If you have been reading my blog for a while you know that we went to CrossFit back in February. Well here we are in May and totally obsessed with perfecting our hang clean form and feeling ridiculously proud of our calluses. It boggles my mind that I love it so much. Every second I am there I am pouring sweat, muscles are burning, I'm secretly cussing the coach because he made me add more weight, and more than likely I will find a new bruise when I get home. But the really crazy part is when I wake up the next morning and my body hurts in areas that I didn't even know muscles existed all I can think is, "I can't wait to go workout tonight." What is wrong with me?
This is very strange and bizarre behavior for me. I have NEVER been athletic. I was the girl in school that all the athletic girls hated because I made us lose the game because I was too concerned with my bow falling out of my super cute ponytail. (True story.) I have absolutely no desire to have giant muscles or those weird neck wings that bodybuilders have. I like being dainty and girly. You will never see me spit...why do people do that by the way? Is your mouth making so much saliva that you can't possibly swallow it? Maybe you should see a doctor about that. I have always been more than happy to let my husband lift the heavy objects and open the stubborn jars. The idea of sweating has never appealed to me unless it is while I'm laying on the beach and even then I'm not fond of it.
So what happened? I knew this year was going to be a tough one for me, physically and emotionally. I knew we would be getting foster placements and there were going to be battles to be fought. I would need to be strong. I wanted to prepare my body and spirit for the challenges ahead. And let me tell you, you cannot be a prissy little wimp when you have four kids. Sometimes my motivation during a workout is reminding myself that I already survived my kids that day and then sometimes my motivation to make it through a kiddo meltdown is to remind myself that I survived last night's really difficult workout and therefore am superwoman.
I love that I get a whole hour to focus on me. I know that sounds selfish and ugly but it is what it is. I take care of my family 23 hours a day and 24 if they peak their little heads out of the kid's room. (That's right, CrossFit 454 has a room you can shove your kids in for an hour.) Even though that hour is about me it is also about them because if I am a giant ball of mush and tears then I will not be the awesome parent that they need to help them grow up into awesome big people. CrossFit helps me be strong and feel confident in all areas of my life, parenting included.
I also really like my weird new muscular body. I have had a difficult time with it changing so much. I mean I feel like I did when I got boobs as a teenager. It is weird and new and things have appeared that I didn't even know existed (muscles, not boobs)! I'm not kidding. Did you know there are these weird muscles on the side of your stomach that stretch from your rib cage to the bottom of your hip bone??? It is crazy. And my back...I don't even know how to describe that to you. It is weird and cool but still weird. And my arms...well I pretty much love my arms. I will show any stranger standing next to me in line at Walmart my new arm muscles. Let me tell you, I am opening jars left and right. My legs are firmer but I will say my thighs seem bigger to me which is kind of weirding me out a bit but I keep telling myself it is not about inches, it is about strength and health. I look in the mirror sometimes and even though I weigh 10 pounds more than I did at the start of the year I like what I see. I look strong and healthy and I feel strong and healthy too. .
I really wish I had done CrossFit as a teen. I think it would have changed my world. I am amazed at the self-confidence that I have now and not because my body looks a certain way but because I am strong. And not just strong because of muscles. I'm talking about an inner strength. When a workout seems like the most daunting thing you have ever seen written across a whiteboard and you do it anyway that feeling afterward is amazing. Every step closer I get to doing an actual pull-up sans bands makes me feel empowered. I want that for my kids, especially my girls. I want them to feel powerful and strong. The second my kids are old enough to do CrossFit they will be on that floor doing it right beside me. We have several families in our box with teens and I love it.
The people you are sweating next to is another awesome thing about CrossFit. I've said it before in an earlier post but I was scared of CrossFit before I started going. I looked at the pictures online of all the hard bodied people with tiny mountains of muscles covering every square inch of their very shiny torso lifting these massive weights with the look of murder across their faces. That totally freaked me out! Despite all the sites saying CrossFit was for everyone it looked liked CrossFit was for really good looking, in shape people in their 20s. Well, let me save you some time searching on the Internet...those people are the minority. I mean sure they exist...they aren't quite as shiny in real life though. But mostly it is just normal people with normal bodies. There are all shapes and sizes. As long as you have a shape and a size you will fit in perfectly.And you will feel like a part of something. I can't really explain it but there is something really cool about busting out a difficult workout next to people that are struggling next to you, encouraging you on, and pushing you forward.
This post wasn't necessarily meant to be an ad for CrossFit. I do think that it is an awesome way to focus on your health, physically and mentally. And I would really encourage you to give it a shot. Try it out for the free two weeks. I'm pretty sure you will be hooked like we were but if not there is not love lost. There is no need to lose weight before showing up. So many of my customers come buy a pill to help them drop a few pounds so they can then start working out. I am more than happy to sell you something to help in your weight loss but get started on those muscles now. You don't have to wear cute clothes. They are going to be gross and sopping wet at the end of the hour anyways. Bring your kids, shove them in the room with my crazy crew or have them start working on those muscles beside you. We have two CrossFit boxes in Greenville...CrossFit 454 and CrossFit Downtown. Try them both out. We love our box but we have friends that go to Downtown and feel the same way there. And that is another really cool thing about CrossFit is that it is about community, working together. I know I have made it sound like a wonderful love fest but be ready to hurt, sweat, maybe throw up a little in your mouth. It totally rocks.
This pretty sums it up for me too. : ) Glad you are enjoying it.
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