My Journey to CrossFit

So you’re curious about CrossFit.

But you’re just not sure. So what is it that’s holding you back?

I have heard it all before: it’s too intense. It’s dangerous. It’s hard. Or maybe you just don’t know enough about it.

I myself used to be a skeptic too. I thought my way of working out was the right and only way. I would go to the crowded globo gym with my head down and headphones in, hoping to not accidentally lock eyes with the guy flexing in the mirror. 

As I am writing this I am not only an avid CrossFitter, but I fell so deeply in love with it that I became a coach. 

For years, I did what many do and just go to the local commercial gym. Coming from a history and love of bodybuilding, I would show up and be in a constant battle for the bench press or have to stare down people doing curls in the squat rack.

As I got into my late twenties, I did what I never thought would happen…I got bored. I felt as though I was just running in place. I had plateaued, and no longer felt that I was getting any fitter.

The crowded gym with the various assortment of characters that often find their way into every gym began to really get on my nerves, and even an awesome chest session wasn’t as great as it used to be.

So for the first time in nearly a decade, I didn’t want to workout anymore, something that I once decided my entire schedule around. I was in a rut and needed an injection of excitement and challenge.

“ But how?” I often thought. It was also at this time that I found myself with a void in my life because the gym has always been such a large part of my identity.  

Like most people, I had heard of CrossFit, but when it was recommended to me by my close friend Kristen, I scoffed at the idea.

I had been conditioned  by false information that it was just an expensive fitness cult. I had always just assumed it was just dangerous workouts, with loud music, and full of shirtless people yelling around a barbell.

Kristen, herself a diehard CrossFitter, persisted. She said that I should just go in with an open mind and a clean slate for something new. So, with much trepidation and unease, I walked into my first CrossFit gym with an open mind and a desire to learn. 

And do you know what? I loved it!

It became everything I was looking for and exactly what I needed. The challenge was constant and it felt so good to have a coach watching over you and other members to cheer you on.

I never thought that I would challenge myself as much as I do now. I worked out at commercial gyms for years and barely got to know a soul, but I have made so many real friends since I started CrossFit.

The sense of community is very real. The energy is electric during a workout. It’s hard to describe. You not only want to be fitter, but you look at the people around you and you legitimately draw strength from seeing how hard everyone is working. I never realized how powerful that energy is and I have yet to experience anywhere else.

Now is CrossFit easy? No. Let’s be honest though, anything worth having shouldn’t be easy.

Becoming leaner, stronger, and fitter is hard work. If anyone tells you differently, they are trying to sell you magic for profit. Putting the work in is what has made CrossFit special to me.

The challenge has forced me to rise to it and show up constantly because self improvement is a journey that has no end. Again, if anyone tells you that the road to self improvement is not hard, then there is probably a price tag attached to their advice.

Roughly six months after I joined my first gym, I earned my CrossFit Level 1, which allows me to coach, and I have never looked back. I have now been coaching at Holy City Crossfit coming up on six months and I truly enjoy all of it, from my fellow coaches to the other members. This is where I want my future to be.

It took awhile for me to come around, but I couldn’t be happier that I did. You may be still hesitant or nervous, and that is completely normal and expected.

The hardest part is just taking that first step. It will make all the difference. I took that step and it has made a huge impact on not only my fitness regime but my life as a whole.