An Oldie But Goodie - CrossFit Level 1 2012
This is the ONLY blog post I saved from before I deleted everything. It was originally posted 5 years ago... wow.
WOW. What a year in the life! I don't usually get sappy or sentimental about Crossfit and CFMY but it's my One Year Anniversary and I just passed my Level 1 Certification. I am taking a minute to be contemplative and reflective. If that takes me to a sappy and sentimental place, then so be it!
People at the Level I Cert talked about their Crossfit "Journey." As
I sit to write this, I feel like my Crossfit Journey is just beginning. But I
sure have been on some crazy ass journey to get to CFMY though. Guess I gotta
start there.
With this in mind, I have two statements to make:
My Journey to CFMY
Hope you don't mind but I am going to REALLY go back now and talk PRE - CFMY now that I have gained some crazy perspective.
I busted my ACL in 2001 playing club soccer in college with a simple planting and turning to change direction on the ball. It's crazy how one quick movement, one small moment; one loud "pop" can drastically alter the course of a life. I am not trying to be dramatic here but in retrospect, my life course was altered right there! It was a sunny, breezy, beautiful afternoon on a soccer field in Salisbury, MD, and in a matter of seconds, I was broken. I was carried off the field and immediately applied ice to my knee. I went to the student health center when I got back to Villanova that night. Since I had New York specific health insurance, it was suggested that I could find an Orthopedic Doctor who would take me pro-bono in PA. I followed up with my Orthopedic surgeon at home in NY, who unfortunately did not take a new MRI. He used the ones taken by the PA doctor. The MRI showed that I had definitely torn my MCL. The ACL "seemed" intact but I suspect, as was suggested by a doctor 5 years later, that it was this event that had mostly, if not completely, torn my ACL. With the "pop" sound and the movement I was making, I tend to agree, as it is a classic soccer chick horror story. I believe I was misdiagnosed as only a torn MCL. I couldn't walk on it for a couple of weeks without crutches, but the pain subsided and the MCL healed. I continued to play soccer and live life without my ACL intact for 3-4 more years. I had no pain and no real "issues" with my knee, which is surprisingly not as uncommon as you might think. I actually ran the Broad Street Run in 2005.
It was later in 2005 that I noticed that my knee would hyper-extend and click when I simply walked from my car to the grocery. I found a hot Orthopedic Surgeon in Bryn Mawr (no it's not important that he was hot, but he was!) I was diagnosed this time, at 24 years old, with a torn ACL and opted for surgery. The surgery itself wasn't too bad as I was able to walk on it the same day, with a locked brace but with no crutches. I believe it's because my muscles were used to not having an ACL. I opted for a hamstring graft meaning a part of my left hamstring was used as my new ACL. I attended physical therapy 3x's a week for 3 months at $20 or $30 a visit. PT consisted of riding a stationary bike or elliptical machine, random jumping type of "drills", and limited nautilus machine type of lifting. Then, prescribe PT ended and... I was all on my own.
I no longer played for any structured team, had a coach or any real supervision but I was determined to continue to rehab myself. I joined Philadelphia Sports Club in Ardmore and decided to go to some classes. I remember trying to attend a kickboxing class at PSC about 4-5 months post surgery. I left the class early while tears welled up in my eyes, walking as quickly as I possibly could through the crowded gym to the parking lot, because I simply couldn't keep up. I had soreness to the point of pain in my hamstring and limited mobility through my left knee. Even though I explained to the instructor my post-surgery situation, there was no attempt to modify anything for me.
So I stuck to things I could do at the gym; elliptical and circuit machines, yoga and Pilates. I played soccer on the weekends. I think it was about 2 years before I had no pain or noticeable issues in my knee and hamstring. I was never able to get back to where I was... I WAS the girl that other teams made sure to mark tight because otherwise I would score. Now I was just struggling to keep up and beyond frustrated. Please note I still do not have the ability to fully contract my left hamstring to this day. It also still will cramp up if I decide to sprint before warming up appropriately.
Let’s fast forward to the 2007-2009 timeframe. I am struggling through a 40 minute soccer game during the week and a 90 minute game on the weekends. I joined a new "globo" gym close to my new house in Manayunk. I have a new lovely roommate who was, conveniently, a dietitian and a self proclaimed gym-rat.
