What Does CrossFit Mean To Me?

It's a question that I've seen kicked around a little bit lately and it really got me thinking... What is CrossFit to me??? Well, it's a lot of things... It physical, emotional and even spiritual... I don't consider myself an all out "kool-aid drinker," but CrossFit is a huge part of my life.

PHYSICAL ... well DUH!!! I mean c'mon, that's what it's about. Strength, nutrition, physical health and well being. I LOVE THIS PART. I love feeling strong, I love beating my last time, I love being the mother of three and people not believing it :) Two and a half years after I found CrossFit I am still making gains and loving how my body is changing and improving! With all that being said and for those of you who know my bouncy bubbly personality, it should be noted that I am not always Susie-Sunshine when it comes to the WOD... I mean, I've been known to piss and moan and cuss and grunt and shout and sometimes even kick things ('specially if wall balls are involved), but the results OH THE RESULTS, THE PHYSICAL RESULTS... they make me happy.

EMOTIONAL... well, I AM a girl! But what I mean by this is the emotional support, the camaraderie of my fellow athletes, friends, coaches. This connection with my people is truly humbling and grounding and it fills me with gratitude. These people have seen me at my grossest and they applauded me to get there. They've witnessed my trucker-mouthed temper tantrums and understood. They've seen me fail, sweat cry, bleed and succeed and they are all still my homey's after all that. This is a connection that I cherish and I believe that this makes me healthier as much as eating paleo and lifting heavy things for time.

As a matter of fact I read this great little book called "Outliers" and in the first chapter the author paints a powerful picture of how a strong sense of community is key to a long and happy life. He illustrates how "(they) had created a powerful, protective social structure capable of insulating them from the pressures of the modern world." (Gladwell). The box does this for me... it's a buffer.

Saying it's SPIRITUAL may seem a little hokey, but there is so much to gain from these physical and emotional connections not to mention the daily metaphorical experience of overcoming hardship, pushing through the suck and seeing the sunshine after the rain... It fills me up. On a deeper spiritual level I have seen boxes out there that do spend time on post WOD discussions focusing on scripture... at our box tonight there was a very deep conversation about the character development in Transformers 3 (we're deep like that) and all was good in our world at that moment as we connected... connections... I think connections are beautiful...spiritual really :)

CrossFit to me is all encompassing. Oakland County CrossFit is home and all the other boxes that I am blessed to visit are the crazy wonderful aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents that bring their character, passion and life experiences to the table.
These crazy wonderful relatives give each of us permission to find and cultivate the best movements and connections for each and everyone of us. Some of us are body weight strong, lifting strong, striking strong, endurance strong and so on. AND the cool thing is we can choose our focus and find our happy and we will be encouraged by our crazy kool-aid drinking family :)

My goal at the moment is a Half Iron Man Traithlon. Not exactly a CrossFit goal, but I tell you what, the box has got me ready to take on any goal I put up on the white board in my mind :)

What's your goal??? It's ok, it's yours!!! Dead Lift? OHS? 5K? 26.2? HSPU? Muscle Up?

And you know what? I bet if you told a CrossFit buddy that goal they'll probably start pushing you toward it!!!

What does CrossFit mean to me? It means everything. Next to my actual family, my CF family and experiences makes life make sense :)

Peace

This weeks gymnastics WOD NFT (not for time - but don't take all day)

Warm up:

2 Rounds

* 10 ring rows

*10 push ups (elbows in)

*10 dips on parallettes (on the ground - not full body weight)

Then 2 passes each side straddle hamstring stretch (aka stripper stretch) and alternating quad balance stretch.

WOD:

3 Rounds

5 strict bar chin ups - hands close together (aim for chest to bar) ;)

5 strich ring dips (as deep as possible)

5 Strict self spot muscle ups and downs (from knees - toe nail spot)

5 swinging ring rows (swing, swing pull to horizontal)

Use any modifications necessary EXCEPT KIPPING!!! :)