Why I Preach Crossfit

If you're my friend, family, or anyone remotely close to me, you know I am obsessed with crossfit. Crossfit makes my world go round. The amazingly cool thing about crossfit is that it's not just about fitness. Crossfit gives you physical AND mental strength. I always tell people, "yoga taught me to accept myself, and crossfit gave me confidence in myself. "

I did my first crossfit competition a few weekends ago, and it really freaked me out. The concept of competing doesn't scare me as much as getting caught in the mindset of comparing myself to others. I don't want competing to change what crossfit is about for me.

This is me when I was 16. I was under 100 lbs and really unhappy. 

I remember this evening perfectly. This is the night I decided to start eating again. My parents took me to Macaroni Grill where I ate the loaf of bread, an appetizer, an entree, and dessert. I then proceeded on to a halloween party where I decided to drink and wound up in the hospital. The next thing I remember is dry heaving while watching two women yell at each other in the ER after a bar fight. I might say this and the following week at school made up the worst week of my life.

However, I learned a lot that week. I learned that high school kids can be very cruel. I learned that I did have a few really amazing people in my life that were going to love me no matter what. And I gave up the idea that I had to be someone for everyone else. I just needed to be someone who I was proud to be.

I've been working on being someone who I am proud to be ever since. I can say with 100% confidence that crossfit has helped me immensely in that process. Over the last year crossfit has given me the ability to express myself with assurance. I no longer doubt my abilities, my beauty, or my worth. To me, this gain has meant everything. I recently heard the expression that "Crossfit makes you awesome at life." This could not ring truer for me. 

This was my very first day of crossfit. They call it, "drinking the cool-aid." I did my first workout with a friend at Crossfit Evolve. I recently had a chance to thank some of the people who I worked out with for the first time at the Turkey Challenge crossfit competition. 

This is just over a year later at my first competition. 

I would dare say that crossfit for me has been more about mental strength than physical strength. Am I awesome at crossfit? No. But I'm better! I started out using 3 bands for my pull-ups, very uncomfortable with a barbell other than deadlifts and back squats, and about a 10-11 minute mile. Today I can do around 20 kipping pull-ups, the other day I cleaned 135 lbs, and I ran a half-marathon at 9-minute miles without training. What this translates to mentally is, I feel like I can do anything I set my sights on. As corny as it sounds, I feel like I can conquer the world... or at least leave some lasting change for the better :).

This is what crossfit has been about for me. Becoming "awesome at life." And I intend on becoming even more awesome. So do I want to make it about competing? If I can do it in a healthy frame of mind. If I can compete for the sole reason that it will help me push myself to be the best person and crossfitter I can be, then yes. I would love to be a competitor. But the second I feel like it's becoming something negative for me, it's taking away from what crossfit has already given me. So I guess, like everything, it's an act of balance.

The point I want to get across is that crossfit is so much more than what people assume it is. It's not just about being as strong as the games women or looking a certain way. For me, at least, it's been about finding my best self and learning how to reflect that back onto my life, the people in it, and the obstacles I face.