One Year of CrossFit: Lessons Learned

Every year on Memorial Day, Americans honor those who have fallen serving the United States Armed Forces. At CrossFit this past Saturday we honored Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy by doing the “Murph Challenge” which included: Run 1 mile, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and run another mile. Many of the CrossFit workouts are in memory of fallen soldiers and “Murph” is one that’s done every Memorial Day, leading me into my article below…

If there’s one thing I learned right off the bat in exploring CrossFit is that it’s polarizing. People either love it or hate it. Most of the hatred revolves around this notion of “getting hurt” or it being “too hard” to do. Lesson 1: don’t judge a book by its cover.

I’ve never been athletic (except for the free throws – ha!). Instead of sports growing up I did music lessons, and lots of them: voice, piano, violin, viola, and oboe. My afternoons after school were filled with drama class, Italian club, or practicing for nationals. My summers were spent at Interlochen Arts Camp where my music studies were intense; 8 long weeks studying with world-renowned professors. There simply wasn’t enough time in my day to do athletics.

April 1, 2015, I made a decision to do CrossFit for an entire year, no matter what. I chose CrossFit because a girlfriend of mine had seen incredible results, and like her, I hated the monotony of going to a gym doing the same thing every day. I get incredibly bored and thought I’d thrive much better in a class setting where every day would be different.

In general, what I’ve noticed about myself is that when I have an attainable and measurable goal, I stick with it, it’s Sales 101. Lesson 2: set measurable goals. When I walked in the gym that first day on April 1, 2015, I had no idea what I was doing, nor could I do hardly any of the movements. Hanging on the rig was literally impossible, push-ups were nonexistent, and pull-ups? Forget it.

But I stuck with it.

The first 6 months I did heavy modifications on most of the work-outs. My goal was to come 4-5 times a week, even when I was traveling. I traveled a lot with work last year and I always made a point to find a local CrossFit wherever I was, even if that meant getting up at 5am. I was dedicated and nothing was going to get in my way of doing CrossFit for a solid year. Lesson 3: if you care about something enough, you’ll always find a way. 

The progress was slow. You know when you start a diet and the first 2 weeks you drop a bunch of weight? That’s not standard with CrossFit. The changes were slow and subtle, but as time progressed they became more noticeable. My clothes started fitting differently, and little things like lifting up your exploding suitcase to the overhead compartment was becoming a piece of cake.

8 months into my goal, I could suddenly hold myself on the rig. I could do a pull-up with 2 assisted bands instead of 4. I could hold myself up longer in a hand stand. I could do a ‘double under’ jump rope. Progress. My coach consistently encouraged me and pushed me more mentally than physically as a lot of the lifts are mental. Lesson 4: surround yourself with people that challenge you.

CrossFit was part of my routine. Everyone knew at work that I left during lunchtime to go to my 11:30a class. Nothing could get in the way of my routine, and it actually made my work more focused. Before, I would work through lunch and get no time to myself. My work became more productive by exercising, and I exercised not only my body, but my mind. I was learning brand new lifts every week – Olympic Weightlifting lifts – never would I ever imagine this to be possible. Lesson 5: exercising the mind is equally as important to exercising the body.

I held myself accountable, always. I told everyone about my goal of doing CrossFit for a year. My friends and family held me accountable and were consistently checking my Instagram feed to see my progress. I even created my own hashtag on Instagram with all of my workouts: #lbdoescrossfit. Lesson 6: tell people about your goals, it helps hold yourself accountable. 

April 1, 2016 was my 1-year anniversary. In 1 year, I went to CrossFit 151 times total. Every single workout I recorded on Instagram where I could also view my progress pictures. If you decide to do CrossFit I highly encourage you to throw out your scale and focus only on pictures and measurements, or you will actually go crazy. Lesson 7: throw out your scale.

I encourage everyone to find something that challenges you outside of work and stick with it. Because I set that measurable goal to do CrossFit for a year straight it happened. I’ve learned so much about myself this past year and owe so much of it to CrossFit.

Finally, people (mostly the naysayers) are always so quick to ask “so, have you gotten hurt yet?” and my answer is truthful: “yes, once when I missed a box jump (they’re unforgiving, you either make it or you miss, nothing in between), and once when I was jetlagged and came to CrossFit and busted my lip during a clean.” Lesson 8: don’t do CrossFit when you’re jetlagged.

I hope you find this article encouraging to step outside your comfort zone and exercise your mind and body. Get away from your desk and try something new, you never know when something will stick and your life will be augmented in positive ways.