Now this gym is probably as GOOD of a globo gym as a person could belong. It was about $75 a month and the people were mostly friendly enough. It was clean with lots of classes, machines and trainers that genuinely want to help you. I am very good friends with a couple of girls who are still personal trainers there.
With that said; I am a big girl. This is not news to me. At 17 years old, I was pretty fit but wore a size 12/14, weighed 165#, and was already a 36D. I have a booty and some boobs. I ALWAYS have just been "bigger." Always an athlete though, I was captain of this team and that one too. Growing up, it was never a disadvantage for me to be bigger because I was also usually stronger, faster, or more skilled as well. But here I was, in my late 20's, being judged, underestimated and patronized by members of the staff at this gym, I believe, simply because I was, according to my BMI, obese.
So I surrendered. I had a "(Wo)Man in the Mirror" moment and thought to myself "Maybe I am just obese. The number says so. Listen to these health professionals Leslie, because clearly what you are doing isn't working." In essence, I shifted and lowered my expectations for myself. I allowed myself to be underestimated. On the upside, I did commit to a healthier lifestyle for a while. Here's some MJ in case I am losing your interest.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PivWY9wn5ps" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
For two years or so, I was pretty consistent with going to this gym. It was the typical bit at the gym where you are watching Food Network while working out on the elliptical. I hated running on a treadmill, mostly because too many things were bouncing all over and there are too many people there to see it. And the mirrors everywhere! I certainly don't need to see me on a treadmill. The classes there weren't bad... Zumba, yoga, spinning, Pilates, "total body", and good old kickboxing (which I could at least keep up with now!). But again with the mirrors... I had a personal trainer for a few months that I loved but couldn't really afford. I saw a nutrition counselor there who actually decided to commit insurance fraud by claiming more appointments with me than actually happened but that is a different story altogether...
My dietician, self proclaimed gym rat, roommate and I would to the gym together which was a really good thing. When she moved out, I found that I was completely BORED to tears at the gym and no longer had someone to guilt me (push me!?) into going. I had been going there for 2 years and still mostly felt that judgment, underestimation, and patronization from some (not all) of the staff. (It's quite possible that this was in my head BTW but that is how it felt). I had seen minimal "results" since my “results” were based predominantly on weight loss. I began to dread going, then hated going and inevitably, I stopped going. At $75 a month, you better believe I dropped my membership too. I had been going to hot yoga and playing soccer and softball on the side so I wasn't completely inactive. I knew that a high protein, low-carb diet was going to be my best chance at leaning out so I made moderate efforts to maintain good nutrition.
By summer of 2010, I was feeling good, feeling confident, looking pretty good and smiling a lot in life. I had my 1st Annual 29th Birthday...
So of course, when I least expected it, I met this boy! He
lives in California. I live in Philadelphia. (Red Flag #1!!!) But... I had
truly never felt so strongly about another person in my life... and hey you
never know unless you give it a try, right?!! So I "let him in" and
we talked every day or every other day. We planned some things... or maybe I
planned some things... I don't really remember. These "things" never
came to fruition. Eventually, I told him to stop calling me (about 5 months
later than I should have... so many bright red flags!!!). We ran into each other again at a work event, a week long conference. Around this same time I ran into this boy again, I lost my
good friend to a two year battle with intestinal cancer. He was only 36
years old, full of life and full of joy, always ready to crack a joke
(Anybodywantapeanut!?) or crack open a beer.
I have worked with his wife for nine years, look up to her professionally and would consider her to
be one of my best friends in life. I was attending a conference the same
week as his funeral. Needless to say, I was very emotional and mostly just sad that week. It was physically exhausting to try to "keep up appearances"
during the day, at the conference, for business purposes, when I was ready to
break down and cry at any given moment. Even so, I soldiered on since I had two
papers to present to a lot of really smart people, a booth in the exhibition
hall, and meetings to attend. I was just kind of a sad, emotional mess though.
I don't think "the boy" knew really what to do with sad me. I will
just say that our reunion did not go well at all. My little heart was pretty
much pounded into a sad, sad, puddle of goo.
