In 2013 I moved back to Austin after 10 years on the East Coast. I was looking for a place where I could push myself and for a community of folks looking to do the same. I struggled to find a place of consistency in my training. Although I worked out regularly, I was often frustrated with my fitness and appearance. When I found CrossFit Central, I was immediately embraced and challenged by my classmates and my coaches. I was hooked.

Across the board my fitness has improved. At 36, I’m in the best shape of my life. I’ve particularly taken huge steps forward in my endurance. I struggled to even run a mile before Central. Now we regularly run a mile or more in class, in between deadlifts or front squat of course. Since I’ve joined Central, I’ve had to figure out how to value the day-to-day commitment of fitness. Everyday I come to Central, I’ve got to figure out how to do things that seem impossible for me. Somedays it doesn’t happen. But I keep coming back and coming back. That type of day-to-day commitment to fitness is something I didn’t know I had.

Pushing myself in my workouts has given me an understanding of the importance of process over outcome. I got one of the best pieces of workout advice I’ve ever heard from one of the coaches. The beauty of his advice, is that it applies to the entirety of our lives:

“Listen first. Keep your head down. Abandon your ego. Remove the unnecessary. Work as hard as you can for as long as it takes. Then, be grateful.”