“Your legs,” my friend exclaimed, “They look like cheerleader legs!” Being in my mid-40’s, I’m definitely not a cheerleader. She then asked if my legs looked like that from running. I answered “Nope! It’s all from CrossFit.”

To say CrossFit has changed me is an understatement. When I started at the Burnet gym, I was a regular runner and I was going to a morning bootcamp. The bootcamp was not challenging enough for me (I pejoratively called it "morning stretch") and I wanted to try something more difficult. I started in Zach’s class and although intimidating (I cried after the first class after being told the 35 lb bar was too much for me), I stuck with it. Zach was instrumental in pushing me to try heavier weight and keep working towards doing the workouts at the RX weight. When I started, I had never really lifted weights, I couldn’t do a pull-up, I did push-ups on my knees, and I couldn’t do double unders. Over the last seven years, I have mastered all of those skills. This past year, I did my first full Murph workout (2 miles of running, 300 air squats, 200 push-ups, 100 pull-ups). Can you believe that? 100 pull-ups!

CrossFit is part of my life. I look at the workouts every day. I talk about the workouts with my husband. We always compare scores at the end of the day. I have friends that I look forward to seeing at CrossFit. I love the Saturday morning group workout--I schedule around it. Carey has become my model for how to exercise, eat well, and challenge myself. Just because she looks like a Greek Goddess doesn't mean that I can't try to emulate her.

Working out hard and pushing myself to the limit has not only changed me physically, but mentally too. I’m a stronger person in all the ways. I’m proud of how much weight I can lift and how many pull-ups I can do. I love that my son and my daughter see that I can workout just as hard as their dad. One of my teenage son’s friends didn’t think I could do 25 push-ups. Well, I showed him.

I can’t imagine my life without the Burnet gym. By the way, my friend that asked me about my "cheerleader legs" tried CrossFit for the first time after we talked. I hope she gets hooked too!