Break on through to the other side

I’m closing in on my first “official” year of CrossFit. I think our first On Ramp class was around May 15th. Holy Self Discovery, Batman, has it been a year?!?! I wrote this post about my honeymoon stage with CrossFit nearly a year ago, and unless I’m still stuck in the warm fuzzies of a relationship, it is everything I had hoped it would be. And more. I’m just thinking through all the things I can do now that I couldn’t do a year ago:

– Overhead squat: I wobbled through 30 lbs a year ago. Now I do 65 lbs in a workout and can do 100 lbs for one rep.
– Back squat: I started at 135 lbs, now I’m at 175.
– Front squat: I was dropping the bar at 95 lbs in September, and did 3 reps for 130 yesterday
– Dead lift: 155 lbs for 1 rep to 175 for five reps (last one rep max before that was 170, so I’m sure it’s higher now too).
– Bench press: 95 lbs for 1 rep to 120 lbs
– Clean: I remember flailing and struggling through 55 lbs a year ago. Now I do 75 in a workout and have maxed at 100 lbs.
– Jerk: Last summer or fall I could barely jerk 85 lbs, a few months ago I easily had 100, and could’ve had more if I could’ve cleaned more.
– Kettlebells: Started with the 25 lb, now alternate between the 35 and 45 lb bell, depending on the wod.
– Wall balls: I was falling all over the place with a 6 lb wall ball when we started, now I power through solidly with a 14 lb ball.
– Pull-ups: Couldn’t do a single unassissted pull-up, chin-up, or kip a year ago, now I flail through the wod’s with kipping pull-ups, and can do several strict pull-ups and   chin-ups with no assistance.
– Push-ups: I always had a few full push-ups, but always dropped to my knees, now I can finish nearly every workout with no knees.
– Ring dips: I couldn’t even hold myself up steady on the rings when I started, and now I can do a couple ring dips in a row.
– Double unders: I have unsuccessfully attempted double unders for a whole year, making zero progress, not even able to make a single purposeful double under happen, until LAST WEEKEND. Finally got a hand position tip from Ronnie that made all the difference in the world. I made one happen in a giant stomping jump, and repeated that a few times to make sure it was real. Once I trusted myself, I started putting them together with with singles in between and was able to get a short rhythm going. It was one of the best accomplishments I’ve ever had, coming from a year of frustration and zero progress. I was honestly beginning to think I was missing a part of my brain, as the longest running no-double-under-fool in the gym. But no more! I’ve got them, and now I can practice and only get better, just as I have everything else.

When I started CrossFitting, I didn’t really consider myself a CrossFitter. I was just a woman trying CrossFit, but I wasn’t good enough or cool enough to actually BE a CrossFitter. I felt like a wannabe. Somewhere along the lines I embraced it, and I learned that CrossFit isn’t just for the elite athletes. It’s for anyone who wants to grow, change, get stronger, embrace the hard work, and have fun doing it. Looking back on my accomplishments, I actually have some skills up there that I foolishly told myself that once I gain those skills, I can call myself an official CrossFitter. It’s funny, now, but what I didn’t realize is I already had the skill of CrossFit within me all along, DESIRE and WILL. From the first time I attempted a CrossFit workout and went back for more, that was it. I am CrossFit.