Well, Hello, CrossFit, we met again....
So I have been missing the physical strain, accomplishment, and quite frankly, the ass-kicking that I get from CrossFit workouts. I miss the sense of accomplishment when I get something new done, or I out-perform my last attempt at a workout or specific skill. I haven't regularly attended CrossFit workouts since February 2013. That, my friends is 18 months outside of the box.
In that 18 months, I have changed....A LOT! I have lost 90 pounds. I have regained mobility to an extent I didn't realize, but I have also lost a lot of strength I had when I was consistently CrossFitting 3x/week.
I have come a long way in the last 12 months (my 1 year surgery-anniversary for Weight Loss Surgery is September 30), but I still have a LONG way to go. I have quite a lot of skin that I need to take care of and see if I can't get it to tighten up through more conservative means, like working out, eating right, exercising consistency, etc.
So, a few weeks ago, I saw an ad for a local CrossFit Box that I have heard amazing things about doing free "CrossFit Lite" classes. Primarily body-weight types of exercises, things to get you moving, but not scare the ever-living shit out of newbies like CrossFit has a tendency to do....so I thought, "hmmm, haven't done CrossFit in 18 months, I've lost a lot of skills, but gained a lot of mobility, and it's free....why not check it out?" And I did...and immediately, the CrossFit Fire or "kool-aid" was right back to where I was 18 months ago. Feeling my body move through full ranges of motion, feeling sore the next day, knowing I had pushed my body beyond a limit previously unsurpassed....it felt good....REALLY GOOD!!!
So after a few CrossFit Lite Classes, and realizing that I still want to lift, and lift heavy. I want to push myself. I want to be strong. I want to have some muscles, and maybe a bit of definition to show what my body can do, I signed up to re-do foundations. It's been since the Summer of 2012 that I started Cross Fit the first time, and I only did 1 night of Foundations, and learned everything else on the fly.
I've learned a lot more about the mechanics of everything, and know that my body still has a long way to go in the way of flexibility and full range of motion. Being morbidly obese for nearly 20 years takes a toll on your joints, and your body in general, but I'm getting there.
Tonight we went over Snatches and Cleans. I the past, with Cleans, I didn't have the ability to get my elbows far enough forward to "rack" the bar on my shoulders, instead it tended to rest either on my boobs, or my throat. I didn't have the wrist flexibility to do it right, so even 1 clean would lead to wrist pain for me.
Tonight, I just used the 33# bar to do cleans, but I finally got the physiology of the movement, and how to throw my elbows forward to get under the bar. It felt awesome the first time I felt the bar hit my shoulders. (I liked it so much, that I'm fairly certain I'm going to have bruises on my shoulders tomorrow.)
Then it was time for the brief WOD at the end of class. Now, for a girl who started out lifting 15# for dead lifts, and having to put her hands on a weight bench and walking her feet out and back in for burpees, I'm fairly sure most people would quickly relate to my disdain for said exercise. Tonight's WOD didn't sound all that bad initially....4 rounds for time, 10 sit-ups, 10 burpees and 20 lunges (10 each leg) with a 12 minute cap.
I have always been able to bust out sit-ups, no problem. I have actually joked for a couple of years that I suspected I may have a 6-pack underneath all the fat on my tummy. But then it was time for burpees. I can throw myself on the ground no problem---its the getting up that is neither fun, nor comfortable, nor graceful. but I can do it, real burpees, save for the jumping my feet back in. Then lunges. This is where the lack of strength and flexibility in my legs becomes and issue, because I truly can't lunge to full-depth yet and touch my knee to the floor. It feels like I'm centimeters away from doing so, but it's probably more like a foot or so. I don't know, but I'm doing it, that's all that matters, right??
I have a long way to go still. I still need to lose another 40-45 pounds, I still need to re-build my strength. I still need to lose this extra skin, I still need to re-gain some flexibility in my hips and knees. This battle isn't over, and in all honesty, it probably never will be. Once I reach my goals, if I don't keep working hard, I'll never maintain what I've worked so hard to earn. I am not fighting this battle to turn around and watch it all slip away as the number on the scale creeps back up and I continue to lose my flexibility again. I have a life I want to live, and it includes being fit, healthy, and calling myself a CrossFit athlete.
Krista
