Some days I wake up and I don’t know who I am. I’ve become the person who sets her alarm for 5am and is up before it goes off because I’m too excited to sleep. I can’t wait to hit Clinch Valley CrossFit.
If that sounds completely ridiculous to you, don’t worry! Three months ago I would definitely have rolled my eyes at someone who told me that. Never in my life would I have thought this would be me. I am not athletic. I’ve never been athletic. I’d probably tell you that I still don’t think I’ll ever be an athlete. I come in last probably every time we run. I feel like I’m dying every single time I have to throw an 8-pound ball against the wall a bazillion times. I don’t do box jumps (they terrify me) and every time we do burpees I think about skipping the workout altogether. But somehow I walked in the door and as one of my favorite coaches Mindy said, “Just getting through the door is all you need to do.” Somehow that is true.
If I found more places to build a community, places which meet you exactly where you are, I would never be found at home. Isn’t that the scariest thing about trying something new? When I thought of crossfit before I started, I thought of completely toned bodies that would totally laugh me out of the yoga pants I showed up in. But they met me where I was: a mom of twins who hadn’t exercised consistently in years and who just wanted to get a little healthier; a woman who owns two businesses and has a crazy schedule and feels run down and exhausted a lot; a person who was unhappy with her body and a mom who needs someone to motivate her. Can I get a show of hands for all the people who have tried to workout at home and call it good after 10 minutes? Yeah, that is me.
When I want to give up in any given workout, I look around the room and see other people still giving it their all and that makes me decide that I can keep going too. These people make me laugh when we’re in the depths of it together and I can’t stop wanting the feeling strength after the workout is complete. That feeling makes me come back day after day after day. In just a few short months, I’ve seen so much change in my energy, my body, and my mentality. I feel like I can show up for my kids in such an energetic way these days. Truth be told, I just want to be around as long as possible for them — that’s really what this journey is all about.
The only crossfit exercise at which I’m fast is the jump rope and no, I can’t do double-unders. I’m a total mom at these workouts, making sure I don’t over do it and get hurt on the weights. But I feel so fortunate that crossfit came into my life and is making me a better version of myself.
I may never do the competitions (trust me, I’m ok with that) and I’ll keep believing that one day I’ll actually like the running (we’ll see), but I will forever cherish the community that comes along with making myself just a little stronger every single day. As the end of the year approaches and you start making New Year’s resolutions and thinking about a gym membership, I would encourage you to try out a crossfit gym. Take all the things you think you know about it — all of the reasons you’ve said for so long that it’s not for you — and throw them out the window. It’s for all ages and walks of life.
One thing I’ve learned about myself is that I actually really like trying new things and that in the right place with the right people, all of the hard things are actually possible. And that’s something we could all use in this life.
