Barbell Love

My Bella Bar

This morning, I felt a little nostalgic as I found myself in my box deadlifting by myself. I looked down at my Rogue Bella bar with its chalk-stained knurls, scratches, and dings and thought about where that bar has gone with me. One year ago tomorrow, my husband and I made the extremely hard decision to pack up our family and move to Auburn, Alabama. We left our family, friends, and the place where I fell in love with CrossFit, World Camp CrossFit. When I made the move, I bought some used equipment from World Camp to take with me, including this particular Bella bar.

As I looked down at the bar this morning, I thought about my friends at World Camp who used that bar before it became mine. I thought about the lonely, hot days in my garage last summer when I was throwing that bar down to the strange stares of people walking by. I thought about the girls who took a chance on me and started coming to my garage to learn how to use that bar. And I thought about the members of my ALL IN CrossFit family that now make use of that bar on a daily basis. In a short period of time, my Bella bar has come a long way!

It got me to thinking about how who we are today does not necessarily mean that we have to be that same person on down the road. Change is always possible. Recently, some of my friends have been posting before and after pictures showing their journey through CrossFit. “Before” pictures always have a certain sadness about them. Though the person may be smiling, his body language suggests someone who is self-conscious about having his picture taken. There is something so low energy about the picture. The difference is apparent when you look at the “after” picture. Usually, the “after” picture is of that same person doing something awesome or having just finished doing something awesome. A huge smile may be on his face, and you get the feeling that he is really living life to its fullest. I love “after” pictures.

New friends and old!

If you had told me a year ago that I would end up being the co-owner of a CrossFit gym, I would not have believed you. At over 40, the last thing I thought I needed was my own business. Now I cannot imagine NOT having this wonderful little place called ALL IN CrossFit. I often think that if Nathan and I had not had the courage to make the move to Auburn, this would have never happened. I would have never met the wonderful people that I get to surround myself with every day at this gym and would have never found the personal fulfillment I had been looking for since my 20s.

Take a look at the life you are leading. Is there something missing? Are you just going through the motions? Know that you can make a change. Whether it is your fitness, your career, your relationships with others, it is never too late. It just takes a little courage to make the first step.

That Bella bar will always be special to me. I never realized until someone else recently pointed it out to me, but that is the bar I always grab for a workout. Though we have newer, shinier Bella bars, MY Bella bar is the one I insist on using. It represents something very special to me.

Thank you to everyone who has made my first year in my new town so AWESOME. You have been so welcoming and have fully embraced what Chris and I are trying to do at ALL IN. I feel blessed to make my home in the loveliest village on the Plains!