7/22/2017 0 Comments Find Your Fitness PassionIt’s 3:30 p.m., and the last of my students are filtering out of my classroom for the day. I wait a few more minutes before grabbing my gym bag and heading to the faculty bathroom to change into my workout gear. I take my time, telling myself that the school sports teams need a few minutes to get settled in the weight room and claim the equipment they need before I can go in and take my usual position on the elliptical machine. In reality, I am moving slowly because I have absolutely no motivation to find myself positioned behind the same windows, using the same footholds and handles, and staring at the same progress screen that I have seen every other day this week.
But I will go anyway, and get my 60 minutes of daily cardio out of the way. It is a task that I have to complete, just like putting in my 8 hours at work, cooking dinner, and paying bills. I make a beeline to the first open elliptical machine in the school’s weight room, plug in my headphones, turn Metallica on full blast, and, as I begin moving the handles and pedals, I block out all of the activity happening around me. I glance down at the progress monitor. It’s only been 10 minutes. My pace on the elliptical is fast enough that I am sweating and my breathing is mildly heavy, but I’m not really pushing harder than I do on any other day. Trudging through the full hour is arduous, but I manage to do so successfully, wiping down the handles of the machine and hightailing it out of the gym just as quickly as I came in. This was my daily exercise routine for a year. There was nothing fun about it, and nothing to motivate me to return to it other than necessity. Each day that I walked the long hallway from my classroom to the school’s gym, I could feel my feet moving more slowly. How long would it be until they halted completely? I had already resigned myself to the fact that exercising would have to be a regular part of my life if I wanted to continue losing weight and then maintain, but the way I felt about working out when I was heavy had not changed at all: I still hated it. In conversation with a coworker, I mentioned my fear of losing all motivation to go to exercise. She suggested that I go to her gym and give it a try. “It’s not CrossFit, but similar in many ways, and it is different every day.” “Oh no! There’s no way I can do CrossFit. That stuff looks crazy!” Finally, she convinced me to go with her. I had so much fun, that I went back every day that week! I thought that this must be the place for me….until the owner announced that they would be closing the gym. Now, my “Oh no!” was spoken for a much different reason. I couldn’t go back to a workout routine in which I just went through the motions, but I really didn’t feel like I was ready for the physical and financial commitment that came with joining a CrossFit facility. After some serious peer pressure from a few friends, I booked my free trial class at Shenandoah CrossFit in Winchester, VA. A friend from work agreed to go with me so that I didn’t have an excuse to back out. When I walked through those doors for the first time, I was simultaneously intimidated and surprised. The class was doing squats, but the weights they used varied from one person using only a barbell to another using what looked like 400 pounds. Contrary to what I expected, the clients were all average looking people, as opposed to raging hulklike bodybuilders throwing around tires. A coach approached us, showed us around, had us sign some paperwork, and then got us started. Our workout consisted of this: 21 kettlebell swings 21 situps 100 foot shuttle run 15 kettlebell swings 15 situps 100 foot shuttle run 9 kettlebell swings 9 situps 100 foot shuttle run It wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was fun, and I performed way better than I thought I would (I didn’t even puke, despite the fact that all of the CrossFit naysayers cite this as a typical consequence of such rigorous physical activity). I started to feel like I might be comfortable in this environment, and signed up right then and there. Now, I cannot imagine my life without CrossFit. Every single day is different and challenges me. Even on my very worst days, I can’t wait to get myself to the gym. I finally found enthusiasm for fitness, and I don’t foresee losing that any time soon. My point here is not necessarily to shove CrossFit down your throat. I realize that not everyone will be passionate about CrossFit. You might fall in love with running or cycling or even Zumba, and all of those are excellent ways to become physically fit. My point is that working out should not feel like a chore, and when it does, it is time for something new. Our world already provides us with plenty of excuses to skip a workout, and when you dread exercising, it is much more likely that you will not do it at all. So the goal is to find something that you look forward to doing each day, something that is more like recreation versus obligation. When you find a workout regimen that you truly love, so too will you discover a lifelong dedication to fitness. I have found that love and dedication in CrossFit. In what will you find yours?
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