Why CrossFit Changed How I Work

Why CrossFit Changed How I Work

So first things first - I am NOT a gym person. Never have been. You can't just put me in front of a bunch of equipment and expect I am going to;

a) do the right thing with it and b) even if I figure it out, that I will do whatever exercise long enough to get any value out of it.

So that sounds like I need structure right? To be shown what to do and given a time within which to complete the task. Well, I have never taken a 'run class'. And begrudgingly, I am a runner. I can run 22K. Yah it's in loops around my neighborhood. Where, after awhile, I am sure to the folks whose house I run past 3 or more times must think, 'That lady is being chased'. Yet I don't go home. I don't give up either. I have run past my house to get that last 1K in so it's 'officially' 22K. I believe I have willpower. I have drive. So I have determination. I can slug it out. Sure I am a bit of a loner. 90-minute hot yoga. Yup, again no problem there. There is a sick pleasure to this torture for sure. Again alone. In fact, there is NO talking allowed. I go. I sweat. I leave.

So when winter comes along my running wanes. Truly I don't want to get injured from a slip or fall. The hot yoga remains. This winter I couldn't ignore my fitness failing. My skinny, yet flappy arms lacking strength. My downward dog looked sluggish. More like a downward sloth. Then I went to visit my super fit sisters in Tampa, FL. The land of all-year-round running. Ahhhhh.... it was NOT beautiful to run again. Any real runner will tell you, running is outright shitty. It hurts. Then it doesn't. Then dammit, it hurts again! But this was different. I felt weak. So my one sissy said 'Hey, let's hit my 'gym' which is actually TRUGRIT Fit. NOT a gym. This was CrossFit. There wasn't much fluff to it. Which is NOT like my beautiful, perfectly coiffed sisters. It had a washroom. ONE washroom. That looked like it was competing with a gas station and wanted to LOSE. I did a DU (Double Under) that nearly took my leg off. I pushed a sled with a tiny, yet bulging man yelling at me to 'STEP IT UP' while he threw more plates of weight on. All WHILE I was 'sledding'. Does this sound like some secret language? Well, it is. I routinely have to Google what the hell the workout is, or what the WOD is - Workout Of the Day. Or maybe it's WorkOut of the Day? Who knows, but the WOD is posted on WODify. It reads like a super secret code of pain that later you will have to suffer through. Because it IS painful. But it's become my drug of fitness choice. Why? Because it's the first thing I've come across that is more difficult than running. Yah I said it. This shit is HARDER than running 22K.

Gasp.

Let's face it. Runners are lean. But we are not strong. Not like someone who does CrossFit. But guess what? People who CrossFit HATE running. At CrossFit there isn't a ton of chit chat. Perfect for me. When you can barely breathe, talking is out. After CrossFit the MO is to do a fist pump with everyone in class while we all try to catch our breath. My cardio is decent from running so I am not as winded. A fellow CrossFit mate mentioned this and I just said it's because of the 22K's. I got a look like I had just said Voldemort in the middle of Hogwarts. "For real? Voluntarily? Are you like a racer or something?" Nope. I have only been in one 'official' 22K and the rest are just for ... torture? Fun? Because I can? There are too many fancy runners in races. There's camel backs, digital timers, special tapes running up the back, front, across arms, stuff on nipples... I've run for over 25 years. Started as a teenager. But I just run to run. It's a compulsion. At the cottage I've run 22K in converse sneakers, a golf skirt, and a t-shirt that says 'If Zombies chase us I am tripping you.' My husband has to routinely ask the kids, 'WHAT TIME did Mom leave for her run?'. I am not always the best with bringing water, or really anything with me. I slug it out. I KNOW how long it takes. I try to beat that time. I am tough.

Then I met CrossFit. That bitch.

And we have a love-hate relationship. Oh. Did I mention this shit is TIMED? Either it's an EMOM or it's an AMRAP. Every Minute on the Minute or As Many Reps As Possible in X minutes. Usually something like 22 or 24 minutes. And it's a WHOLE load of shit that is hard. REALLY hard. With weights, jumps, lifts, Turkish KD lifts, squats, wall balls, snatches... This stuff sounds like Unix commands. It's a whole new language. It's a whole new toughness. It's proving you CAN do it. Just to finish the f'ing thing off. It's throwing you into something that you do not understand . With people who, frankly, look like they could crack your skinny ass in half. Because they probably could! There is fear of failure, fear of peeing your pants NOT because of laughing but because you're NOT laughing, and fear of looking stupid.

And then there's the satisfaction that you never gave up. Even when you tried to do a pushup and your arms failed so you fell. Smacking yourself in the face (that one hurt, ouch!). There's learning what a Turkish Get UP is and doing it wrong most of the WO then getting the last one PERFECT. Then there's actually climbing a rope to the ceiling and being in AWE that you could do that! WOW!

So your next project, challenge, or fearful thing at work that comes along I recommend you GO TO CROSSFIT AND GET YOUR ASS KICKED. Then your task at work looks pretty easy, do-able, and a lot less fear-filled. When you never try something new or hard, everything starts to look new and hard. In all areas of our life. And with work being such a large part of life, make sure you have the muscles and skills to tackle it and make EMOM count. Stop running through life. While that'll keep you fit, it won't make you strong.

Gotta get 60 DU's today so ta-tah you pansy asses!

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