Nine months after joining CrossFit Central, I am a different person.  Every muscle in my body is alive and in use.  My kids crawl all over me and I can rough house with them without giving it a second thought.  Fearing that I “can’t” is no longer something that gets in my way.

I worked for two years after having my third child to get back into shape, primarily through running, and had not seen the results I wanted.  In addition to not slimming down to the extent had I hoped through running, I was also beginning to suffer from shin splints and knee and ankle overuse injuries.  And I was bored with running, but not sure what else to do.  I tried the machines at the gym, but it never felt right and wasn’t fun at all.  I dreaded being in the gym, and it was the first thing to get cut from my routine when my schedule got tight.

My neighbor had been CrossFitting for almost a year and loved it, but since he was a man I hadn’t seriously considered it for myself.  Then one day I had a chat with a very fit female friend, who (coincidentally) also has three kids but looks better than I did during my fittest college years.  When I asked how she stayed in shape, she filled me in on all things CrossFit Central; what classes are like, the wide range of class times and weekly schedules available (very important for a working mom), and the holistic approach they take to fitness, including not just exercise but also diet and lifestyle choices in their programs.  It sounded perfect to me, from the class style to the variety to the time commitment needed. I headed over the next day to look into it.

After my first Elements class I couldn’t sit without sort of falling into the chair, or lift my arms above my head.  Looking back on those days I’m shocked at how weak I’d become.  My first few classes were the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  But the coaches never let me get in over my head; they helped me scale everything to my fitness level, and walked me through each totally foreign movement, making sure I was comfortable with what I was doing and that I was doing it right.

I am an extremely shy person.  I’ll always be an introvert.  At CrossFit Central I’ve gained confidence and developed a camaraderie with the women in my class that has helped me open myself up to life, making new friends, trying new things, and enjoying what challenges me instead of shying away from it.

Physically I have accomplished goals that I would have considered ridiculous a year ago. When I    first started, I just wanted to lift a barbell with  some bumpers on it like everyone else instead of using  the training bar.    Now I’m lifting weights over my head that I wouldn’t have been able to get    off the  ground back then.  And everything is easier – lifting my kids, carrying luggage, cleaning out the  garage.  I can do so much more on my own.  

While my eating habits are not perfect by a long stretch, joining the CrossFit Central community has  opened my eyes and my mind, and broaden my understanding of what a healthy diet looks like, what role food plays in our health, and the extent to which I was relying on overly processed, ready to eat foods.  I make the meals my family eats, and so with my changing habits, I have changed  the foods they eat as well.  My kids have adapted to eating foods in their most natural state possible,  including lots of eggs, fish and healthy meats and lots of fruits and vegetables.  Canned ravioli and  vegetables are a thing of the past in our house, as are frozen chicken nuggets.  I no longer make one  meal for the kids and another for the adults; we now eat the same healthy meal, together.

I am beyond grateful for the changes CrossFit Central has brought into my life.  I am energized about life, happy, confident, and I have a powerful sense of what I’ve accomplished that fuels me every day.  I did not know what was missing from my life, but now that I’ve found it I will be sticking with it for as long as they let me!