My 30th birthday was the next
event on the calendar! My parents had planned to take the whole family on a
cruise to celebrate because they are awesome. So we cruised the Caribbean! I
spent an entire week eating soft serve ice cream and drinking Korbel simply
because it was my birthday.
Even though we had an AMAZING family vacation, I was pretty low when I got back to Philly. I was heartbroken and probably actually depressed. I no longer had that person that I would talk to everyday. I also had a lot of anger at the whole situation; I was angry with the unfairness of my friend's death. I was mad at myself and definitely at "the boy." On top of that, my "fat" clothes were not fitting me anymore and I was no longer in any state of fitness.
My sister put up some really awesome pics of me from that summer on the facebook... I don't look too happy or healthy in my opinion!? Here’s some gems for ya!
I knew I had to "do
something" but the thought of going back to the globo gym made me want to cry or
vomit or something… aka wasn’t gonna happen. Yoga wasn't getting the job done
for me either as it offered way too much time be alone with my thoughts. I
started looking for something else to do, something I could throw myself into.
I clearly needed to get back in touch with myself and work out some things. I
can be pretty good at “Fake it ‘til you make it” when I want to be so I don't
think anyone in my life could REALLY tell, but I was absolutely and completely
lost.
In late July, I saw some Facebook chatter on an old sorority sister's page. These girls were trying to get my sorority sister to join something called "Crossfit Manayunk."
I had heard of crossfit… "the boy" had asked me what I thought about it once. At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about. So, I turned to my trusty friend Google to find out that this "Crossfit Manayunk" was 5 minutes away(yes!), had no mirrors (yes! yes!), no bull shit (yes! right on!) and looked absolutely terrifying (eek!). But I kept reading.
I think the part that hooked me in was on the FAQ's page :
"Remember, you don't need to "get in shape" before starting CrossFit. Everybody must crawl before they can walk, and walk before they can run... and we will be by your side every step of the way!"
I was most definitely crawling.
I could not sit around and wait to see if my sister was going to join or not.
I needed to take action and pull my shit together.
I signed up for the 1st available Onramp starting August 22nd, 2011.
My Crossfit Journey
On my 1st day of Onramp, the 5:45am class was definitely climbing over a wall and going through the Monkey Bars as part of a WOD. So I thought, like most of us probably think the 1st day of Onramp, "Holy shit... WTF did I just sign up for?" I have NEVER been able to do the monkey bars, even as a kid. I did not know anyone. It was 7am. I like sleep. There was a girl in my Onramp that I sort of knew through soccer in the area. I never really liked her. I was nervous. I wanted to leave. What the F was I doing here?
Enter David Lee.
Dave Lee, you know, Papa D, with all his tattoos, his big manly muscles, all his CFMY badass-ness, was simply kind, funny and genuine. I did not, for even a milli-second, feel patronized, underestimated or judged. I immediately liked his style as he put us newbies at ease with a smile. He also laid out, clearly, what was expected of his athletes.
You are here to work. Scale what you need to. The intensity mattered, not the loading. Here's the warm-up on this board. When you get here, warm up and we will get to work.
This whole idea of scaling a work out was amazing to me! It just made so much sense. I was drawn to the "Team in Training" type feeling that CFMY offered. We did the 1st Onramp WOD and I think I was either the slowest or the 2nd to last. I maybe was able to do 4 push ups on my knees before I had to "shake it out." It was not pretty. I was sorer than I had probably been in the last 10 years of my life. But I went back for more. Nothing changes, nothing changes right!?
I definitely kept an open mind but secretly, I was waiting for it... the judgy-ness; I waiting for the part where I was patronized since I was “obese” and clearly fat people don’t know how to exercise! I had come to expect it and probably believe I deserved it a little bit. Good thing I didn't hold my breath.
As I got to know Dave a little more, I began to think that he genuinely gave a shit about my health and performance. Also, the website was right. There was no BS. Since I had filled my yearly BS quota and it was only August, this realization was like a breath of fresh air. In two weeks, I think I took like 5 minutes off the initial Onramp WOD the 2nd time I did it. If this is where Dave could get me in two weeks, what could we do with a month? 6 months? A year?
