first 3 months

[Karen Maher]

WEEK 1:MY HOUR OF SELF DOUBT
Ok so here we go,, I have been training in gyms and outside running etc for as long as I can remember,, so with this history considered myself as reasonably fit and strong although I have always struggled to keep my weight at a healthy level…I had always thought that the intensity I have worked at was always pretty high and I was doing everything I possibly could to improve my fitness and health…. Boy was I wrong !!!
I remember I walked into the box at Mooloolaba pretty damn confident that I would be able to do this crossfit stuff easily haha… Big Mistake.Ok so we started with the warm up,, which if my memory serves me correctly had a heap of pushups , situps, jump ups, Russian step ups etc, Boy I remember thinking to myself omg this is just the warm up,, what the hell is the wod gonna be,, my confidence began to fade away and uncertainty kicked in. I don’t remember what the wod was , but I remember
How hard it was both physically and mentally. I thought I was going to die. And the next morning I remember the soreness, I have never experienced anything like it before in my life, even after running half marathons ,, not ever. I seriously doubted my ability to do crossfit.. I remember saying to my husband “” man this is hard stuff, I don’t think I am gonna do it, It just hurts real bad”.. He just told me that I would be fine and of course I could do it.. Ha at least he believed in me, cause I didn’t believe in myself at all..
Anyway the first week was hell, every session hurt ,, every morning hurt. I couldn’t walk straight, I had to walk up the steps sideways like a crab. Oh well there went my ego.. my ideas that I was fit …. My ideas that I was strong.. The only thing I got was a slap in the face and a wake up call that I really needed to continue with crossfit to improve.
WEEK 2
Ok so I managed to have a rest day over the weekend, and my soreness was beginning to get better, This time as I headed into the box, I walked in with fear and respect ,, I guess a fear of what was to come, and a fear that I would not be able to complete it… what a change from last weeks confidence of thinking that this stuff was easy…. What I learnt this week,…. that my range of movement was pretty bad and that I had a lot of things I would need to practise. I also found things that I was good at and really enjoyed. It is always a great feeling to be good at stuff,, but I found with me, my main focus is on things that are hard and challenging for me.
The next few weeks were great, I found my way around the 20kg bar and managed to get through the wods . I remember one workout that involved back squats with a 20kg sandbag,, it was horrible and for some reason a very emotional one for me.. The very first time I have ever cried doing a work out,, haha it obviously will be the first of many as this is such an emotional journey.
2nd Month
Let me introduce my 18yr old daughter …. In the first week of the second month my daughter has joined in with us at the box,, and later on that month my husband joined in too,, It is like a snowball
effect..It makes me so proud to know that because of my crossfit journey it has helped other people find a healthier way of life..
I have learnt a lot in the last 2 and half months.. I have learnt about nutrition and how to fuel my body , I have learnt to push harder and step over barriers that I have never stepped over before. I have learnt to encourage my friends and family and to congratulate them on any accomplishment , no matter how big or small it is. Every day I feel I am getting stronger and fitter ,, both physically and mentally. Things I can do now, I honestly never dreamt that I could do. But the most important thing I have learnt is to believe in myself and to be proud of what I achieved.
MY FIRST IN HOUSE GAMES
Well its been 3 months to the Day that I first began at Crossfit Mooloolaba and today is also the very first “in house” games.. I have been pretty excited about competing in these games, but at the same time very uncertain as to if I will be able to get through them and finish or even be capable of doing the things that will be required for the wods..
So it starts off like our usual Saturday mornings at Crossfit Mooloolaba , everyone getting together to join in a team event and then followed by a yummy breakfast down the road at a local café. The team event today is 20rds of 400m tyre drag runs and 5 burpees at the end of each round, not too bad I guess ,, only 10 runs each,, but there’s a twist, for those of us that wish to compete in the games we must do this wod by ourselves and we must do 15rds alone..mmmm..Can I do that? Man that’s 6klms dragging a tyre behind me? I’m not sure!! How long will it take me? Will I still be doing this run at lunch time today ? I really don’t know about this, but there’s only one way to find out! Yeah put me down as single I am going to have a crack at it.
