I finally decided to take the plunge and start a workout blog. The coaches at my gym have been pestering us to do this for a few months as a method of holding yourself accountable, but also as a very concrete way to track gains. Writing down the actual numbers you do, rounds or weight, is a really motivating way to track your progress and push yourself to do more next time. It’s also been really motivating to read the blogs of other people from the gym I go to and feel a sense of community and camaraderie. I genuinely feel excited for my workout pals when I see that they’ve gotten a personal record on a lift or completely annihilated a workout.
Lets start with a little background. I’ve always been a pretty active person but have used that as an excuse not to push myself and really get fit. I ride my bike everywhere and that’s always been a really easy cop out when it comes to exercising. Of course, after riding your bike everywhere for 6 years, it stops really being any sort of workout (unless you’re racing or riding distance, I’m talking about just riding to get from point a to b). I now think of it as a good way to stretch out my muscles when I’m sore. Haha. Aside from that, I played ice hockey for seven years through middle school and high school. I was on a travel team and it was pretty tough! We skated four days a week and I’d often feel like throwing up after most games or practices. Tournaments completely wiped us out. When college rolled around, I stopped playing because I went to art school, which of course, didn’t have sports teams. Despite going vegan around this time, I noticed a definite decrease in my stamina and overall health. I gained the notorious freshman fifteen over my first three years in college. I guess when you go from sprinting for an hour and a half, four days a week, to doing nothing physical at all, that can happen. My senior year I started thinking about getting fit again and working out. I wasn’t really that out of shape, don’t get me wrong, I just definitely wouldn’t call myself ‘fit,’ which is something I strive to be. I had a few short stints at the YMCA, but could never keep myself motivated enough to go on top of school and work. I also hated sustained, 45 minute cardio workouts. How boring, but that’s mostly what I was trying to do.
When I moved to Chicago, I started hanging around a bunch of dudes who were excited about working out. They talked about Crossfit non-stop. After a year and a half, they finally wore me down and I started trying to do it from home a bit. The main thing stopping me was that I had a busy schedule and didn’t want to drag myself to a gym after work. Crossfit is attractive because most of the work outs (WODS, work-out of the days) are under 20 minutes, total. Granted, it’s the most exhausting, brutal, muscle killing 20 minutes you’ve experienced pretty much ever, but at least it’s only 20 minutes.
My crossfit from home routine was a really good way to ease into what I would start subjecting myself to a few months later when I actually joined a crossfit gym. I was doing a lot of squats, sit ups, pushups, tuck jumps, and sprints. In June, a coupon deal came up for a Crossfit gym and I jumped on it. It was only $30 for unlimited access to group classes. I always told myself that I would probably like a gym if I had personal training. I was unsure of the group aspect because I thought I would be pretty self-conscious, but once I got there and saw that everyone else was nervous, even the people who have been doing Crossfit for forever, I realized it was no big deal. Being scared of your workout is a really humbling and sort of exciting experience!
I’ve been doing Crossfit for nearly two years, and have been a regular member at Crossfit Construct in Chicago and Crossfit Center City, upon moving to Philadelphia. The community I’ve found is unparalleled, the motivation I’ve found for working out is unprecedented, and the gains I’ve seen are unbelievable. I never thought I would be able to lift what I lift now. I never thought that shaky, unable to breathe, light headedness would go away when I run, and I never thought I would be lifting huge barbells, ever. I’m literally excited about going every time I go in for a class, two years later. I’ve watched my friends get just as excited as they take the Crossfit plunge, so I know it’s not me. If you give Crossfit a shot, I can almost guarantee you’ll be hooked and never look back.
Wow! What a P-O-W-E-R-F-U-L Testimony!
Keep up the awesome job! Many Blessings!