So I signed up for 3x's a week and we were off! I was totally intimidated at first! I was literally sore for the first 3-4 months. But it felt so good to do something hard and to get out of my comfort zone. I was so tired of being sad and out of shape. I could not do any form of pull up and struggled to even get my frickin' foot in the stupid band. But I showed up, did the WOD's, and saw concrete results and real measurable progress. The number on the scale was never important to me in life and here, I was again able to focus on other numbers; how many reps, how fast did I go, how heavy did I lift.
A few weeks in, I told Papa D that he COULD actually yell at me, correct me, and push me. I think I also told him I needed to get my swagger back. I remember one day when the WOD involved sprints and I think I surprised a few people with my "speed." Some days I would be able to really attack the WOD. Most days, I scaled about everything in the WOD in order to get through it. I did ring rows for the 1st six months that I belonged to CFMY mostly because I lacked the strength and flexibility to get my foot in the stupid rubber band for banded pull ups...
Six months in, February 2012, I decided to sign up for a competition at Crossfit Apex called the Winter Combine. It was a Powerlifting/Crossfit comp composed of 5 WOD's, 3lifts/2 Crosfit type WODs.
The 1st WOD was to take some period of time to find your max jerk, something I had never really done before at any significant weight. I think I started at 115#... and just kept adding 10#'s each lift. With Josh Wagner looking on as my judge, Kanye’s Love Lockdown blaring through the box, I jerked 155#! With time for one last jerk, I went for 175# and dropped it. But at 155#’s, I came in 2nd on WOD 1!
(what am I looking at!?!?)
Oh and it's always amazing to make Papa D proud. (His "proud" face is below. Very similar to his "Who? Me?" face)
The 1st time I did it, I got to the 100# snatches with something like 6 minutes left on the clock. I had six whole minutes to try to figure out how to get this effing bar over my head. With about 2:30 left, I get one and then before the time ran out, I got a 2nd one! It wasn't a fluke!
That weekend, we went to Crossfit Inspire to re-do our Week 2 WOD's in a more competitive (but friendly!) atmosphere. I was rested and ready... I scored a 72 for WOD 2 and made my contribution towards our endeavor to get to the Mid Atlantic Regional Games. As a side note, I earned the nickname "Snatch Queen" which I think I am okay with it!?
All of these amazing things were happening on the “exercise” side of CFMY. Over on the “community” side, I was beginning to believe in the idea of our CFMY family. For the 1st six months, I was more of the opinion “Family… blah, blah, blah… sure it’s a “family” but really it’s just a great gym with some nice people.” I had been sipping the Crossfit Kool-Aid, now I was chugging it any chance I got.
We are a family. We’re a great family. We include each other, encourage each other, take care of each other (especially when intoxicated), forgive each other and most importantly, accept each other, just the way a family does.
I was smiling for real againJ No more “fake it ‘til you make it.” I
love these people and am constantly amazed by who they are and proud of what
they can do.
So here are some additional milestones in my 1st year of CFMY:
March 29th – I ALMOST made the CFMY Regionals team as the alternate but lost out by 3 whole 65# Snatches… I was quoted as saying “You live by the Snatch. You die by the Snatch.” You know it’s true.
April 20th - Almost 8 months to the day after starting CFMY, I got 4 actual, for real, unassisted pull ups. #believethat
May 17th – Grace Time of 3:16 (Kind of religious actually!?)
May 30th – 1:54 500m row
June 2nd – Carl Paoli touched my leg teaching the Rope Climb during the Gymnastics Seminar. I giggled like a school girl…. All day.
June 6th – Split Jerk 1RM at 185#
June 20th – 130# Power Snatch
June 21st – 150# Clean & Jerk
July 31st – 205# Front Squat
I don’t know about you but these numbers are crazy to me!! I am obese!! STILL! Lol. Seriously though, when I started CFMY, I weighed 216#’s (ick). Yesterday, I weighed 202#’s. I know I took measurements when I started but I need to find them to compare to today’s measurements. I know that I have slimmed down mostly because my clothes are looser.
So here I am, one year after starting CFMY. I am underestimated no more; not by anyone at CFMY, sometimes still by people who don’t know me but I don’t allow that for very long. Most importantly, I do not underestimate myself.
