If These Walls Could Talk...

One year ago today I walked into a CrossFit gym for the first time.  I didn’t know it at the time but from that day forward my life would never be the same.  After a year of working out in my basement my husband had finally convinced me to give CrossFit a try.

A few days before starting we received an email detailing what to expect from the on-ramp program as well as a nutrition guide. As I read through the information I started to get that nervous/excited feeling (you know the one you get before you go on a roller-coaster ride).  The morning of my first on-ramp class I was so excited I jumped out of bed at 4am.  Class didn’t start until 6 but I didn’t want to be late so we arrived at 5:30 and sat in the parking lots for 20minutes before anyone else arrived to let us in.  When we were inside I looked around at the facility and couldn’t help feeling that it looked so empty.

As class began we learned some basic movements that we needed to know for the workout we would be doing that day. As Baseline (500m row, 40 squats, 30 sit-ups, 20 push-ups & 10 ring-rows) was written on the whiteboard I remember thinking how easy it seemed. I was starting to become skeptical of the blogs I had read where people had commented that their first CrossFit workout had left them in a puddle of sweat on the floor.  A little over 7 minutes later I had a completely different outlook.

As I finished my last ring row I collapsed on a blue mat, I was coughing and the taste of iron was in the back of my throat.   Looking back on that day what I remember most was not the feeling of exhaustion afterwards but rather the people.  I can still remember my 2 coaches that day cheering me on during the row, I can hear the ‘6AMers’ calling from the other side of the gym “keeping pushing on-rampers,” and I can still see the looks of understanding from the 7am regulars as I began the slow process of peeling myself off the floor afterwards.

The last year has turned out to be one of the best years of my life.  Not only am I in better shape than ever but being a crossfitter has allowed me to become a better person all around.   In fact, the benefits of CrossFit are something I could write about for pages (and I plan to through this blog). For today though I just want to say one thing-Thank You.

Thank you to the coaches who corrected me when my technique was bad and taught me proper form.  Thank you to the people I have met who have cheered me on through my last few reps. Thank you to those that are constantly one step ahead of me or one step behind me making me push harder. Most importantly, thank you to the friends I have made (actually, the family I have formed) at CFW. 

When I walked in the gym this morning at 5:15(I am still always early) the gym no longer looked empty like it did the first day I showed up.  Instead it looked like a place that was full of possibilities. Later as I was coaching I saw people pushing themselves, fighting for that extra inch on their squat depth or that extra pound to get a PR.  Watching as others achieve things they never thought possible is an indescribable feeling.  However, I am certain that if the walls could talk they would be able to easily sum up the triumphs and failures of the members, the community that has formed at CFW, and the benefits of CrossFit in general.