So off we all go dragging this tyre behind us for what seems to be an eternity but I am only up to round 5! My head keeps telling me to just keep running, not fast but just keep running, one foot in front of the other and to not give up. On and on I run , finding it amusing that I am actually getting a little relief and rest when I have to do 5 burpees at the end of every 400mtrs. Who would have known you can rest doing burpees! I guess the 100 day burpee challenge is paying off.. After the 5th round time seemed to go by quicker until I got to the second last round,, I had the biggest mental fight with myself to get to the end, but I did get to the end and I did finish. Shut up voice that told me I wouldn’t make it, I MADE IT.
So that’s it , wod 1 done only 3 more to go for the morning! We all went down and had a nice breaky and wondered about what was to come when we went back to the box. It ended being only 4 of us competing that morning, which was a little disappointing, but it certainly didn’t affect the atmosphere and the spirit of the competition. We were all friends and there to support each other , but also always pretty competitive with each other. As the guys started to set up walls with boxes and boxes with poles in between them , my nerves starting to come back. Now box jumps are not my strong point, don’t get me wrong I can do them once I start,, I just have trouble starting.
Something in my head says Danger Danger Danger.. and that’s it I just stand there frozen and look at the box and wish I could jump. So anyway they are setting up these boxes and I am thinking oh man why does it have to be box jumps.. theres no way I can compete now, I may as well go and sit down out the front , grab a coffee and just cheer these guys on. But another part of me wants to stay and have a go, another inner battle goes on and I decide I will at least find out what the wod is before I quit!
So the wod is :15 ground to overhead 20kg,3 burpee hurdles , 5wall climbs, 12 overhead lunges(10kg) and parkour style box climb..Well I am glad I didn’t decide to pullout now, not a box jump in sight.. yeah I can do this no problem ,, amrap 7 mins, cool.. consider it done. Than I’m not sure but I think we got 30seconds rest and onto the next round
Next wod is 7 mins to deadlift the most weight we can . This one I can do , and I manged to PR, so I am pretty excited by about the end of this round.. Not tired and worn out , but pumped excited and cant wait to find out what our final wod will be. We get told we have 20mins rest to prepare for the last wod.
We find out it will be Tabata,YES!!! I LOVE TABATA! This stuff I practise so I know I can do this one. So its Tabata jumping pull-ups, squats, pushpress and broad jumps (for metres). I am pretty excited to see push press up there, I can nail them I reckon! Well so I thought , seems by the time I got to the push press , my batteries must have been wearing out because although the first few rounds of them were ok the rest I remember I struggled to even get 5 reps out in the 20sec intervals. I was pretty glad when it was time to move on to the broad jumps, and even happier when the final Tabata buzzer went off.
So that’s it , that’s my first games ever. All achieved in my first 3 months of starting crossfit. I didn’t win them or even get a place , but that wasn’t the reason I went in. I went in to see how far I have come and to see what I was capable of if I was pushed to the extremes, to see if I would crack and quit or if I was mentally strong enough to get through it and I am proud to say that I finished and although there were moments of self doubt I managed to find a way to conquer that and just get on with what had to be done. It is only through Crossfit that I have learnt this and to believe that I can do anything I set out to do, I may not be the fastest or the best at it , but I can do it and do it the best way that I can do it. That’s what crossfit is all about it, its not about being the fastest or the best , its about challenging yourself so that you as an individual can become faster, stronger and better than you have ever been and not just physically but mentally as well. I can not recommend Crossfit highy enough , it is really a life changing journey. Crossfit is for everyone , young or old, fit or fat, it doesn’t matter. My only warning is this : If you are dare to try Crossfit there is a fair chance that you too will become a self confessed crossfit addict , just like me!!!

[Michael O Johnson]

Great Thread! Good job!