WHY I AM A CROSSFITTER

There has been a lot of negativity associated with Crossfit and I’m here to explain why this does not make any sense to me.  First let me give you a back story. I am 28 years old and I attend Crossfit regularly about 4 to 5 days a week. I began working out in high school when I was employed by a local gym I was also involved in athletics with my school through dance line. Exercise was somewhat of an obsession since I was surrounded everyday by fit people and super fit trainers and coaches. I began working out 3 to 4 times a day in the morning, mid-day and afternoon. My routine consisted of running on the treadmill 1 mile in the morning, abs and running at noon, dance line practice and a full body high intensity cardio boot camp followed by spin class in the afternoon. That’s about 4 to 5 hours of working out a day. I was in peak physical shape (Abs for days, lean and full of energy). I stopped working out when I moved off to college with the exception of an occasional run. I began gaining weight slowly for the first 4 years until I met my husband. I completely stopped all physical activity for about 5 years and gained a massive amount of weight. At my heaviest I weighed 267#'s! (I know) That’s when I decided to change my lifestyle, I mean a complete 360!   

I heard all the buzz about Crossfit, and I felt like that kind of pressure and competitiveness is exactly what I needed to reach my goals.

I will never forget that day. There are 2 boxes in my area and after researching their websites and hearing testimonials from members from both I decided which one I wanted to be a part of. I decided to skip the trial day and jump in feet first (or head first… however that saying goes). I was greeted by the most amazing woman (who by the way qualified and will be competing in the national Crossfit Games this year 2014). she has been a personal friend and constant motivator throughout my entire journey. She put me through Crossfit 101 giving me knowledge of lifts that we would be using while concentrating on form and technique, and that’s all folks! I was hooked ready to take on the world or at least my fitness goals. She asked me to write down what I wanted out of Crossfit short term, in 6 months and in a year so that she could make sure I am meeting those goals and push me to do the same. Before I tell you about my goals and where I stand on them…

 THIS IS WHY I AM A CROSSFITTER!

1.  Money, money, money, moooney, MONEYYYY…. (sing that) Do you want to pay $400- $1000.00 a month for a personal trainer! I have had personal trainers before and I have not gotten the same results especially in the time frame I achieved in Crossfit. Yes Crossfit is more expensive than a traditional gym membership, but does your gym track you progress, provide life coaching and 1 on 1 nutritional advice, offer you Competitiveness amongst other members and provide your workout every day while having coach/trainer follow you around making sure you do everything right with proper form and technique. Yeah didn't think so. 
2.  Me and my Hommies- (Community) I cannot stress this enough I have met some pretty amazing people at Crossfit. People who care about their community and each other. We cheer each other on and lift one another up.  We are all working toward the same goal at every class and a little competitive nature will surely get you motivated to perform and push yourself.  There is a lot of negativity circulating about Crossfit being cult like. Here are my thoughts. Just like in any competitive sport or hobby you participate in there is a since of comradery that only those who participate can understand. Have you ever been involved in a hobby or sport that you threw yourself into. I mean look back to high school did you play a sport? Did most everyone you played with become your best friends did you talk about it 24/7. And why shouldn't you there are worse things to be addicted to than working out like booze and drugs. GET OVER MY CONSTANT NEED to talk about my accomplishments in reaching fitness goals I have worked so hard to achieve. Your Crossfit friends will never do that. They will always cheer you on and feel the same since of accomplishment when you reach a goal because deep down they know that they are in some way responsible for each other goals because we cheered you on and push you through when you thought you just couldn't do it. 
3. Your doing that wrong!- (Technique and form). This is another thing that gets a bad rap. I say to you find a box that knows what they are doing and makes it their goal to stress form and technique. My gym provides detailed instruction and demonstration before every wod! Not just on lifts but every movement we do even squats, push ups, and planks. They take time to watch us each perform the task and correct our form if we are not getting it they ask that we use a pvc pipe and attain form before lifting with weight! I have hear horror stories about some gyms that do not do this but this is why you do your homework.  I love that our coaches stress safety. We also perform crossover activation to active muscles before our warm-ups and stretching after wods to prevent injury (side note my coach is so dedicated he realized I was hypertensive and asked that I not perform stretching after workouts because people who have hyper extended joints have a higher risk injury from over stretching!) . There is a risk of injury in any form of athletics and physical activity you do. Only you know your limits never let anyone push you past your limits. 
4. I can do anything you can do better-(Competitiveness) There are a wide range of athletes that attend Crossfit from dedicated lifters, to marathon runners to the average joe (me). And no matter what your level of fitness you will find that you can all perform the same tasks. It might be scaled to your ability (ie lower weights and different scaled down movements till you graduate to Rx) But that’s the beauty of Crossfit you want to perform as well as the guy next to you and they teach you that you can, through hard work. He did five rounds I can do 6. My best friend Pr at 225 dead-lift I can get that in 2 weeks with enough conditioning. If she can do pull ups with a band instead of ring rows I can too. We are taught that if it’s easy for you you’re not doing it right. Never get comfortable, always challenge yourself. That’s how you reach your goals. Several times a week my friends tell me come on you can throw a heavier wall ball than that just go up 2 pounds, that looks too easy for you. FEEL THE BURN J just don’t over do it. Our coaches say stop before your form goes bad. If you are lifting too much your form will disappear and that can cause injury! Know your limits.

Well that pretty much sums most of what I really wanted you to know about why I Crossfit!

Now I want to tell you how Crossfit changed my life! Like I said I weighed 267 pounds when I stated on August 1, 2013. I set three goals the first was a short term goal as in one week. I wanted to be able to do a prescribed burpee! I did it I couldn’t do as many as everyone else prescribed but I did it! My second goal was 5 months. I wanted to lose 50 pounds in 5 months well I lost 70! My last goal is to lose 100 pounds in 1 year and be the best version of myself. It has been 10 months and I have lost a total of 87 pounds I have 13 pounds to go! I am 100% sure I will attain my goal ahead of schedule. I took a sabbatical from clean eating for 3 or so months and was at stand still but I have kicked it into gear with whole 30 and added 13 pounds of weight loss in 12 days. Please know that for me it was not just about weightloss. My crossfit coaches have helped me break out of my shell, I am happier, leaner, stronger and full of energy. Every day is bitter sweet for me I wake up excited and nervous about my workout every day. I know I will be pushed and challenged and I will love it and hate it all at the same time. As far as I am concerned I have already reached my 1 year goal. I feel as though I am the best version of myself in this moment and I would not have been able to do so without Crossfit. 

 THAT’S WHY I AM A CROSSFITER!     

I would like to thank 2 coaches who are very special to me. Shout out to Crossfit South bank if you are ever in Alexandria, Louisiana and want to get your wod on that’s your place. Lisa Lauve and Jeff Prejean have motivated me, pushed me and supported me in my journey whole-heartedly. I have said this 1 million times and I’m sure they get tired of hearing it but I can never repay them for giving me my life back.