I drank the Kool-Aid about four months ago and joined the CrossFit cult. It’s been part of my effort to not only be healthy, set a healthy example for my kids, but also to reclaim some of ME. I love being a mother. You’ll hear me talk about how it’s the best thing I’ve ever done — and it is, but it’s not all that I am. I am much more and like most mothers, I lost the rest of me for a while there. I was consumed with mothering, horrifying first marriage related court drama, and with that, the rest of me fell by the wayside.
At the beginning of 2013, I decided that it was time to make a difference. I lost a bunch of baby weight, but I was painfully squishy. FINALLY! (If you don’t know, having two back-to-back pregnancies really isn’t advantageous for your waistline.) And I joined a bootcamp class for four weeks. In those four weeks, I kicked my butt into gear and lost an amazing amount of inches. I also went to a trial CrossFit class after seeing that a box convenient for me was running a promotion. It was unbelievably hard and I couldn’t walk for a week. Bootcamp is great, but CrossFit will kick your butt in ways you cannot even imagine.
My bootcamp class ended and I went right into CrossFit. It’s amazing. I know I sound like a cult member and everyone who isn’t in the cult refers to it that way, but it is AMAZING. During class, I almost always feel like I am going to die. And after it’s over, I almost always feel like I’m going to scale mountains and no one can stop me. THAT is well worth the amount of sweat I’m drowning in by the end of it.
I have gone from dealing with chronic back pain from two bad discs in my lumbar region to no pain each morning. That’s right: NONE. I’m stronger, I’m happier, and I’m always ready for more. It is an amazing transformation that even I can see. Even me, with my self-loathing (bad) habits! If I experience pain, it’s because I’ve pushed myself and my muscles are sore and rebuilding. It’s nothing some rolling out, some bananas, some sleep, and some protein won’t fix. My, how life has changed!
Short of the three back-to-back weeks where I had to be in NYC for three separate trips, I have been at CrossFit at least three times a week. My goal starting this week is to get back to 4 to 5 visits and possibly throwing in some double sessions, if possible. My bigger goals are a 5k for every month that weather doesn’t prohibit me from running and building my running endurance. I live in New England, so your guess is as good as mine whether that’ll be monthly or not over the winter. I will prevail, Mother Nature!
My fitness goals, my eating habits, and my focus has become a family affair. My son has attended CrossFit with me and he loves it. He’s actually upset that he cannot go with me each time. And my daughter is constantly talking about needing to exercise her “yegs” — but in a really healthy and cute way. Both of our oldest are aware of their need to eat well and even talk about which foods contain protein. It’s great because I don’t believe in being absolutely crazy about everything. They’re allowed treats and so am I. I’m mostly a 80/20 clean eater, so I generally save myself for a cheat meal on the weekend. It works. If and when I decide to compete in the CrossFit Games next year, I’ll probably become more strict with myself. But in the mean time, and even then, I believe in Eating The Food.
(This post serves as a warning that you will be hearing A LOT about CrossFit and whether I’m meeting my goals AND if I get brave enough, I’ll post photos of myself in transition. We’ll see.)
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