About the same time I learned what CrossFit was I also had a big desire to be self-sufficient in the case of an apocalypse. Ok, I know… I realize the actual occasion that I will truly have to rely on my grit strength and stamina for my life will most likely never come. *Knock on Wood* Regardless there is a great comfort in knowing it won’t be the fact that I can’t run and climb/ launch/scramble/fall over a fence/wall/tree/side of building that takes me down. Perhaps having just read Cormac McCarthy’s The Road had a very deep-seated effect on my psyche.
Seriously though… How does CrossFit serve me in my non-make believe life? When I am not reading and scheming about how to survive an End of the World as We Know It catastrophe I love to play… it started with skiing, tennis, and volleyball as a young lady. I appreciate being able to play hard and bounce back after a failed attempt at being awesome. As much as I would have loved to, I couldn’t maintain my fitness on sports alone i.e. I don’t get paid to play. In those times I knew I had to maintain a certain level of fitness in order to play hard but I dreaded the gym… BORING!
You may ask why is a CrossFit gym any less boring than a regular gym?
What I didn’t know about CrossFit that has turned out to be key in achieving my goals is that the community aspect made it stick for me… like really stick, you could say addicted. As I mentioned before I endured the gym in order to play well in the sports I loved, but then I got older and the opportunity to play on teams lessened and therefore the direct payoff to stay fit lessened. I like to look athletic but it just didn’t translate fast enough from a treadmill and weight machine session to a tighter body so it was really hard to find and keep motivation in the gym. Not to mention once I was overweight I was embarrassed to be seen trying (sweating!) and failing (still chunky!) in the gym. I felt like judging eyes were on me… they certainly weren’t encouraging eyes.
How was CrossFit different in that regard… well I had the community feedback! I had people encouraging me and congratulating me on my accomplishments. Once I started to actually know what I was doing I could start gaming with other people. The satisfaction of knowing I was keeping someone else on their toes during a workout made me forget all about that uncomfortable sweaty, lactic acid, gasping for air part. Soon I had people that I could in turn encourage and congratulate and eventually coach. As long as I am focusing on those aspects of the workout the pain is there but fleeting and definitely endurable for the greater cause of motivating and being motivated by other members in the gym.
The people in combination with the fact that I feel strong , able, and confident in my body when I am ready to play is the reason I CrossFit.
