I wake up, go to my job, come home, go to the gym, sleep, repeat. When put into simple terms it sounds like a boring broken record. I am not sure how many times I have been asked why I go to the gym so often. “You look great why do you need to spend 3 hours there every day?” “Don’t you have any hobbies?” “How do you have that much time?” To answer simply, I don’t go to the gym to look good, CrossFit is my hobby, and I make time. I am not sure why it is in human nature to criticize others passions because it does not match their own, but I am sure that I know who I am, and this is what I love. I will never let others stand in my way. I’ve been told I am obsessed, and that is completely true. I am obsessed with this world that forces me to be a better person both physically and mentally. I am obsessed with the fact that I can set goals and achieve things that I didn’t think were possible. I am obsessed with the feeling of my body screaming to stop, but my mind somehow can overcome any pain and I tell myself “You can do this, take one more step.” I am obsessed with this loving community that shows nothing but support for one another.
The gym is different for everyone, for me it is an escape. The past year has been one of the hardest times in my life, but somehow lifting that barbell over my head lifts the weight of the world off my shoulders, even just for a small time. I can walk into the gym and see familiar faces that greet me with a smile every day, and I know I am not alone. That is the thing about CrossFit, we are all in this together. No matter what level you are at, everyone is going through the same daunting pain of some outrageous AMRAP or other WOD that you think you’ll never make it through, but you do, and you did it next to people who share this same crazy life and want to see you succeed. That was my favorite part about doing an individual competition. I was right there with people who understood me, and my passion. The entire weekend was filled with the joy of people coming together to share something they love. I made friends with the girls who I was competing against. We never once had ill feelings toward one another, it was nothing but love and support. It was sharing stories and thoughts during the workouts, sharing the little piece of chalk stolen from the bucket and making sure everyone had some, and good luck high fives before the timer starts. By the end of the first day I was reminded of the old days of team sports, girls sitting in a circle stretching and talking nonsense.
The thoughts going through my head during the weekend came down to Just keep going. This pain, this temporary pain, is something you can overcome. Your lungs are on fire and your quads feel like they are going to burst out of your skin, but this is nothing compared to the pain that you felt when life tried to bring you down, you will come out of this. And I came out on top. I showed the world that I cannot be stopped, as hard as life will try to tear me down and break me, I will continue to put in the work each day. I do not do this alone though, I cannot stress enough how much CrossFit is a community. Although I was alone on the floor, I had the support of friends cheering me on that pushed me through. It is the people who are there day in and day out that make the work a little less heavy and of course more fun. So, people will call you crazy, they will try to put down your efforts, but you do this for you, you put in the max effort everyday and people won’t be able to help but take notice and ask how you got to where you are. Simple: Do work.