It’s with this in mind that I decided to take the Level I Certification Course so that I could help coach at CFMY. I have surprised myself and surpassed my expectations for myself so many times in the past year that I have lost count! Obviously, it hasn’t all been rainbows and butterflies; more like blood (hands!! My poor hands!), lots of sweat (Hey remember when we didn’t have AC in July!) and tears (physical exhaustion tends to allow me to get in touch with my emotions real quick). I really believe in Crossfit and in the CF community, the family, we are building at CFMY. If I can help someone let go of some fear, realize some of their potential and surpass their own expectations, the way Dave has helped me, then clearly, I should do that.
I realize Crossfit plays a different role in the lives of its followers. For some people, it is just a really great workout, a gym, a way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. For some people, it truly is life changing. I think for me, at this early stage in my “Crossfit Journey”, I am simply not going to underestimate the role it is playing in my life. If the past year is any indication, it’s going to completely surpass all my expectations anyway...
WOW. What a year in the life! I don't usually get sappy or sentimental about Crossfit and CFMY but it's my One Year Anniversary and I just passed my Level 1 Certification. I am taking a minute to be contemplative and reflective. If that takes me to a sappy and sentimental place, then so be it!
With this in mind, I have two statements to make:
1)
Crossfit and
specifically, David Lee and Crossfit Manayunk, has absolutely saved me from
myself.
2)
For so
long, I allowed people to underestimate me to the point where I underestimated
my own capabilities and worth as an athlete and by extension, sometimes,
probably as a person.
My Journey to CFMY
Hope you don't mind but I am going to REALLY go back now and talk PRE - CFMY now that I have gained some crazy perspective.
I busted my ACL in 2001 playing club soccer in college with a simple planting and turning to change direction on the ball. It's crazy how one quick movement, one small moment; one loud "pop" can drastically alter the course of a life. I am not trying to be dramatic here but in retrospect, my life course was altered right there! It was a sunny, breezy, beautiful afternoon on a soccer field in Salisbury, MD, and in a matter of seconds, I was broken. I was carried off the field and immediately applied ice to my knee. I went to the student health center when I got back to Villanova that night. Since I had New York specific health insurance, it was suggested that I could find an Orthopedic Doctor who would take me pro-bono in PA. I followed up with my Orthopedic surgeon at home in NY, who unfortunately did not take a new MRI. He used the ones taken by the PA doctor. The MRI showed that I had definitely torn my MCL. The ACL "seemed" intact but I suspect, as was suggested by a doctor 5 years later, that it was this event that had mostly, if not completely, torn my ACL. With the "pop" sound and the movement I was making, I tend to agree, as it is a classic soccer chick horror story. I believe I was misdiagnosed as only a torn MCL. I couldn't walk on it for a couple of weeks without crutches, but the pain subsided and the MCL healed. I continued to play soccer and live life without my ACL intact for 3-4 more years. I had no pain and no real "issues" with my knee, which is surprisingly not as uncommon as you might think. I actually ran the Broad Street Run in 2005.
It was later in 2005 that I noticed that my knee would hyper-extend and click when I simply walked from my car to the grocery. I found a hot Orthopedic Surgeon in Bryn Mawr (no it's not important that he was hot, but he was!) I was diagnosed this time, at 24 years old, with a torn ACL and opted for surgery. The surgery itself wasn't too bad as I was able to walk on it the same day, with a locked brace but with no crutches. I believe it's because my muscles were used to not having an ACL. I opted for a hamstring graft meaning a part of my left hamstring was used as my new ACL. I attended physical therapy 3x's a week for 3 months at $20 or $30 a visit. PT consisted of riding a stationary bike or elliptical machine, random jumping type of "drills", and limited nautilus machine type of lifting. Then, prescribe PT ended and... I was all on my own.
I no longer played for any structured team, had a coach or any real supervision but I was determined to continue to rehab myself. I joined Philadelphia Sports Club in Ardmore and decided to go to some classes. I remember trying to attend a kickboxing class at PSC about 4-5 months post surgery. I left the class early while tears welled up in my eyes, walking as quickly as I possibly could through the crowded gym to the parking lot, because I simply couldn't keep up. I had soreness to the point of pain in my hamstring and limited mobility through my left knee. Even though I explained to the instructor my post-surgery situation, there was no attempt to modify anything for me.
