CrossFittin’

You guys: I started doing CrossFit.

I’ll pause for a second while you laugh. Or pick up your jaw from the floor. Or applaud or something, I don’t know. :)

I’ve posted a few times about how difficult it has been for me to work regular exercise into my life since having children. I’ve tried (and failed miserably) a few times to get into the Couch to 5K program. But the thing is? I really kind of hate running, and always have. Exercising is hard enough as it is, so when you’re doing something you don’t even like? It’s that much harder. I just couldn’t stick with it.

Michael started doing CrossFit in April 2013. I remember it well, because he started going right after my bout with appendicitis. So here I was, pregnant and tremendously weakened from lying in bed almost 24/7 for nearly three weeks, and he was busting his ass at CrossFit. I got back into walking by the end of my pregnancy, and then… I had a baby.

I know there are women out there who manage to strike a balance between kids and work and exercise, but I have never been one of them. And in that first year after a baby? Life is hectic. I tried again this last spring to start a walking/running routine, and then began Couch to 5K again, but once again, I crapped out with it. There was no schedule to follow, no money on the line. It was easy to quit when things got busy, so I did.

My friend, Julie, has been trying to get me on board with CrossFit since I was pregnant with Vivienne. She tried and fell in love with it, completely changed her body and made herself into a crazy athlete, and she was determined to get me there, too. For so long, I laughed and laughed at her whenever she would mention it to me. I’d roll my eyes. And Michael, well, he never pressured me to try CrossFit.

But in recent months, as we were closing in on Vivienne’s birthday, I knew I wanted to make it a priority to figure out some kind of fitness routine for myself. Running wasn’t working. I didn’t want to go back to my old step and kickboxing classes that I used to do pre-kids, because I needed something that didn’t have a super fixed schedule. And I sure as hell didn’t want to join a regular ol’ gym. CrossFit crept further and further into my mind, and then one day, I emailed the owner of the CrossFit “box” that Michael and Julie go to. I started asking questions. And then… I went.

I went to my first beginners’ session, then another, and another. Then I had a few training sessions one-on-one with one of the coaches. And this morning? I was officially released into the wild. I went to my first “real” CrossFit class and completed my first real WOD (that’s workout-of-the-day, for those not in the know). And I liked it.

It’s been three weeks now, I guess, and I’ve been going three times per week. The whole thing has been rather humbling. I mean, I knew I was in awful shape, but it’s a different story to really FEEL it. The first week and a half, I felt like I could barely move because I was so sore. And honestly, I’m feeling it today, too, after that WOD this morning. I’m sure I’ll be feeling it for quite some time, as I teach my muscles to do new things and work in a way that they haven’t worked in more than four years (or maybe ever).

So far, I like CrossFit because it’s always different. Each warm-up + workout takes about an hour, and it FLIES by. It’s a lot of legs and shoulders and core—all of which are really important, obviously. I have always had a really weak upper body, so I’m curious to see how I improve over time. I think I’m going to snap some “before” pics of myself (even though I’m a few weeks into it already), and see how things compare after several months. If the results are good, perhaps I’ll share them some day. :)

I think this is something I’ll be able to keep up. That’s largely due to my flexible schedule with my current job, which I couldn’t be more grateful for. I’ve been able to go to CrossFit classes in the morning or late afternoon, skipping lunch or working additional hours at night after the girls are in bed. It truly makes all the difference in the world.

I might be a CrossFit convert. But burpees? They are the devil. :)

Any fellow CrossFitters out there?