Some girlfriends and I have been taking Crossfit classes for the last few months. A couple times a week, we show up at ‘the box’ where we are put through a wide variety of torture exercises. We sweat, we swear, we groan, sometimes we bitch, but…we always do it.
A few weeks ago I wrote about how I’m finally coming to accept my body despite the fact that it isn’t ‘perfect’. I still have a long way to go on this acceptance thing, but I’m fairly sure Crossfit has had a lot to do with getting to this place. And this is why…
Almost every single time we arrive in the gym, there’s some crazy stuff written on the board (the WOD or Workout of Day). We’ll stand around, shake our heads, and say things like, “What the hell is ‘skin the cat’?” I mean there is no way we can do some of this stuff, right? Wrong.
Turns out every single thing they’ve asked us to do, we’ve done. Sure, sometimes we have to modify things a little, but the point is, we don’t ever say, ‘no.’
Swing a hammer and bash a tractor tire? Yup.
Push a metal sled (with your trainer standing on it) across the parking lot? Uh huh.
A wide variety of cruel and ridiculous burpees, squats, push presses, etc…Yes, we’ve done them all.
I am so far away from being ‘good’ at Crossfit. But that doesn’t even matter because what matters is that I’m doing it and coming to appreciate my body and what it CAN do instead of what it CAN’T.
This became quite clear to me yesterday.
We were told to ‘skin the cat’. After a quick demo we realized that this meant we were to swing around on the rings, flip our legs over our head so we were upside down and stretch out our shoulders. Um….really?
I watched everyone else do it. Then it was my turn. I held the rings, I started to move. I stopped. Nope. I couldn’t do it.
No way.
Not happening.
Except then…I tried one more time. With a little help, I flipped my legs around and there I was…upside down. (I may have screamed. Crossfit isn’t quiet.) No. Freakin’. Way?! I did it.
Then I did it again. This time by myself.
Next it was time for inversions. Hanging by the rings, upside down. No way, right? Wrong. I did that too! Unbelievable! Who would’ve thought I could hang upside down from rings? Not me. But when I let myself believe I could…
These are some super crossfitters at Telluride Crossfit demonstrating the inversion
I had a minor celebration (mostly in my own head) and it was time to get down and dirty with the workout.
By the end of the hour, we were dripping sweat, smiling and proud. It was a hard workout. A damn hard workout. But…we did it.
And that’s the best part of Crossfit for me. It’s not all about the strength, or the weight loss or the muscle building. It’s about the mental game. It’s about pushing myself, being afraid of something, being unsure and doing it anyway. It’s about knowing that MY body did that.
That I did that!
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That sounds like my kind of fitness class. Pretty sure I grew up swinging hammers at tractor tires. And hanging upside down from the crossbar on an augur. Not while it was running…
Yes, the mental game. That is tough.
L, you would love Crossfit. Must try it!! See? You’ve already been practicing. I think farm life would be a good training ground…I am not moving to a farm.
Amazing Elena and congrats!! Love your posts and all your hard work is inspiring. We actually have very good friends that opened the Fredericton Cross Fit and have had huge success. We’ve been talking about trying it but it scares me. I think I’d have to be at least in some kind of condition before going. But you are so right, it’s a mental game and that is half the battle. If you believe it, you can achieve it! Believing is key!
Keep up the great work.
Oh, Nat. You HAVE to try it. You’d love it. And really…no condition necessary. It’s all in your head sista!
Nat, like Elena said, you don’t have to ‘condition’ before you start CrossFit. That’s what you do when you get there. *wink*
amazing — way to go
Louise, far from amazing. But thanks.
no no no…from a woman who takes the elevator up 3 flights of stairs…amazing
Well, you know how much I love this post!
Way to go. I’m so excited for you and your accomplishment. Now, start working on levers!
Wow, Elena, I think you are being modest … and amazing!
That looks incredibly tough and awesome! I’ve never tried it but would love to. We don’t have a Crossfit gym near us, but maybe one day. You inspire me as always!
Elena, I am interested but scared. My shoulders have been KILLING me since I had a baby. I’m getting acupuncture in them now to try to fix them so things like CrossFit are an option. What are your thoughts?