Finally Being That Athlete
As a child, I wasn’t involved in a ton of sports. During my wonder years, I never joined peewee football or little league and barely played basketball in the recreation league. I was your ideal basic wimp during my youth and honestly, that didn’t bother me much. Despite my lack of athletic activity, I was always impressed with professional athletes, especially during the “glory days” of Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, Barry Bonds and Hulk Hogan.
My youth was filled with video games but growing up as a skinny kid, I always felt that I should dive into something more sports related. This would come to fruition as I would eventually discover track and field and become a long-distance runner, nonetheless. I loved competing (and I wasn’t too bad either) but as high school graduation loomed, I picked up a horrible smoking habit and there went my running career.
I spent most of my collegiate years lacking self-confidence and I knew that needed to change. While working at a local gym, I decided building muscle was a great way to not only kick off a healthier lifestyle, but also start building the self confidence that had been missing for all those years. I found a bench, grabbed a set of dumbbells, and started pressing the negativity out of my life. The prototypical gym routine work for a while, and certainly provided the foundation required, but I needed something different, some sort of push to get to the next level.
Enter CrossFit
CrossFit was the new kid in town. There were classes! Yes…classes that involved movements I hadn’t seen very often. Exercises such as the overhead squat or snatch, the use of kettlebells and box jumping. Would I really be flipping large tractor tires? This all caught my attention instantly and I needed to sign up. CrossFit wasn’t an ordinary gym and the monthly price reflected that. I balked. I was paying $20 a month at my local gym and wondered if this new gym was worth the 5x increase.
While I wrestled with deciding if the cost was worth it, I met a coach, who also happened to be the owner, at a local CrossFit in my neighborhood. We chatted for a while and he spoke of wanting to build a better community, to bring folks together with a common goal: to live a healthier life. Yes, I wanted to overhead squat and flip tires, but I also wanted to lose weight and improve my cardio. I decided the time was now to take the coach up on his offer and try a free class.
The Results
There is a term commonly used within the CrossFit Community called “Pukie the Clown”. It only took one 20-minute class and a bottle of water to become acquainted with the term. When one vomits during a CrossFit class, it is a sign of your body reacting to the intensity of the workout and I was quickly reminded what I had for breakfast that morning and dinner the night before. I went home and felt defeated, uncomfortable and I hated it, but something stuck with me. Athletes. That is the word that the coach kept using to describe the community members. It challenged me to become the athlete I always wanted to be. That was the moment I realized I wanted to join CrossFit. This was what I needed.
Over the last few years since becoming a CrossFit Community member, my body and mind have been transformed. I am stronger, healthier, and most importantly, more self-confident than I have ever been. This transformation has led me to complete several half marathons and the NYC Marathon. Look, I am a long-distance runner again.
CrossFit is a ton of fun where I have met a lot of great people whom all shared a common goal: to live a healthier life. I actually love back squatting, which I hated in the gym. I jump rope constantly and finally learned double-unders. I can now clear a 100 lbs. medicine ball over my shoulder and fully clean over 200 lbs. These are words I never thought I would say so confidently. I feel like an athlete…. finally.
CrossFit may not be for everyone, but it is worth checking out.
