Two and a half years ago, I was overweight, insecure and led a very inactive lifestyle. I never saw myself on the pull up bar or jumping onto a 20-inch box and, in my wildest dreams, I never thought I would be able to back squat almost 30 lbs more then my body weight.
I joined CrossFit Central because I needed to get into shape both physically and mentally and knew I couldn’t do it in the typical gym environment. I needed to be held accountable for both my workouts and my eating habits and I needed to be pushed more than I was capable of pushing myself.
I set two very clear goals when I started CrossFit Central:
1. Conquer fear of heights
2. Finish all running workouts without walking
For me, CrossFit Central embodies the expression “it takes a village.” The list of coaches that have personally helped me to achieve my goals is too long to list. Two coaches who specifically have contributed to the success I have seen areNyki Helmcamp and Conner Moore. I have made numerous frantic texts to Coach Nyki when I could feel a cheat coming on and she was always there to put things back into perspective for me. With regular body comps and pep talks, she has guided me to a path of clean eating and healthful living. To this day I think Coach Conner Moore must have a background in Psychology. He continues to push me past limits I never thought I could pass and reach goals I had never considered I would be able to reach, both physically and mentally.
I lost 30 pounds, 10% body fat and 36.3 inches (that’s a yard!)
After a year and a half in the Level One Class, Coach Conner urged me to move into a CoEd class. But I had one specific goal to meet before I was ready to do so: not walking during any runs. Coach Benjamin Palmer and the new RunSmart program allowed me to successfully look at running in a whole new way. Although initially this sounded miserable for me, I decided I should do it. As the only person in the class not training for an actual race but rather training for a 400-meter run, every Saturday morning was a bit intimidating. However, by the end of our 8-weeks, I shed an entire minute and a half off my mile, running a PR of 8 minutes and 45 seconds. I no longer look at running as something I am unable to do, and I’d even go as far as saying I actually like it.
I have been afraid of heights for as long as I can remember. Standing at whopping 5ft tall (as a full grown adult), I find myself looking up at most people and out of reach of many things. As a kid I was never able to ride roller coasters or reach the monkey bars and possibly because of it, I have always been most comfortable with my feet planted on the ground. I knew when starting CrossFit that this fear may hinder some of the workouts and I needed to face it head on. Coaches Connor and Nyki were both taken aback when it came time for “Cindy” (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats) and I asked for their help to attach rings to the pull up bar. They were reluctant to do so but allowed me to use those during the workout instead of the pull-ups. I was relieved until Conner placed a 20” box right by my side and said, “This is where you are doing your squats.” I, too, reluctantly agreed but powered through the 20 minutes of Cindy doing every squat on the box. This was only the beginning step of overcoming my fear of heights, but the most critical in terms of the success I have now and continue to achieve. I now do all pull-up workouts on the pull up bar and am working towards doing my first strict pull up without the help of the band. The squats on the box also helped me to overcome my mental inability to do a box jump on a 20-inch box. I started with a 12-inch box and progressively added plates to elevate the height. I may require a helping hand for the first 5 box jumps or so but I am able to complete the rest of the workout on my own.
I said to my fiance’, when we first found Crossfit Central and we ran across the success stories on the website, that I was going to be one! I am so thankful for the community to help to get me there! That was really the first goal I set for myself.