It has been just about a year since I started the I am CrossFit project and did my first shoot with Jamie.
One of the questions that I have gotten most frequently is, “When are you going to let someone photograph you for the project?”
My initial answer was to hedge and change the subject. Photographers, above all other people, dislike having their photograph taken.
But, as the year draws to a close, I finally gave in and got some help so that I could add my perspective to the project.
A huge thanks to the lovely Tarren for helping me with the shoot. Somehow it is just not possible to take photographs of yourself completing dynamic movements with a timer, so none of this would have been possible without your assistance.
Thank you.
Here we go…
My favorite things about CrossFit is the potential for growth and personal development.
There are always more skills to learn and you can always improve. Crossfit allows me to push myself in a supportive team environment that is always changing so I never get bored.
CrossFit has also taught me to be tougher mentally and physically and has changed the way I look at myself and what I am capable of.
There have been so many many times since I started doing CrossFit that I have wanted to quit a workout half way through (like that stupid Games workout with the wall balls? Every time.) I train myself on a daily basis to move past the mental resistance that I am feeling and just keep going. Because let’s be honest – nobody crushes it every single day. Some days are character building days and the real win is just making it through without crying or quitting. (Or you cry but finish anyway.)
I have always been skinny. After college staying in shape started getting harder and I would get self-conscious about what I looked like. Since I started Crossfit I have gained 15 pounds of muscle, I am the heaviest that I have ever been, but I am also the happiest with my body that I have ever been as well. I love what my body can do.
My favorite lifts and movements are the body weight movements – especially pull-ups. I didn’t really play team sports when I was younger and I had never lifted weights before I came to CrossFit so the lifts are still something that I am working on, but body weight stuff and running is where I feel comfortable. I was a long distance runner before I started CrossFit and then I followed SealFit for a long time so I like the longer, more aerobic workouts like Murph, Michael, and Angie. I would really like to spend more time on my gymnastics and improve my handstands.
When I think of CrossFit I think of: friends, challenge, fun, competition, and community
The things that I am most proud of when it comes to CrossFit are my weighted pull-up and the improvement I have made on my Grace time. The first time that I did the workout Grace (30 95# clean and jerks for time) it was for the first Barbells for Boobs fundraiser. It took me 22 minutes to complete. I cried. The next year when I did Grace again for the fundraiser I finished in 14 minutes, the slowest RX time in my gym, and I cried. Then I ate a bagel to feel better about myself. Then I avoided that workout like the plague for 2 or 3 years. It was my nemesis. I did the workout recently in 6:20 and felt awesome. No crying, no wanting to quit. It was so amazing to be able to make such an improvement and see how far I have come.
See the series from the beginning: I am CrossFit – Jamie or see who’s next: I am CrossFit – Lindsay.
