My Experience: Part Four - CrossFit

Welcome to the last part of this four-part series! (sorry there was such a long wait between the third and fourth.. life is busy!) We come back full circle to where I started.. CrossFit! 

I joined a CrossFit affiliate at 17, but had already been doing some CrossFit on my own when I was 16. I loved it SO much and it's the reason I got into things like Weightlifting and Powerlifting because I just had realized I had a more natural God-given strength ability, and because I was a junior, I could compete in that category for all of those events.

It's definitely been a LONG journey to say the least. I actually got my CF Level 1 in the fall of 2014 when I was 17 at Rich Froning's gym, CrossFit Mayhem! I was hooked from the moment I started. 

I did my first competition at CrossFit Brickhouse in Roanoke, VA. It was the VA Commonwealth Games and I won! I remember in the final workout, we had to do Diane. I kid you not, I maybe got 3 HSPU in the round of 21 and I couldn't do anymore than that haha. They were SO hard for me at first and now they're one of my best movements.

To keep this post fairly short, let's just say I've competed in a TON of SuperFit Games competitions.. and I'll post some photos from all of those below. My very first competition, though, was at CrossFit Steele Creek (SuperFit Charlotte) and it was a 4 person team. I had a blast! 

I did take some time off of CrossFit to strictly do weightlifting and that was right before the 2016 Open. From August 2015 until 2 weeks from the open, I wasn't really doing CrossFit and if I did, it was like intervals on the air dyne one or twice a week haha. I got back from Junior Nationals that February 2016 and had 2 weeks to get my lungs into "Open shape" hahaha. Needless to say, I was VERY surprised with how much fitness I didn't lose. Yeah you feel like you're breathing through a straw during the first few awful metcons that you do, but you bounce back SO fast. Taking the time away from it to do weightlifting really helped me regain the love for it again. From then on I haven't done a weightlifting meet except for the Arnold which was in March during the second week of the open.

After getting a lil burnt out on both weightlifting and powerlifting, I always come back to CrossFit and it's more than just fitness to me. It's a place for community in a gym. It's a place to see my friends and talk. It's a way to relieve stress from the day. It's a way to become a better version of yourself every single day EVEN on the bad days. In fact, that's when you learn more about yourself. :) 

okie bbyyeeeee.. next blog is ALL about staying on track during the holidays. Stay tuned!