So I stuck to things I could do at the gym; elliptical and circuit machines, yoga and Pilates. I played soccer on the weekends. I think it was about 2 years before I had no pain or noticeable issues in my knee and hamstring. I was never able to get back to where I was... I WAS the girl that other teams made sure to mark tight because otherwise I would score. Now I was just struggling to keep up and beyond frustrated. Please note I still do not have the ability to fully contract my left hamstring to this day. It also still will cramp up if I decide to sprint before warming up appropriately.
Let’s fast forward to the 2007-2009 timeframe. I am struggling through a 40 minute soccer game during the week and a 90 minute game on the weekends. I joined a new "globo" gym close to my new house in Manayunk. I have a new lovely roommate who was, conveniently, a dietitian and a self proclaimed gym-rat.
Now this gym is probably as GOOD of a globo gym as a person could belong. It was about $75 a month and the people were mostly friendly enough. It was clean with lots of classes, machines and trainers that genuinely want to help you. I am very good friends with a couple of girls who are still personal trainers there.
With that said; I am a big girl. This is not news to me. At 17 years old, I was pretty fit but wore a size 12/14, weighed 165#, and was already a 36D. I have a booty and some boobs. I ALWAYS have just been "bigger." Always an athlete though, I was captain of this team and that one too. Growing up, it was never a disadvantage for me to be bigger because I was also usually stronger, faster, or more skilled as well. But here I was, in my late 20's, being judged, underestimated and patronized by members of the staff at this gym, I believe, simply because I was, according to my BMI, obese.
So I surrendered. I had a "(Wo)Man in the Mirror" moment and thought to myself "Maybe I am just obese. The number says so. Listen to these health professionals Leslie, because clearly what you are doing isn't working." In essence, I shifted and lowered my expectations for myself. I allowed myself to be underestimated. On the upside, I did commit to a healthier lifestyle for a while. Here's some MJ in case I am losing your interest.
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For two years or so, I was pretty consistent with going to this gym. It was the typical bit at the gym where you are watching Food Network while working out on the elliptical. I hated running on a treadmill, mostly because too many things were bouncing all over and there are too many people there to see it. And the mirrors everywhere! I certainly don't need to see me on a treadmill. The classes there weren't bad... Zumba, yoga, spinning, Pilates, "total body", and good old kickboxing (which I could at least keep up with now!). But again with the mirrors... I had a personal trainer for a few months that I loved but couldn't really afford. I saw a nutrition counselor there who actually decided to commit insurance fraud by claiming more appointments with me than actually happened but that is a different story altogether...
My dietician, self proclaimed gym rat, roommate and I would to the gym together which was a really good thing. When she moved out, I found that I was completely BORED to tears at the gym and no longer had someone to guilt me (push me!?) into going. I had been going there for 2 years and still mostly felt that judgment, underestimation, and patronization from some (not all) of the staff. (It's quite possible that this was in my head BTW but that is how it felt). I had seen minimal "results" since my “results” were based predominantly on weight loss. I began to dread going, then hated going and inevitably, I stopped going. At $75 a month, you better believe I dropped my membership too. I had been going to hot yoga and playing soccer and softball on the side so I wasn't completely inactive. I knew that a high protein, low-carb diet was going to be my best chance at leaning out so I made moderate efforts to maintain good nutrition.
By summer of 2010, I was feeling good, feeling confident, looking pretty good and smiling a lot in life. I had my 1st Annual 29th Birthday...
Even though we had an AMAZING family vacation, I was pretty low when I got back to Philly. I was heartbroken and probably actually depressed. I no longer had that person that I would talk to everyday. I also had a lot of anger at the whole situation; I was angry with the unfairness of my friend's death. I was mad at myself and definitely at "the boy." On top of that, my "fat" clothes were not fitting me anymore and I was no longer in any state of fitness.
My sister put up some really awesome pics of me from that summer on the facebook... I don't look too happy or healthy in my opinion!? Here’s some gems for ya!
In late July, I saw some Facebook chatter on an old sorority sister's page. These girls were trying to get my sorority sister to join something called "Crossfit Manayunk."
