I moved to Chicago six months ago from Houston and decided I needed to join a gym and get in shape – the typical New Year’s resolution. I’d go a few days a week and run on the treadmill, maybe do a few weight machines, then not go at all for a couple weeks – my usual routine any time I joined a gym. On and off until I just stopped going. I severely lacked motivation. I have a few friends who do CrossFit, but it always seemed intimidating. I finally hit a point where I was serious about making a change and knew that I needed to try something else.
I joined CrossFit Chicago seven weeks ago, and in this short amount of time it has become a huge addiction. When I walked into my first class, I was scared to death. I didn’t know anybody, I had no idea what I was doing, not to mention being completely intimidated by other people who have been doing this for some time. But immediately other people in the class started introducing themselves and made it very welcoming. It’s awesome to get to know the people you workout with every week and constantly getting to meet new members. Everyone, the coaches especially, are extremely motivating and always pushing you to challenge yourself and to improve.
It was amazing to me to see how quickly I started noticing changes in myself. It’s been a complete lifestyle change. I feel better, I notice myself getting stronger, and every day I want to push myself further, eat healthier, lift more, run faster, use a smaller band doing pull-ups, whatever it is. When you start seeing improvements in yourself, you just want to keep going. It’s crazy how it changes every aspect of your life, and being surrounded by amazing athletes just makes you want to work that much harder. Every day is a new workout and a new challenge – there is nothing boring or easy about CrossFit. I know I have a long way to go, but it’s exciting to think about where I’ll be a month from now, six months from now, a year from now.
I take the bus to get here, and this is the only thing that can pull me out of my house and get me to wait at a bus stop in the freezing cold or in the rain to get to. I’m not kidding… Now I just need to get three deadhang pull ups, so Rudy will finally teach me how to kip!
(May’12)