2015 ATL CrossFit Regionals Experience

People outside of CrossFit will probably never understand why we would drive 4 hours to watch people work out, so if you don’t CrossFit just pretend this is about a sport you like to watch and plug in football, basket ball, soccer etc. as you read.

My husband and I had the luxury of seeing all three days of the Atlantic 2015 Regionals, do to lack of seating he saw more than I did because I am short, but still a good experience. Our main focus of the weekend was to watch our box owner crush these work-outs but also for us to experience this craziness.

You can see a work out on paper and think, wow, that looks horrible but to actually sit back and watch these superior athletes do them is a whole different story. Watching the efficiency in their movements, their passion and drive to finish first, their ability to push through the pain and torture is a sight to see. Never once did I utter “OH I could do this”, or “He/She should have pushed harder”, it was a weekend of pure awe.

With us knowing someone who was competing I think the awe was taken to a whole different level. The nervousness I felt every time our box owner stepped out onto the floor, the level of pride, the overwhelming emotion at watching him succeed or struggle was something I was not prepared for. It’s not like we are BFF’s, he’s the owner of our box, the man who programs the hell I pay for and he makes me run and yet, I wanted nothing but the best for him.

I was able to watch some “big name” athletes work out, like Sam Bicep Briggs and Emily Bridgers, which was very inspirational. Watching the women was my favorite, aside from our competitor. These tiny ladies that are nothing but muscle, determination and grit are gorgeous and you just can’t fully appreciate them until you are standing right next to them. When I was out on the vendor floor Emily Bridgers ran past me twice and both times I was memorized by her body, in a totally non-creepy way!

All in all, aside from a venue that was too small with bad food choices and not enough shopping (I love tank tops), it was totally worth the trip. Beyond the experience and the awe, it was a great team building and bonding experience. One of my girlfriends posted that “some people call CrossFit a cult, we call it family” and she could not have said it more perfectly! We were cheering for our athlete as though he were our husband, father, brother, uncle or son, every person there was 100% invested in this man and we screamed and cheered until we went hoarse. Why? Because we are a family, a very fit family.