I had heard of crossfit… "the boy" had asked me what I thought about it once. At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about. So, I turned to my trusty friend Google to find out that this "Crossfit Manayunk" was 5 minutes away(yes!), had no mirrors (yes! yes!), no bull shit (yes! right on!) and looked absolutely terrifying (eek!). But I kept reading.
I think the part that hooked me in was on the FAQ's page :
"Remember, you don't need to "get in shape" before starting CrossFit. Everybody must crawl before they can walk, and walk before they can run... and we will be by your side every step of the way!"
I was most definitely crawling.
I could not sit around and wait to see if my sister was going to join or not.
I needed to take action and pull my shit together.
I signed up for the 1st available Onramp starting August 22nd, 2011.
My Crossfit Journey
On my 1st day of Onramp, the 5:45am class was definitely climbing over a wall and going through the Monkey Bars as part of a WOD. So I thought, like most of us probably think the 1st day of Onramp, "Holy shit... WTF did I just sign up for?" I have NEVER been able to do the monkey bars, even as a kid. I did not know anyone. It was 7am. I like sleep. There was a girl in my Onramp that I sort of knew through soccer in the area. I never really liked her. I was nervous. I wanted to leave. What the F was I doing here?
Enter David Lee.
Dave Lee, you know, Papa D, with all his tattoos, his big manly muscles, all his CFMY badass-ness, was simply kind, funny and genuine. I did not, for even a milli-second, feel patronized, underestimated or judged. I immediately liked his style as he put us newbies at ease with a smile. He also laid out, clearly, what was expected of his athletes.
“Get
comfortable with being uncomfortable”
You are here to work. Scale what you need to. The intensity mattered, not the loading. Here's the warm-up on this board. When you get here, warm up and we will get to work.
This whole idea of scaling a work out was amazing to me! It just made so much sense. I was drawn to the "Team in Training" type feeling that CFMY offered. We did the 1st Onramp WOD and I think I was either the slowest or the 2nd to last. I maybe was able to do 4 push ups on my knees before I had to "shake it out." It was not pretty. I was sorer than I had probably been in the last 10 years of my life. But I went back for more. Nothing changes, nothing changes right!?
I definitely kept an open mind but secretly, I was waiting for it... the judgy-ness; I waiting for the part where I was patronized since I was “obese” and clearly fat people don’t know how to exercise! I had come to expect it and probably believe I deserved it a little bit. Good thing I didn't hold my breath.
As I got to know Dave a little more, I began to think that he genuinely gave a shit about my health and performance. Also, the website was right. There was no BS. Since I had filled my yearly BS quota and it was only August, this realization was like a breath of fresh air. In two weeks, I think I took like 5 minutes off the initial Onramp WOD the 2nd time I did it. If this is where Dave could get me in two weeks, what could we do with a month? 6 months? A year?
So I signed up for 3x's a week and we were off! I was totally intimidated at first! I was literally sore for the first 3-4 months. But it felt so good to do something hard and to get out of my comfort zone. I was so tired of being sad and out of shape. I could not do any form of pull up and struggled to even get my frickin' foot in the stupid band. But I showed up, did the WOD's, and saw concrete results and real measurable progress. The number on the scale was never important to me in life and here, I was again able to focus on other numbers; how many reps, how fast did I go, how heavy did I lift.
A few weeks in, I told Papa D that he COULD actually yell at me, correct me, and push me. I think I also told him I needed to get my swagger back. I remember one day when the WOD involved sprints and I think I surprised a few people with my "speed." Some days I would be able to really attack the WOD. Most days, I scaled about everything in the WOD in order to get through it. I did ring rows for the 1st six months that I belonged to CFMY mostly because I lacked the strength and flexibility to get my foot in the stupid rubber band for banded pull ups...
Six months in, February 2012, I decided to sign up for a competition at Crossfit Apex called the Winter Combine. It was a Powerlifting/Crossfit comp composed of 5 WOD's, 3lifts/2 Crosfit type WODs.
The 1st WOD was to take some period of time to find your max jerk, something I had never really done before at any significant weight. I think I started at 115#... and just kept adding 10#'s each lift. With Josh Wagner looking on as my judge, Kanye’s Love Lockdown blaring through the box, I jerked 155#! With time for one last jerk, I went for 175# and dropped it. But at 155#’s, I came in 2nd on WOD 1!
