Rest Day
A couple months ago Kaleo turned 6 years old and we decided to watch the video taken at the hospital shortly after his birth. A few minutes into the video Kaleo innocently asked “who is that big lady?” Brian tried not to laugh when he told Kaleo “that’s mommy.” I was 185 lbs and apparently big enough for my own son not to recognize me.
Brian
was smart to TRY to keep his laughter to himself as he had gained more
than a few pounds during my pregnancy and was up to 235lbs and a size
36. It was about that time when he got an urgent
call from the doctor upon blood test results that his cholesterol
levels were crazy high and had to go on medication right away to get it
under control.
Over the next few years I lost some weight after being pregnant but was probably still about 145lbs and wore a size 12. We
both got some exercise in through tennis & swimming and eventually
made it into the weight room for some typical 3 rounds of 10 reps type
workouts.
Then we started CrossFit. We
were exposed to elements of CrossFit a few months before CFES opened
and then really got into it when Justin, Travis and Chris opened CFES
last year. “Running Grace” was one of our first
WOD’s together at CFES and over the next few months we often worked out
with Loren before the 8am class was available. We sometimes reminisce about how we struggled to lift what we do today as warm up reps. After
another few months we started going to the 8am class and were able to
meet and work out with many of the other CFES members.
What a difference CrossFit has made for us over the past year! Thanks to CFES and the Zone, I am now 130lbs and Brian is 185lbs. But as we have been taught (and still trying to get through our thick heads) it’s not all about the weight. I am now a size 4 and Brian a size 32. I have a six pack and occasionally have trouble with shirts being too tight around my arms. Brian is off his cholesterol medication and had to sell his XXL shirts and size 36 jeans at garage sales. We are 36 and 40 years old and in the best shape of our adult lives.
But CrossFit has helped us in more ways than just our physical health and appearance. It is amazing what it has done for our “mental” health. Brian was a competitive swimmer and I was a competitive tennis player growing up. CrossFit has enabled us to bring that competitive nature back out and allow us to compete on a daily basis. We both thrive on trying to PR every day. I
certainly have my days when I get down on myself for not meeting my
goals and expectations but it’s great to feel passionate about
something and crave success every day.
CrossFit has also impacted our marriage. Many CFES members ask how I put up with B yelling at me during WOD’s. I LOVE IT! There is nothing that brings us closer than sharing our joy from PRing and sadness from not meeting our expectations together. We
even laugh about how we have similar strengths (any ass hole body
weight WODs) and weaknesses (lifting heavy shit) and have a theory that
it’s because we’ve been sleeping together for 14 years.
Even our kids love CrossFit. They randomly start doing burpees or squats in the middle of the parking lot or in an aisle at Target. Just
from being at the box on Saturdays and hearing us talk about it ALL THE
TIME, Kailee and Kaleo not only are starting to learn how to do squats
and pull-ups, but more importantly are learning the importance of
exercise, hard work and intensity.
CrossFit has also affected our social life. While
B has always been a “social butterfly”, I am not as comfortable with
groups of people and never felt like I was a part of the “in crowd.” Being around the CFES family has changed that. I feel better about myself and comfortable around CFES members. We enjoy suffering with CFES members during WODs and outside of the box for dinner, drinks and celebrations. We consider many of the CFES members our closest friends and continue to meet and make more relationships with new members.
So we have come a long way thanks to CrossFit. But hopefully we still have a long way to go in our CrossFit journey. If
we continue to apply the main principles of CrossFit that Justin,
Travis, Brooke and Chris have been teaching us I think we have a few
more years worth of PRs until age gets the most of us and we go into
maintenance mode.
Thank
you Justin, Travis, Chris and Brooke for being such awesome coaches and
for CFES members for your friendship throughout this incredible journey!
