Thursday, March 15, 2012

Understanding CrossFit

It is occupying so much of my life lately I can't help but try to explain it a little better.

CROSSFIT
Constantly varied
High Intensity
Functional movement

The program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive.  Crossfits specialty is NOT specializing.  We go in to a wod(work out of the day) ready for anything, and with the mindset that nothing should stop us.  Wind, snow, sleet, rain, heat; we go!

The CrossFit program is designed for scalability making it possible for anyone; from the Elite athlete, the house mom down the street, or the grandpa from next door!

Now that that is out of the way:

Everyone has been hearing a lot about crossfit since the games last year, Reebok picked them up, advertising started, and it seems that CrossFit has become a common household name; I know it has in ours.  

About three years ago I found myself dragging thru my normal workouts, I was bored with lifting weights.  I had been doing it for so long that I felt like I wasn't getting results anymore.  I didn't even want to lift which was odd seeings how I was so passionate about it.  I needed a change.  

My friend Kathy had left the gym and started training out of her sisters basement, I saw people coming into the gym who had been training with her and their bodies were changing drastically.  I knew I needed to know what she was doing.  It was hard for me to call another personal trainer and say hey, I suck, I can't get myself into the shape I want; would you train me.  Because Kathy is the nicest person in the world she made dialing her phone number the hardest part; the conversation was easy.

Kathy and Liz were doing CrossFit in her basement, it shocked me a little.  I didn't like having my Ass handed to me every time I worked out, I thought I was stronger than that.  What I did like is being pushed, being challenged, and having butterflies in my stomach for 30 minutes before my wod like I used to.  

After a few months of training in their basement Kat told me they were going to open a CrossFit, she wanted me to get certified so that I could help out when needed.  I jumped at the opportunity, not an opportunity to make money or have a "job" but the opportunity to change myself and become a better person.

17 months later here we are

The CrossFit games started 4 weeks ago,  I train like an athlete but am in no way one.  I put in the time, and then some.  Just because I train like one does not mean I would enter the games......EVER.  But I did!  Kathy didn't give me a choice, she said that I needed the games to push me to try things that I wasn't trying.  More important I needed the games to help me "feel" what the community of CrossFit was all about.

The community of CrossFit is why I am writing this.  Crossfit has this thing, an energy, a feeling, a passion.  It is the only place you can go on a daily basis and experience so many emotions.  You always fear the box(crossfit), you fear the wod, you fear the bar.  You fear movements you wish you could do but don't think you can.  You fear getting hurt, you fear peeing your pants while jumping onto a box or trying a double under.  But that fear isn't going to keep us from going to the Box.  The people who are there, at any box, in any city, state, or country; the people who are there know how hard it is and know how rewarding it is to try.  That is why we go, the people; they give us the drive to try, and maybe fail.  It is the only time in our life that it feels okay to fail at something.  What is cool is that we don't always fail and that keeps us coming back for more.  We come back because the last time we tried to back squat 200 pounds five times you got it and it felt so good that we want to try for more.  We come back because 2 months ago we couldn't snatch a training bar, but last night you got 75 pounds.  It's amazing

So, what happens is we get so excited about what is happening for that one little hour a day.  We are learning and growing so much that we talk about it.  We come home and tell our spouses, we facebook our progress, we try and show you what we can do.  It isn't meant to be braggy or arrogant trust me, because no matter what WE are doing; somebody else, at some other box in some other country is doing it a lot better.  We are telling you because we want to share with you the excitement that we are feeling.  It is like when a child goes poo in the toilet for the first time, they tell everyone because they are so excited.  Everyone doesn't really want to know, but EVERYONE pretends to be excited for the sake of the child.

The Community of CrossFit is a wonderful thing, it will never take place of my family.  It does however offer me something that I can't get anywhere else.  A sense of belonging, a sense of accomplishment; something that you don't get a lot of as an adult and especially as a stay at home mom.  

There are two weeks left in the Crossfit open, two more workouts that will challenge me and make me a better person.  I knew when I entered the games I wasn't competing to WIN, I was competing to CHANGE.  I was competing to push myself to try new things, and I did.




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