Thursday, April 19, 2012

What A Difference a Year Can Make

Today (April 18th) is Dennis and I's 1 year anniversary of starting Crossfit.  I can remember that time like it was yesterday....


Dennis and I had just celebrated our 1 year anniversary of marriage by going on a Southern Caribbean Cruise and while the cruise was fantastic, looking at pictures of our bodies was not so great.  I decided that something needed to be done and that we would figure something out together. 

Luckily the ROC Social club was holding a local "Biggest Loser" contest (this was their second year doing this) and a few of my other friends had expressed some interest so Dennis agreed that this would jump start our health and fitness goal, what better way than with a friendly competition?

We were excited and anxious to start the competition and when we received the first email about the "Biggest Loser" and how the first weigh in was at Crossfit610 (a sponsoring gym) and they wanted to do a quick introduction about their gym and if people were interested we could join on a trial basis.  DENNIS was furious.

He absolutely hated the fact that we had to listen to a sales pitch before we weighed in and I had to listen to Dennis rant on and on about how pissed he was and how he wasn't going to give "Crossfit610" the time of day and blah blah.

HA!

So, with a heated Dennis we tried to find the location of "Crossfit610" and it was pretty tricky to find and to be honest, was in a sketchy location and when we finally went INTO the gym, was basically a room with pull up bars, weights, and medicine balls.  NOT your typical globo gym at all. 

We were introduced to Trainer Mike who was this shorter tan guy but was pure muscle.  He then started talking about Crossfit and having people being able to do things they never thought they could do physically and that if we joined 610 we would win the contest.  Holy cocky!

Angry Dennis called BS on Trainer Mike and made one of Mike's gym member bang out some pretty impressive pull ups and I believe that was the moment that Dennis was sold.  I really had zero idea what I was getting into, but in attempts to spend more time with Dennis, I signed up for the trial as well. 

Before being allowed into a Crossfit Group class, one has to complete 3 classes called the "Elements" where you learn all the moves you will be eventually doing in class followed by a mini workout.  Trainer Molly recommended doing those 3 classes consecutively and typically they are done in the morning, at 6am. 

So on April 18th 2011 at 5:30am Dennis and I reluctantly rolled out of bed and headed to our first Elements class.  It was horrible!  Weight training was not my idea of working out and when we finally got through the 3 classes, I felt like I had been abused. 

I was sore, I could barely walk, I had puked during the classes, and I wasn't mentally prepared for the amount of effort that was expected from me, but for whatever reason, I wanted to stick with it and get better. 

The coolest part was even though I was an overweight girl that had no strength ability what so ever, Trainer Mike and Molly gave me the confidence that if I stuck with it, trained hard, and put in max effort, I would reach goals I'd never though possible. 

Fast Forward to Today. 

One year later, I couldn't be more proud of myself.  For one full year (with a few weeks off here and there) I have taken the plunge head first into crossfit.

I care about my 1 rep maxes.  I care if I come in last for the WOD.  I have a blog, a fan page, my wardrobe is slowly turning into mostly Crossfit shirts, and I have more photos of Dennis and I lifting things than I do of us out partying. 

Most importantly, I feel amazing and I love what Crossfit has done for me mentally, physically, and socially.  I have met the most inspiring trainers, competitors and gym members.  I know I've said this multiple times but its true, Crossfit has changed me for life, for the better. 

So today I celebrating surviving my 1st year as a Crossfitter and I cannot wait to see what improvements come in the upcoming years. 

THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO HAS MADE THIS 1ST YEAR ABSOLUTELY UNFORGETTABLE! 

1 comment:

  1. What a wonderful summary. Keep up the hard work!

    Emily

    ReplyDelete