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What I Learned From the CrossFit Open
April 4, 2013THE STRIVING
May 1, 2013
My “before” picture.
Nothing seems to get people talking more than when a female new to CrossFit starts physically showing the results of her training.
“Those muscles make her look bulky.”
“Why would anyone want to have muscles like a man?”
The “athletic look” may not be what some consider appealing for themselves, but I have never understood why others put someone down for it. I understand showing concern for someone making unhealthy decisions in her life, but here is someone doing something good for herself.
I have struggled with my weight my entire grown-up life. People may see me now, and doubt me, but one look at my “before” pictures, and you will know I am telling the truth. I have tried every diet and every exercise regime out there. I even remember trying to be anorexic (yes!) and tried to go a whole day without eating. I finally succumbed to those orange peanut butter crackers that night!
When I started CrossFit, my coach asked me what my goals were for my training. By then, I was a marathon runner and triathlete. I had lost a lot of weight but still did not like the way I looked. My response was not that I wanted to lose 10 pounds or wear a certain size. “I want to LOOK like an athlete,” I replied.
The “big white dome” is in effect!
When I added strength training through CrossFit, the results were incredible. My upper arms, which had always looked like tree trunks (I avoided pictures showing the side of my arms at all costs- you know the ones), finally had a “line” going down them as I added definition. My stomach, which my husband and I affectionally called “the big white dome,” became flatter. My butt, which had “fallen” as someone so kindly pointed out to me one time, looked like it had been lifted. And my “good birthing hips,” as described by not one but two boys in college, became slimmer and less voluptuous.
I could go on about how much better I looked physically when I added muscle mass to my frame or I could mention the benefits of strength training for women, such as increased bone density and healthier joints. But most importantly is what CrossFit and lifting weights did for me mentally.
I no longer exercised in order to see a certain number on the scale or to wear a certain clothing size. I didn’t do the workout because I knew I needed to burn a certain amount of calories so that I could eat dinner with friends that night. I didn’t push myself because I knew “bathing suit season” was right around the corner. I didn’t work harder because I ate a candy bar the night before. I no longer dreaded the New Year’s resolution I would eventually break or Sunday nights knowing that the [enter diet fad here] started the next day.
All of the sudden, exercise was about the challenge. Would I be able to lift that barbell? Would I survive the workout-of-the-day? Would I amaze myself by setting a new personal record? I started eating better not to lose weight but so that I would perform better in the gym. Did I mention that the more muscle you have, the more calories you need to consume to maintain your body weight? Nine months of CrossFit, and I finally looked like an athlete- and felt like one too!
9 months after CrossFit.
This “cycle of fitness-” of eating well to perform well- has been going on for 3 1/2 years now. Sure, my weight fluctuates 5 pounds from time to time as I loosen up on my diet. But when I see the effects of my poor diet choices in my performance at the gym, all I have to do is tighten back up on my nutrition, and I return to my normal weight quickly. Do you know how freeing it is to not be a slave to the scale or worry about every morsel of food I put in my mouth? Not to mention how awesome it is that I can throw 135 pounds over my head?
Nothing pleases me more than when I see a female athlete in my gym begin to focus on what her body can do, as opposed to how her body looks. Those thighs she may have hated her entire life are now the thighs that let her squat a ton of weight. It can be very empowering and finally lead to a self confidence that person may have never experienced before. In all my years of exercising, I have never found a program that has the same effect on a woman.
So please- let’s refrain from putting someone down for having “too many muscles.” Those muscles are the results of hard work and may just represent the end of someone’s own personal struggle with weight and self esteem. Any criticism that reaches that person’s ears will forever live in her memory- much like my fallen butt and good birthing hips. It still hurts, and it stings. I’ll take my enlarged trapezius muscle (yes, someone pointed that out to me too) any day over returning to my previous life of losing the battle of the bulge.
9 Comments
Love this article, it is definitely something a lot of people – not just CrossFitters need to hear. We should be striving for health and overall fitness, which includes emotional wellness and confidence. Too often we become obsessed with the numbers game – calories, fat, pounds, inches. When we focus on strength and fitness rather than being skinny, yes we may gain muscle, but above and beyond “the gun show” are the intagible benefits that can make a person all warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks again for this post and to Lisbeth for sharing!
Shelby,
This a great article and so very true for most of us. I don’t think I have ever told you but you were my inspiration to start crossfit. I watched you working out with Kris at the gym before he opened WCCF. I was trying to get back into a regular routine and loved the way you looked and worked out. My goal was to get into better physical condition and that certainly seemed the way to go. I started private lessons with Kris a few months after he open his gym and have never looked back. I am so much better and would not trade crossfit for anything I have ever done for myself.
