My CrossFit Journey

I started CrossFit on September 1. I was in a bad place and desperate for some stress relief. 

I took pictures of myself every month to see if there was any body transformation. I had just competed in Triathlon Nationals and was feeling like I made it to the top in triathlon competition. Triathlons were no longer providing the same stress relief as they once did and I was tired of my shoulder having issues with the swim. Running was also becoming less and less fun. Lola wasn't able to run with me as much as she used to and I was tired of the pain from my bunion. 

I tried 3 different CrossFit gyms and I loved all of them. My favorite was CrossFit Loop, 10 minutes from my home. The main reason I chose them is because of all of the class times they had available. They practically have a class every hour of the day. 

This is what I looked like when I first tried to do a rope climb in September. It was so frustrating and I felt so weak. Everyone was trying to help me but I couldn't understand what I was supposed to do to get up there.

One of the reasons I keep going back to CrossFit is the huge gains that I get with the coaching and practice. I wasn't sure I was ever gonna learn to rope climb but I got good at it in 6 months.

It is scary to walk into a CrossFit gym for the first time. I felt inferior but the CrossFit culture is to welcome everyone. When you walk into a CrossFit facility, everyone has a smile and a nice thing to say to you. I walk into CrossFit gym after a long stressful day and am instantly greeted by friends. When I leave a CrossFit gym, I feel like I left all of the stresses in a sweat pile on the floor.  My coaches are the most passionate, motivating, and patient people I know. I have really bonded with them and they know my capabilities better than me.  I hear, “You can push harder!” or, “That weight is too heavy for you! Bring it down!”

One thing I struggled with is the strength and flexibility to do lifts. I have been doing endurance sports my whole life and I realized I didn't have hip, shoulder, or ankle flexibility. Until I got the flexibility, I couldn't increase weight. I was finally able to do an overhead squat without falling over. It doesn't hurt my shoulder but I didn't have the balance to lock out my elbows and hold the bar over my head. I had to strengthen my back and core and work with some very patient coaches.

I started to notice muscle forming on my arms around October. I had been going to CrossFit about 5 times a week doing cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy.

I have seen many people that have been going to CrossFit for years but there are always newbies coming in. I have seen a few of them get addicted like me but many of them fall off the routine of doing CrossFit 5-6 times a week. There is a euphemism “You drink the Kool-Aid” of CrossFit. Basically, this means you're hooked. It means CrossFit is your thing. It means you love coming to CrossFit and beating yourself up. I definitely fall into this category.I haven't hurt myself too bad in CrossFit. I definitely have a ton of soreness but the gym is huge on stretching and I believe that has saved me. I have only tore up my hand doing pullups and gave myself rope burn coming down from a rope climb. 

I had my 1st CrossFit competition on February 16th. It was a 3 week competition held every Friday. Open an accessible competition for anyone, regardless of skill or ability.  Each week, you choose the version of the workout that’s right for your age and fitness level.Some of the workouts are ridiculously hard but the coaches know how to break it down so that most people can complete them. I just did a workout where we had to do 100 burpee box jumpovers. That seemed impossible to me but the coach broke it down so that we do 40 seconds of jumping and 20 seconds of rest. There was one workout where I had to carry heavy sandbags back and forth through the parking lot. I was the only female in the group and one guy told me, "You are one tough chick! Most people don't show up for workouts like this." I was sore for a long time after that one.

On December 1, I hired a nutritionist. I felt like I needed help with the amount of nutrients I was taking in. With endurance sports, I needed a lot of carbohydrates, but CrossFit requires protein and fat too. I had a nutritionist for 4 months. I only lost about 8 pounds but I gained a ton of muscle. I was so happy when I was able to do a Split Jerk. The split jerk is the most difficult Olympic lift for most people. Out of the snatch, clean, and jerk, the split jerk is something that newer lifters have such a difficult time with. You actually have to split and move your feet forward and back, where as most of the times in Weightlifting the feet don’t move forward and much at all. Most lifters have a hard time transitioning from moving vertically in the dip and drive to splitting their feet forward and back. Keeping proper balance through this transition is extremely difficult.

I have been told that I picked up CrossFit very fast but I still feel doubtful of myself. I will sometimes be able to lift a ton of weight and then have to go back to a lower weight in the next week. There were a couple times that I had a partner and wasn't able to keep up with them, which was horribly embarrassing. No matter how good you get at something, someone is always better.

In March, right before we were supposed to go on our cruise, I signed up for CrossFit Festivus. Festivus is typically 4 WODs long with up to 1-2 hours between each WOD while you wait for the other divisions to finish their workouts. These breaks are just long enough to make your muscles cold, stiff, and tight between WODs, which can make each subsequent WOD increasingly difficult.

Festivus always happens twice a year at CrossFit Loop. There are only 3 festivus competitions in Colorado.  Castle Rock holds the biggest CrossFit competition in the world and it brings a ton of tourism to Castle Rock.  It happens in October and April. I wasn't able to do it in October because it falls on the same weekend as Mountain Bike State. I felt like I needed to do it this time.

It wasn't looking like CrossFit Loop was going to get enough volunteers to hold the event. They were begging for more volunteers. Thankfully, a ton of volunteers showed up on the morning of Festivus so I was able to compete.

Camilla tried CrossFit with me and said she liked it. But, she has never been willing to go back and try it again. Carly and Lloyd have both come to watch me do CrossFit but neither of them have any interest in trying it. 

One thing I really enjoy is talking to Connor about different weightlifting movements. We talk about the different movements and which ones are harder than others. I can't even come close to the amount of weight that he is lifting. Connor, Camilla, and Carly came to watch me at CrossFit Festivus. Connor helped me with the Deadlift. On a 3-minute Running Clock, we were to Establish a 3 Rep Max Bench Press. 

The first workout in Festivus was a 500 m Row, then as many reps of possible of 12 Kettlebell Deadlifts, 9 Russian Kettlebell Swings, 6 Kettlebell Thrusters in 6 minutes. I was proud of how fast I was able to row but the thrusters didn't go too well. I kept doing it wrong.The next workout was a 7 minute time cap of 21-15-9 Wall Balls and Hang Power Snatch. I finished the workout in 6:57, only 3 seconds before the time cap. The power snatch was really difficult for me. I felt like I had no strength in my arms.

The last workout was 2 Rounds of 3 min every minute on the minute

Min 1 - :50 - Ring Rows
Min 2 - :50 - Goblet Squats
Min 3 - :50 - Line Facing Burpees 

I did the best on this one because my coach was screaming at me, "Go faster! Go faster!" I finished 10th overall and wasn't even close to the podium. I still have a long way to go with CrossFit if I ever want to win anything.  Thank you CrossFit for always pushing me to be better in life and in fitness.  

Another milestone was double-unders. I finally got the rope under twice!