Addicted to CrossFit?

CrossFit. You may or may not have heard of it. Chances are if you have heard of it you are probably aware of how divided it can make the fitness community. I avoided it for years due to 1) not believing I could do it and 2) it has a nasty reputation of being unsafe. In a nutshell, CrossFit is all about constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movement. This means a workout format that changes daily. You never know what you are going to get each day. The repertoire of moves includes Olympic lifts (clean, snatch, overhead squat, etc), body weight movements (pushups, pull ups, sit ups) gymnastic type moves (handstands, muscle ups), rowing and sprinting among other things. The workouts are short in duration - some times as little as 4 minutes, some times as much as 30 and at the end of each you are completely wrung out.

Back in February I ventured to a CrossFit class at CrossFit Midlo thanks to an invitation from my friend Kathy. I came back 1 x a week for the next few weeks. CrossFit Midlo opened in its official place at the beginning of April. I moved to going 2x a week. Finally in May, I established a 3x a week cadence.

I was extremely cautious at first, going in eyes wide open looking for all the unsafe movements I was expecting to see. Kevin Knight,who heads up CrossFit Midlo, showed me how to do moves in the CrossFit style. The various squats, push ups, pull ups, burpees and swings are done a little differently than what you would normally see in a typical gym. I watched as he took care of all his members making sure that each was working with modifications and scale that worked for them. At the same time, he doesn't let you off the hook and let you coast when he knows you can be safely pushing harder. (This particular trait of his makes me mutter bad things to him under my breath while I am working out.) I was seeking out unsafe moves that would have be saying "Ah-ha! I knew it!" Instead, I found challenge and intensity under guidance and instruction.

After several months of going regularly, despite being at a CrossFit box that is pretty far away from my house, I LOVE going. I love the intensity. I love the short duration of the workout. I love that on several occasions I have teared up with pride in myself for having accomplished something that I didn't think I could do. I really enjoy the other women who workout with me that have always been so friendly and welcoming and are completely bad ass in their workouts. I love that my body is responding in ways I never thought it would. I am more muscley (not a real word, using it any how). I am leaner and I love it. With my clean diet and CrossFit, I finally feel like I am on the right path.

On my last trip and on the next 3 trips I am taking, I have located other CrossFit gyms to go and visit so that I can get a workout while I am away.

Am I addicted to it? Yeah - I think I am. I am not so blinded to think it is THE way every one needs to workout but I feel like I am lucky that I have found what works for me. No more: hours being miserable on cardio machines, distance running, wasting my time doing 3 sets of 10 exercises 3 times for every possible muscle group in my body.

I have not found anything at my CrossFit box to be unsafe. Kevin and Ryan are careful to watch form and to learn what their folks can and can't do and support accordingly. I know this is not the experience every one has with CrossFit. I am glad this one is mine.

Does your behavior match your goals?

I am reading Dan John's book Never Let Go. One of the best books I have read in a while. I find it inspiring and funny. If you have any interest in weightlifting or getting stronger I highly recommend it.

In a section about goals, Dan asks the question "Does your behavior match your goals?" I thought this was wonderful food for thought.

Are you wanting fat loss but

• not taking a time to plan and purchase healthy food choices?
• find yourself eating food like cheese burger and fries because you "deserve" it after a hard workout?
• binge on the weekends when your schedule relaxes?
• not asking your friends and family to support your goals and not to sabotage you?

Are you wanting to be more financially stable but

• not taking time to define what that really means?
• don't have a plan to get yourself out of debit?
• continue to buy things you can't afford or don't need?

These questions can be applied to any goal these are just some common examples.

Of course first you need to know your goals (make sure they are worded as specifically as possible) and then ask yourself how your behaviors are aligning (or not!) with your goal.

Right now I am happy to report that in asking myself this question that my behaviors are in fact lining up. My 2 biggest goals at the moment are to get leaner (18% body fat by July 15th - I am at 22 now) and to get stronger. For the leaner part, my diet is consistently clean and I am getting the workouts in that I need to. Now the second goal is vague because I need more information before setting some specific guidelines. That means this month I am focusing on learning more about certain lifts and to have figured out by the end of the month what my 1) go to working weight is and 2) my max weight on these lifts. I am going to crossfit to push myself, looking at videos on line to learn more about proper form in lifts and setting up some one on one sessions with another trainer to get my form evaluated and to help figure out a baseline for weights.

Now I am not pointing fingers here.. this question is to merely help your internal dialogue and help you move towards accomplishing your goal. I have spent plenty of time setting goals, engaging in behavior that takes me further away from my goals and then whined and complained about how life was hard and its not fair. :)

Would love to hear from any one in what this question brings up and are you finding that your behaviors are or are not in line with your goals!

Peace out!