Ultimately, I came in 5th or 6th
of 11 women that day but the day was won in my book. Something in my approach
to all this Crossfit stuff shifted. I decided I was no longer going to be
afraid to fail. There is real empowerment in knowing exactly where your
limitations are... and I was finally ready to find them and push past them.
Oh and it's always amazing to make Papa D proud. (His "proud" face is below. Very similar to his "Who? Me?" face)
The 1st time I did it, I got to the 100# snatches with something like 6 minutes left on the clock. I had six whole minutes to try to figure out how to get this effing bar over my head. With about 2:30 left, I get one and then before the time ran out, I got a 2nd one! It wasn't a fluke!
That weekend, we went to Crossfit Inspire to re-do our Week 2 WOD's in a more competitive (but friendly!) atmosphere. I was rested and ready... I scored a 72 for WOD 2 and made my contribution towards our endeavor to get to the Mid Atlantic Regional Games. As a side note, I earned the nickname "Snatch Queen" which I think I am okay with it!?
All of these amazing things were happening on the “exercise” side of CFMY. Over on the “community” side, I was beginning to believe in the idea of our CFMY family. For the 1st six months, I was more of the opinion “Family… blah, blah, blah… sure it’s a “family” but really it’s just a great gym with some nice people.” I had been sipping the Crossfit Kool-Aid, now I was chugging it any chance I got.
We are a family. We’re a great family. We include each other, encourage each other, take care of each other (especially when intoxicated), forgive each other and most importantly, accept each other, just the way a family does.
We
do Burpees together on St. Patrick’s Day.
We
ladies love on Papa D.
We
dance to 90’s music at competitions togetherJ.
Where
we also hatched a plan for a 90’s party.
We
go to Zac Brown Band concerts
And
Phillies Games.
So here are some additional milestones in my 1st year of CFMY:
March 29th – I ALMOST made the CFMY Regionals team as the alternate but lost out by 3 whole 65# Snatches… I was quoted as saying “You live by the Snatch. You die by the Snatch.” You know it’s true.
April 20th - Almost 8 months to the day after starting CFMY, I got 4 actual, for real, unassisted pull ups. #believethat
May 17th – Grace Time of 3:16 (Kind of religious actually!?)
May 30th – 1:54 500m row
June 2nd – Carl Paoli touched my leg teaching the Rope Climb during the Gymnastics Seminar. I giggled like a school girl…. All day.
June 6th – Split Jerk 1RM at 185#
June 20th – 130# Power Snatch
June 21st – 150# Clean & Jerk
July 31st – 205# Front Squat
I don’t know about you but these numbers are crazy to me!! I am obese!! STILL! Lol. Seriously though, when I started CFMY, I weighed 216#’s (ick). Yesterday, I weighed 202#’s. I know I took measurements when I started but I need to find them to compare to today’s measurements. I know that I have slimmed down mostly because my clothes are looser.
So here I am, one year after starting CFMY. I am underestimated no more; not by anyone at CFMY, sometimes still by people who don’t know me but I don’t allow that for very long. Most importantly, I do not underestimate myself.
It’s with this in mind that I decided to take the Level I Certification Course so that I could help coach at CFMY. I have surprised myself and surpassed my expectations for myself so many times in the past year that I have lost count! Obviously, it hasn’t all been rainbows and butterflies; more like blood (hands!! My poor hands!), lots of sweat (Hey remember when we didn’t have AC in July!) and tears (physical exhaustion tends to allow me to get in touch with my emotions real quick). I really believe in Crossfit and in the CF community, the family, we are building at CFMY. If I can help someone let go of some fear, realize some of their potential and surpass their own expectations, the way Dave has helped me, then clearly, I should do that.
I realize Crossfit plays a different role in the lives of its followers. For some people, it is just a really great workout, a gym, a way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. For some people, it truly is life changing. I think for me, at this early stage in my “Crossfit Journey”, I am simply not going to underestimate the role it is playing in my life. If the past year is any indication, it’s going to completely surpass all my expectations anyway...
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