I am all about learning new things... the right way.  As some of you read last summer, I delved into CrossFit for about a week and let's just say I did not have a good experience.  And I disliked that very much because I had heard so much about how great the sport of CrossFit is.  

 

I spoke with a friend and told her how I really wanted to give it a try again because I refused to believe it was that bad of an experience with everyone.  She recommended visiting an actual CrossFit affiliate gym.  I have always steered clear of CrossFit gyms because they are pretty pricey but after my first not-so-good experience of having gone to a "crossfit" gym that was free you always run into trainer that are not certified.  I do not want to get injured so paying the CrossFit gym fee for peace of mind works for me.


And I am so glad I did.  This week we had the first of 12 foundation classes and while I can barely move today, I am one happy girl who thinks she finally found a good CrossFit gym where I can perform the exercises under supervision since I am a newbie.  That is HUGE for me.

 

So, after a week what have I learned from it?  You would think not much but in reality-- a LOT:




excuse the wording but it aptly describes my feelings.

  

1. I thought I was in better shape that I actually am. Umm... BIG YES.  I have been training for a half marathon and I can lift pretty good weight at the gym.  So why was I winded after running 200m, doing a WOD and running 200m again? It was demoralizing... yet I felt strangely good because I gave it everything I had and it showed me my weak areas.

 

 

2. What? Now I need to learn another lingo?  AMRAP, WOD, cashout, score... I need a dictionary for this.

 

 

3. I have been doing squats the wrong way ALL my life.  Enough said.

 

 

4. I am a math genius! Suddenly I am an ace at counting forward and backward, diving sets into reps to make sure I do the reps I need in more manageable bites.  Who needs a calculator?  It all in the brain!

 

 

5. I have an uber competitive nature. I actually found myself saying the words "bring it" in my head which surprised me and then made me laugh.

 

 

6. I can be competitive yet cheer for somebody else at the same time.  So while I was sprinting, I was cheering on the other people in the class-- even if out of breath.  This is one of the things I think I like the most about CrossFit-- camaraderie. 

 

 

7. Just because you feel like hurling does not mean you will (refer to #1).  Goes back to the fact that apparently I am not in the shape I thought I was.

 

 

8. You need to have humility and embrace the concept of training to get stronger and failing (refer to #1).  I like to win.  I am not even going to lie about that.  But this week showed me that you won't always win but you view the training (fails included) and you see them as training to get stronger not only physically but mentally.  That mentality ensured that not only I pushed through the wall but that at the end of each class I had a smile on my face because I left it ALL there.