As many of you have seen on my instagram or even sometimes in a blog post or two complaining about my massive Kim K ass, CrossFit has become a huge part of my life. I’d heard about this “cult” like workout a few years ago when two of my friends were trying to get me to join. I said, “you’re stupid”. Who the hell wants to pay upwards of $160 a month just to workout? I like my LA Fitness just fine, thank you. I used to go to the local LA Fitness with my iPod, water bottle and rarely break a sweat (unless I did spin, which I still enjoy a good FlyWheel class now and again). But I went there to be anti-social. I knew no one, avoided eye contact and usually dipped out half way through my intentional 1 hour workout to go do something else. Usually to go shopping. Fail.
That’s when it hit me. I’m officially meeting no one, my friends aren’t interested in working out or being fit, and sadly, I saw zero results. I finally took the plunge and took a free open house workout (all gyms offer these and if they don’t, then I wouldn’t even bother going there) and I was hooked. It was clear to me that CrossFit was for goal oriented, driven, crazy fucking people and I wanted in. I finished my first workout and was 100% addicted. That night I signed up for my membership and started what is now my biggest addiction, more so than shopping.
I have to be honest, CrossFit and I got off to a rocky start. I was overambitious not even 2 months in and did WAY too many GHDs after my trainer said stay off that damn thing. I didn’t listen (which was stupid) and put myself in the hospital for 3 days with Rhabdo. This is by no means to scare the living shit out of you, but I think people should learn by my example. This could’ve been avoided and it’s injuries like these that give CrossFit a bad name. But it’s truly bad coaching and bad form that hurt you. I should’ve listened to my coach and I also shouldn’t have spent the next 3 days boozing at the pool and avoiding hydrating myself with water. That did me in. I recovered and learned to listen to my coaches and my body and take better care of myself outside of the gym.
Another difficult moment CrossFit and I had was my initial 15 pound gain. Yes, 15. I was panicking. I work out 3 to 4 days a week, I don’t eat all that bad, how could I be packing on the pounds. It’s muscle people, muscle weighs more than fat. MUCH more. I did a body fat test in December (the kind where they dunk you in a tank of water) around the holidays including horrible eating and my body fat was 20.9% which is good, not great, but good. I’d like to be in the mid to high teens but it’s clearly all diet from this point on. So I beg of you, please smack that donut out of my hand if you see me with one, k? Thanks. But the point here is that no matter how much I workout, I literally can never be my old 125 lbs that I used to be at my skinniest, why? Because I work out now and lift heavy weights and have muscle. A cool thing I learned during this fat test was the lowest I could EVER possibly weigh while working out this hard is 135. Pretty crazy right? So stop obsessing over the number. Something I have to remind myself daily sometimes.
After a few hiccups in the beginning, CrossFit turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made for myself. It has made me more social, more ambitious, more goal oriented and just overall a healthier person. Yes I still have a few pounds of FAT to lose, but that’s something I have to deal with when my sugar cravings kick in. I’ve made so many new friends, pushed my body to crazy limits I never thought possible and enjoyed every sweaty, miserable second of it. It’s something that’s just too hard to explain until you do it. So get off your ass and do it. I promise, you’ll more than likely fall in love with it just like I did.
The backsquat. One of my favorites. And the number one reason I can call my butt a Kim K butt. It’s big, but hard. I like it.
Pork loves going to CrossFit. Do people at CrossFit love Pork? Not sure, but I like a gym that allows me to bring my stupid mutt with me. She loves the attention and licking sweat off of people. Gross Pork.
A few of my goals for this year:
Strict Pull Up
Ring Dip
Muscle Up (won’t likely happen but we’ll add it anyway)
Run more
And to finish this off, my top 5 reasons why I love CrossFit
- It’s the one workout where people will cheer you on, high five you and push you to your limits.
- You actually see progress and improvements. Couldn’t do a pull up last year, I can knock out 100 during Angie.
- You know it’s working, because you’re always sore. Always. Sitting on a toilet is a challenge on more days than it should be.
- It never gets boring. Besides benchmark WODS like girls and hero’s, the workouts are never the same. Ever.
- I love that I leave drenched from head to toe, something I’ve never achieved ever at any other gym.
Photos (and my cute side braid) by Rebakah Carson Photography
