Written by Amy Sayre, of Rockwall, TX
October 2010
CrossFit has impacted my life is so many different ways and they are not ALL physical.
The physical ways are the most visibly noticeable. We moved to Texas last fall from Oregon. I had been busy working and being a mom, too busy to exercise, or so I thought. I had tried going to the gym and taking classes. The gym always seemed to take too much time and become repetitive quickly. Then my interest in working out would quickly wane.
My knees were hurting going up the stairs, sitting, walking, etc. It was hard to get up off the floor from playing with my kids. I was not happy about any of these things and then my panties were getting too small. Ugh! I met Ellie (she is one of the trainers) at a Cub Scout meeting. Ellie asked how I was doing and made a BIG mistake asking me on the day of the panty discovery. She said she could fix that at CrossFit. I asked what CrossFit was; that is just the beginning of my saga.
When I started CrossFit, everything was adjusted to my level, even the warm up. I started feeling muscles moving in my body. I was picturing myself differently already and was slightly surprised when I would see an out of shape person in the mirror. So, I stuck to it because everyday was different, quick, challenging and fun. I was able to go workout first thing in the morning and know if everything fell apart, at least I exercised.
Being able to lift weights and have instructions to do it correctly is terrific. I’ve read how you should lift weights to build muscle, burn fat, and retain bone mass. That’s all fine and dandy, but how do you do it? I don’t have to wonder: Am I’m doing it right? Will I hurt myself trying or just feel stupid? I have step by step instructions from people who are certified to teach. I have reshaped my body. I actually look athletic for a forty plus woman. I love to play hard with my kids. People who have not seen me in a long time don't recognize me because I have lost 60 pounds!
The list of things I needed to work on at CrossFit or could not do yet was long. The list is getting shorter all the time. The encouragement from the trainers is amazing. I could not be upside down (like a handstand) or even put my hands on the floor with the idea of kicking my legs up without breaking into a sweat. Now I can put my hands on the ground and kick my feet towards the wall. I’m hoping to get both feet against the wall very soon. Then there is the rope climb. I could not even pull myself up one pull in the beginning. So I always scaled that movement in the workouts. Now I can climb all the way to the top, even at the end of a workout!
Everyone at CrossFit moves at their own pace, pushing to be their best with the trainer’s encouragement. I’m not the fastest or the strongest; I’m me doing my best every workout to improve. My workout motto is “I gave everything I had to give today for anything I kept is lost forever". I have turned the physical improvements towards my life in mental and emotional ways.
The mental confidence I have now, and not just while working out is unbelievable. I know I can accomplish so many things that I might not have started because I was tired all the time. I feel like I have returned to my old self mentally and emotionally. I’m just happier all the way around and feel more alert and mentally sharper and excited about life. I don’t know if I am mentally sharper or just spending less time to think about being tired aches and pains, exhausted or wondering if I have to walk up the stairs again. I’m a better mother to my children because I have more energy and can go play with them - a lot! I even went to many of the Texas water parks (in a swimsuit!) with my kids this summer. I would not have dreamed of doing that a year ago unless I was just watching them, but I was in line with them this year. They loved it and so did I!
