For the Love of Crossfit

I was talking with my sister the other day and she was commending me on my dedication to Crossfit and without thinking I told her “it’s not hard when you love it”. What do you know, I love getting my ass handed to me 5 days a week and paying for it! I wasn’t always this passionate about working out and I think the largest hurdle for myself and those coming into any fitness program, is finding enjoyment and purpose in it. Without enjoyment, you will excuse yourself out of damn near anything.

Case in point, my sad fitness career. I, like many others in this world, am not a gifted athlete. I had to work hard and long to find what speaks to me and it turned out to be weight lifting. Not stand in front of the mirror and do bicep curls kind of weight lifting, I mean barbells, power lifting and olympic lifts. In all honesty, the challenge of Crossfit of as a whole speaks loud and clear to my type A personality.

Through the last 10 years I have spent hours of my life on ellipticals and treadmills being absolutely bored to tears. I found that ellipticals make my left foot fall asleep and treadmills make me hate running more than I ever knew was possible. I prefer the natural stride of running outside and even then I am not particularly fond of running. I did do a full year of a “cardio queen” lifestyle which left me skinny fat and very discouraged.

I have done the assisted and the cable machines at gyms and all though they didn't bother me before Crossfit, they now seem to illicit a level of disinterest similarly close to running. I like what those machines have to offer and the simplicity of them but they don’t stimulate me. I have a tendency to do a split routine with a pyramid routine which means I will focus on upper body one day and lower body the next and throw in a day of cardio to really make me hate it. This is your basic bodybuilding routine which works great for some but disinterests me.

Then there was the treadmill purchase of 2011 which got really dusty and was ultimately sold for a mere fraction of what I paid for it. Which led to the “Insanity” purchase of 2012 which proved to me that you could actually throw up after a work out and that doing plyometric work on carpet isn't a good idea. So what about Zumba? That’s supposed to be fun, right?

I see a lot of women who love Zumba and go Zumba crazy so I know it’s not just Crossfitters that love their workouts. I think Zumba is fantastic. It’s a body positive environment filled with fun and uplifting music and it tricks you into thinking you can dance. I have tried Zumba on many different occasions and as I previously thought, I am no where near coordinated enough for that. I know that sounds crazy when I execute complicated lifts but that doesn't involve me shaking my booty. You either have rhythm or you don’t! The grand finale of all these different styles of working out was that I quit because I didn’t like any of them.

So, I found what I truly enjoy and that’s Crossfit. Now when I go into a Golds Gym, I stand out. From my Nanos to my lifting style, it’s beyond apparent I Crossfit and to be obnoxious, I sometimes wear my box shirt, JUST in case no one gets it. You can find me in the group class room stretching (which no one else seems to do) and practicing my hand stands instead of doing Zumba. You will find me doing a warm up on the treadmill at 400m runs mixed in with inch worms and air squats instead of a 15 mile run. I do things this way because I know it works for me and because I ENJOY it!

If you want to be successful in your athletic endeavors, you have to find what makes you happy. If you find you love running, seek out a running group or a friend that can do it with you and incorporate a running app to help motivate you and log your accomplishments. If you are passionate about increasing muscle size, loosing fat or seeking a specific training routine, invest in personal trainer to help you achieve your goals. If you find that you love hour long work out sessions with high intensity training and barbells, then you found Crossfit fits you best. You don’t have to do what your friends do or what you think is popular or cool, it’s all about you, what you like and doing it for yourself.

#findingyourpassion