A different way of working out

I posted a blog entry last week from Jillfit's Tara Ballard on her journey from an exercise addict finding a new way to workout that provided better results in less time. I had a friend comment that he thought her article was crap and clearly trying to sell something. Admittedly, I didn't believe it either when I first heard about it. Tara actually started me down this new way of exercising. (For more details, see here.)

I had just spent the last 18 years doing as much cardio as I could log and lifting 3 sets of 10 for every body part possible. I have run 2 marathons and 6 half marathons. I started distance running because I wanted to get in shape and lose weight. At the end of the 2006 marathon season, I was more flabby and injured. At the end of 2007, I ran two marathons but was not lean and eventually my body (and my mind) started breaking down on me when I tried to continue the long distance running.

It was 3 more years of complaining about how unfair it was and being really unhappy with myself. Working hard but not getting any where near what I wanted for myself body composition wise. I had convinced myself that I was lazy and worthless.

Finally, I stumbled across Metabolic Effect and Jillfit. These groups got me thinking about workouts in a a whole new way. The theme: heavy weights and high intensity. Get to where you are breathless and burning.

I remember thinking:

1) I hope this works as I know there is this woman on facebook who brags about spending about 2 - 2.5 hours a day working out and if I can do it in 15 -30 and get the same results then THAT is friggin' awesome!

2) I am PISSED I didn't learn about this earlier so much time and energy wasted.

Now I CrossFit 3x a week and do yoga and I am so much closer to the body I have always wanted. I am comfortable in my own skin. It has taken a while for me to get my head around this short but more intense working out. I often say to people I will never distance run again. Now that may or may not be true. I will never distance run again to get in shape (You don't run to get in shape, you must be in shape to run!). I might decide to do it for the solitude, for a challenge, for the companionship.

I see so many people out there running to lose weight, to reduce body fat and I wanted so badly to tell them... there is a different way!!

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.