Thursday, July 25, 2013

Gyms and Boxes


I know, I know its been a while.  In fairness, I wrote a few posts, and thought I set them to auto post but apparently did not.  The others will pop up at random in the coming months, but I'm not really sure what to do about one in particular from my Cinco de Mayo weekend.  Its a great post and I'd hate to deprive you of it. So try not to side eye me too much when it pops up in mid August.  :)

Meanwhile let me catch you up on what you've been missing.  I've retired my gym rat card.  I realized, that one of the main reasons I lose motivation, especially in the new gym is because its small which limits my choices down to the same handful of machines/exercises every week.  I don't do well with repetition and quite frankly, I was bored.  The gym ceased being fun, and instead became torturous.  It didn't help that every time I set foot out the door, the smell wafting from the local buffalo wild wings assaulted my willpower.  Fortunately, my willpower, at RR's persuasion always won.  So one day after driving RR nuts with my complete lack of motivation, he said to me "Why don't you just stop whining and just join a Crossfit gym, you won't be bored."

I'd been on the fence about joining a Crossfit gym, I like the idea that it challenges you to find your limits, then strive to exceed them, and is never repetitive.  But I also knew running is pretty big part of it, and I haaaate running.  However, I knew the gym was no longer working for me, and I wasn't making progress.  I was gaining fat and losing muscle, something had to be done.  So *WE* joined a crossfit gym and started crossfitting .  Obviously, knowing us it wasn't a simple process.  Similar to our gym search, we  went online to find all the crossfit affiliates in our area and toured most if not all of the boxes (It turns out Crossfit centers are called boxes, not gyms.  In general, they seem to frown on gyms and don't seem to want to be confused with the "Globo gyms").

So we eventually settled on Crossfit Equity, its a relatively new box and is probably the smallest in the area.  The smaller size allows RR and I to get really personalized training, which was important to me because I understand the importance of correct form.  I also realize that my form is often subpar, especially when I'm tired.  In some of the bigger boxes, we saw people doing things with bad form but because the classes were so large, no one noticed or corrected them.  That scared me.  The some of the other deciding factors were the Coaches.  They're a really awesome pair of brothers.  Who immediately struck us as great guys who are
enthusiastic about Crossfit and really love what they do, and their enthusiasm is infectious. You see that same enthusiasm in every member of the box. Well except maybe me... well at least, until I've finished the WOD (Workout of the Day), then I'm happy.  The sense of accomplishment you get from knowing that you finished the WOD is AMAZING.   You don't even mind that you're dripping in sweat and panting, you finished something that seemed borderline impossible, and that sense of accomplishment always feels great.


I've only been crossfitting for about 3 weeks now, so we haven't repeated any WOD's yet.  Which means I don't have previous times to use to assess my progress, but I can already tell I'm making improvements.  Initially, I think I spent more time gasping for air than anything else.  Now I pause for a couple of breaths, or a quick stretch and keep pushing.  About a year ago, I went on a very brief running kick and tried to run outside.  It was an epic failure, I got about 50ft before I had to stop and walk, I was miserable afterwards. I gave up on running not long after.  The other day, on a whim, I decided to jog back to my house from RR's house.  Its 0.35 miles(or ~550 meters), but I jogged all the way back without stopping, and was even able to chat with RR as he biked along beside me.  The next day, I pushed my luck a little more and ran around the neighborhood, I'm not sure how far it is yet but it was at least a mile.  The thing that impressed me most was that when I felt tired and wanted to walk, I just ran faster because I had decided, I was NOT quitting.
I need to get this printed on a shirt!
I've clearly been drinking the same Kool-aid, that I accused a friend (who's husband owns a Crossfit gym.. ahem box, in Ohio) of drinking, when she first suggested Crossfit to me.  So I had to chuckle when I told her that I'd joined a gym and she said "How's that kool-aid taste? Pretty damn good, right?"  Indeed, it does, but I'm still keeping my gym membership.  ;)

Pushing on,
Candydiva04

 
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