So THANK YOU!!!
Fran
Well freaking said!
Just what I wanted to read..
Love this and will remind some women about this: “Those thighs she may have hated her entire life are now the thighs that let her squat a ton of weight. It can be very empowering and finally lead to a self confidence that person may have never experienced before.”
Wonderful, thank you!
I have been “cross-fitting” for 8 months now. I have finally found what I love to do. The challenge motivates me. However, I have not lost any weight at all. And I know what my problem is…….. my eating habits. Can you give me an example of what a full days menu for you would be. I feel like I work so hard at the box that I should see results. I do feel stronger. But im starting to feel a little discouraged. Please advise.
Chris,
I’m sure you’ve heard people throw around that weird “Paleo diet” around your box. It’s not really as hard as it may seem. Just cut out grains. Don’t worry about being Paleo-perfect. So instead of having the slice of toast in the morning with your bacon and eggs, eat some bacon and eggs with a stir-fried veg in coconut oil or butter…or hell BACON GREASE and a tall glass of water. Grab a salad with some meat thrown on top and olive and some lemon juice sprinkled over it. Then heat a honkin’ big steak with some carmelized onions, and some roasted brussel sprouts that you threw into some butter or coconut oil before hand with some fennel sprinkled in or some other flavoring you like. Then after a few days or a few weeks of no grains, take out dairy…see if that helps you. Just one step at a time. If you really think you need some bread, thrown on an apron, get your bake on and bake some nice almond flour bread. Being perfect is not what it’s about…which is something I struggle with, believe you me. But really, it gets easier and it feels GREAT once all of that crapola is out of your system. 🙂
While I believe this article was intended to be for women, I found that I strongly identified with the author’s story and that it paralleled my own. I found CF in 09’ when I was deployed to Iraq. When I came back I attended a lvl 1 seminar and opened a box with another CrossFitter. I have always been stocky, and I remember early in my CF coaching experience I wasn’t following the advice I was giving to my clients. I was under eating in an attempt to be a “leaner” athlete believing that I was an representative of CF and that if I didn’t fit the aesthetic model of a CrossFitter that it would be ‘bad for business’. My under-eating never achieved the goal I thought I wanted and my workouts suffered tremendously. Eventually I came to the same conclusion that you did. Focus on performance. Focus on the workout. Eat to support the best performance. I’m still not a lean athlete but I’m strong now. I don’t need to be a muscle and fitness model because when CrossFitters see me HBBS 445# or deadlifting over 500# or snatching 235# they don’t care if I have abs, they want to be able to lift like me. That’s the inspiration a coach should be concerned with, function not aesthetics. The best way to “look” like an athlete is to BE an athlete. Thank you for posting, this was a good read.
Hi Shelby,
I love this article and was so surprised to see your before pictures , so inspiring and so happy for you on achieving so many awesome goals! You rock girl!!!! I myself have always battled being the muscular girl with big legs but heck I’ll stay big as long as they’re muscular and I can left heavy shit! LOL It also cracks me up when my husband says: ” Damn I love those traps” Ha.ha.
Kerrie
Shelby,
First I loved your article, second I really admire what you’ve done with Crossfit and I’m very proud that you are a member of the family. After getting “in-shape” and then falling off the wagon again and again, I’ve decided to follow your example. After seeing you stick with CrossFit for nearly 4 years and now having a Box of your own, I am truly inspired to join your ranks. I’ll admit I thought it was some kind of hipster fad for a long time but the results speak for themselves and I admit that I was being stupid. I can only hope to be as fit as you and any suggestions as to how to convince Laura to join me would be greatly appreciated. Plus, knowing that Nathan isn’t probably doing the Paleo diet to the extent you are, how can I introduce that diet here at home and change our eating habit ways? I guess what I’m looking for are good menu ideas.
Good On Ya’ and continued success!
Alan
Thank you so much for this article!!! I have been struggling with my weight the past couple years and I always revert back to the bad habits, diet pills, starvation, etc…This time I decided I was going to do it the right way, I tend to eat pretty healthy. I just recently found CrossFit, I have my last On Ramp class Thursday night. I love Cross Fit and I’m scared of it all at the same time…I am not losing weight either and I’m struggling with finding the right balance for myself. I can’t do Paleo, as I am a vegetarian, and I dont think I’m eating enough calories most of the time….