By Teresa

I remember standing at the bus stop last fall in my running outfit and shoes, knowing once my kids got on the bus, I was probably going to spend the next hour playing Scramble on the computer instead of running. I was burnt out, and it didn't seem to be making much of a difference anyway with the exception of causing pain in my knees. I was as heavy as I had ever been in my life, including when I was pregnant, and the impact of running at that weight was doing me no favors. My neighbor mentioned this new gym she was trying out. It sounded very different--pushups, pull-ups, jumprope—like my kids' gym class. Every day she went, she reported to me at the bus stop what she had done, and I was amazed. She and I had spent the year before riding our bikes to a local gym, walking on the treadmill, working out with weights, and riding back home. That took about two hours, and we were not getting the results we wanted. She encouraged me to try it, and I knew if she could do it, I should at least try.

A few weeks later, right before my 47th birthday in October, a good friend of mine who is about my age had a heart attack. She was one of the fittest people I knew—thin, runner, healthy eater, etc. She was doing everything right and this happened to her. I was shocked and scared, and realized I was at the age where I really couldn't take my health for granted anymore. She could not control her genetic makeup, but I could control my eating, exercise, and stress level. So for my birthday I asked for a membership to TBC as my gift. It seemed like an expensive birthday gift, but at least for me that has been one of the things that has kept me going. I don't want to pay that much money and not get something for it! And ultimately, I've realized that a life-changing fitness program is priceless as they say!

So I showed up that first day at TBC and met with Matt. The muscles and tattoos were a little intimidating, but he was such a nice guy and did not seem to judge me at all. He took me through some of the exercises, and it was not pretty. I could not hang from a bar, could not jump rope, could not jump up—period, could barely do a sit-up, could do nothing that might affect my knees, like squats, lunges, etc., certainly couldn't do a pushup. But he kept telling me that everything could be modified and that I would eventually be able to do most of the stuff. Yeah, right, I thought. Something I've said to people is that I can't believe I started CrossFit, which is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, when I was in the worst shape of my life. I think what helped me mentally is that I felt pretty much at rock bottom in terms of my physical condition, so anything I did felt like an accomplishment.

I continued to work with Matt, learning all of the CrossFit moves, philosophy and terms like AMRAP, WoD and RX. I was scared to join the regular classes—some of the people were so fit and seemed very serious. But my first day, several women joked and complained about the WoD and empathized with me as a newbie. However, once the workout started, they got focused and I couldn't believe what they could do! An intensity pervaded the gym, but once the WoD ended, everyone talked, joked and laughed again. I felt almost an instant community both in the 9 a.m. class and online with people in other classes that I did not even know. I loved reading the posts on the website to find out what people accomplished.

In class, I never felt pressure to be the fastest or strongest. Everyone had their own goals, and did not judge you on yours. My immediate goal was to finish the WoDs. It took me a few months to do that. I started doing half of most WoDs, knee pushups, rings for pull-ups, and squatting to a bench with an abmat on it--not a ball. There was constant concern for injuring my "bad knees". I think the trainers knew once I lost some weight and my muscles around my knees got stronger that I might forget about my "bad knees". And that has happened for the most part! In the meantime, I built up slowly on weight, eventually started squatting to a ball and iced after most WoDs. I found myself really wanting to do what everyone else was doing, and that is the beauty of Cross Fit—you can do that even if it is modified. I was hesitant to try pull-ups with a band, but as has often happened at TBC, my classmates encouraged me to try, and I was able to do it. This kind of camaraderie and support not just from the trainers but from the class was so helpful. For so long, I was always (and often still am) the last person to finish the workouts, and even though I don't like that kind of attention, (everyone watching me!), it was pretty motivating and heartwarming to have even the fittest and strongest people cheering me on.

Soon I was comfortable attending class, completing the WoDs no matter how long it took, with Juli, always hanging in there with me! (Eva!!). I found myself scheduling around class. As sore as I was all the time, I didn't want to miss. A big test was our trip to Mexico over springbreak. I am a creature of habit and routine, and often in my life when I get out of a routine, I'm done with that routine. When we returned, I went back to TBC right away. I already had received several texts to see when I would be back. I had not gained any weight, which is something I was not used to—the muscle I had developed had helped me burn the extra calories. In the old days, when I stopped running, I started gaining weight.

Then came the Paleo Challenge. I had lost a little weight, developed some muscle and felt much better about myself, but I hadn't made a noticeable difference in the way my body looked. Matt had told me in those first days, that diet was the most important thing in making a change. I had not really done anything about that yet. Jesse was holding the Paleo Challenge meeting, and several of us agreed to attend. We had just met but already had developed a common bond of trying to improve our health and fitness--together. What I learned in that meeting was so different than any diet or eating I had ever done. For so long, I had eaten low-fat, high-carb—thinking I was doing the right thing. Jesse said that was old school thinking. I really had a hard time wrapping my mind around this caveman diet and was not sure I would or could even try it. The appealing part was getting rid of the processed food, but boy did I love pasta and bread!!! I love to tell people that I used to think Tabata was called Ciabatta, as in that beautiful crusty loaf of Italian bread. Speaking of which, my husband and I used to down a loaf of that nightly dipped in olive oil, while cooking our dinner. So that was the first to go. We stuck to meat and vegetables, cutting out most bread, pasta, rice, chips, cereal, dairy, and sweets. I will admit that I did not give up my latte or my Zone bar in the morning, but that is a convenience thing that has kept me honest otherwise. I also still drank wine here & there and did my best if I was at a restaurant but was not super strict. The best part about the Paleo Challenge was talking to everyone at the gym about it. There was a definite buzz--people were excited and sharing recipes and ideas.

I am so grateful for all the motivation, support, patience and push from the trainers at TBC. I was excited to be one of the Paleo Challenge winners but even more excited about the lifestyle changes I have made thanks to them. I could not believe it when I looked at my before picture for the Challenge. I can't believe I let myself get that unhealthy and unfit. I hope all my new friends at TBC will help me avoid that kind of denial again! I still have a long way to go, but I am so much happier, healthier and stronger than I have ever been. I talk about CrossFit a lot to friends and it is hard to describe what the appeal is—what keeps you coming back. When you tell them you did 400 lunges, most people are like "Why? Are you crazy?" When you show them your calloused hands and your scabbed knees, they are like "You think that's fun?" When your muscles are so sore, you can barely hobble down the stairs, they say "You really like this?" I don't think people can fully understand CrossFit until they try it themselves. But if I had to list some of the reasons I am now so devoted to it, I would say the variety and surprise of the daily workouts; the efficiency of the workouts—it sure doesn't take 2 hours like my old routine; the feeling of accomplishment--doing stuff I never thought I could do; and a sense of improvement—by posting every workout on the website, I've been able to track my progress and it is so motivating to see yourself get better. CrossFit gives you a reason to work out with a high intensity and it is fun—we've played dodge ball and tug-of-war—it brings out your inner kid. It also is competitive—some people compete against each other but most of us compete against ourselves, which is just as rewarding. Last but not least and at the risk of repeating myself--CrossFit gives you results! I have lost 45 lbs. and three pants sizes. I have gained more muscle than I've ever had, and I've gained a more positive outlook on life that keeps me going back to CrossFit every chance I get!