I want to go out there and really prove to myself that I belong out there so I'm hoping for a Top 10 finish this year."

While CrossFit is a big part of Reardon's life, it is far from the only thing. She owns Wags and Weights, an apparel company for those that love their dogs just as much as they love working out. The idea came to Reardon when she was first starting out in CrossFit in California and she noticed that a lot of members were bringing their dogs to the gym.

"I have a dog whose name is Bey and when I originally got her we brought her to the gym a lot and we realized that CrossFit gyms have gym dogs it's just a normal thing for them," said Reardon. "I wanted to combine my love of fitness and my love of dogs together to create a brand that can kind of revolve around those two things. So, we built up an Instagram just to see if we could get a following and people instantly were hooked. Everybody who loves their dog and loves fitness wants to tell everybody else. So we put those two things together."

Having found balance both inside and outside the gym, Reardon's says her goal is to finish in the Top 10. In order to get there, she'll have to get through a series of cuts that will be happening at this year's games beginning with the first event when the field will be cut down to 75 athletes from the starting 134 women. In order to position herself to reach her goal, Reardon's mindset is simple.

"Be confident in yourself, that's really big. A lot of people are extremely incredible athletes but they get really nervous and you really can't on this type of stage show that," said Reardon. "You have to be really confident walking in and know that you have worked hard enough to get there. Then it comes down to just executing and performing. We have no idea what the events are going to be, we just know each event is going to lead to some type of cut. It's definitely nerve-wracking, but exciting at the same time.

As one of 134 women, Reardon will kickoff the Reebok 2019 CrossFit Games Thursday, August 1st in Madison, Wisconsin. Coverage of the games can be found online at Games.CrossFit.com and on YouTube.