I have been a gymnast for seven years, and I have always been pretty strong. When I look back to the prime of my training it cannot be compared to the benefit of CrossFit. I looked at some pictures of my gymnastics before CrossFit and I was a short stick figure with no muscle definition. When I started CrossFit, my fitness level increased dramatically and my attitude toward training improved. Not only did my gymnastics team struggle to keep up with me in conditioning, my skill levels peaked appropriately. I excelled very quickly. With the help of the Zone diet, my short muscular figure became more toned and defined. Everyday life became easier.
I can barely remember what it was like before training with CrossFit. Everything was more difficult, I'm sure, and I came home from daily practice exhausted. I even competed at the same level multiple seasons in order to acquire my skills. Everything changed when I started CrossFit. I passed my teammates up and progressed more than a level in a season. I started winning more events--including a state title. It was unquestionably hard work, but once I learned to have fun with it and realized the benefits, it was a pleasure to work hard.
CrossFit's ethic of virtuosity completely changed the way I look at sport and life. I realize that bringing your chin up a little more over the bar or going a little deeper in your pushups really makes a difference. I watch elite gymnasts fly through the air to land perfectly in place and always think they must have done the "common uncommonly well" to reach that height. I realize it is always precision in basics before hard skills that contributes to a solid performance. I apply that to my training, and even though it was hard at first, I went that much higher, longer, faster and harder. And it was fun!
CrossFit has also opened up many possibilities for my athletics. I am going places I would have never dreamed of going before. With my fitness level I know that I can achieve my goals and do anything I want with consistent hard work and determination.
Besides gymnastics my dad takes my brother and I rock climbing and backpacking in the Sierras. This is one of the other areas CrossFit makes a difference in. This last summer my dad came up with crazy ideas of hiking the 27 miles from Tuolomne Meadows to Mammoth Lakes in a day. Going with the theme, two weeks later he suggested climbing Mt Whitney car to car in a day.
My dad seems to push me and my brother in a way that proves or shows us what we can really do, so in the end we look back and question "Whoa, did I really do that?" It makes me look at things in a much larger scale. Go big! That's what he was saying to us when he took us to hike the 27 miles in less than 11 hrs. I still question if I really did that or not. The Tuolomne to Mammoth endeavor was great; we only carried 20 pounds at the most between three people. We carried Zone meals (of course) and three liter water bottles which we filled in streams along the way. Traveling over two mountain passages, we made it in 10 hrs and 45 min at an average rate of 3 mph. We arrived in Mammoth just in time for dinner.
I have the same doubting thoughts even after climbing Mt. Whitney in a day. After a long week of backpacking at high elevation, Stefan and I agreed to climb up to the highest point in the U.S. mainland. At 14,497.68 feet, Mt. Whitney was a little intimidating, so to train my dad and I hiked up to Mt. Langley, another 14,000+ ft peak, the week before just to get into the groove and adjust to the elevation. To climb Mt. Whitney we camped at Whitney Portal and we were on the trail by 0517 hrs. It was a five mile hike through meadow, over talus and up the gravelly mountain side to reach the first pitch of the East Buttress. We reached that point about 1000 hrs after a brief water and food stop at Iceberg Lake which lies in little valley below the climb. From here we summited in 5 hours, after 13 pitches, and 2 liters of water later, extremely dehydrated. As much as we wanted to hang out at the summit and relax, we had to start hiking if we wanted to get back to the car before dark. We snapped a few photos and carefully scrambled and slid down the mountaineer's route. When we got back to Iceberg Lake we briefly re-hydrated and refueled, then powered down through gravel, talus and meadow and we were off the trail by 1949 hrs. We made it car to car in 14 hrs and 32 min, ascending and descending 6,100 feet of elevation. When I look back at photos, I still ask myself "Did I do that?"
I went to the First Annual CrossFit Games a few months ago and it was by far the greatest experience I've had with CrossFit in the 2 or more years I've done it. Because of my weight I really had no expectations to win anything, so my main goal was to go there, perform like in practice, and enjoy the community.
The first event was the hopper WOD: Row 1000 m, 5 rounds: 25 pull ups, 7 push jerks. For women the prescribed weight was 85lbs. Weighing just under 100 lbs, I had some question of whether or not I should go as rx'd. If I didn't go as rx'd I would place lower than those who did, and if I did go as rx'd I would still place low for taking my time. As you can tell this took a little strategy. I ended up deciding that even though it would be worth the hard work to go heavy, by scaling the weight I would be a lot more satisfied to finish the workout under the 20 min time cap. I stuck with 65lbs. I finished in 17:21, being one of the lucky few to escape losing skin from my hands on the pull up bars. I placed 8 th.
The second event, the run, was scheduled for the same day as the WOD. I had been nervous about the run from the beginning, because I had barely done any training for it previously. I just kept in mind that my goal was to have fun, and once I got out there I realized that it wasn't that bad. I heard people say that it was about three miles; three miles of really steep ups and downs that you have to walk sometimes. I finished in 27:15, placing 5 th among the women.
The CrossFit Total was held on the second day of the Games. I was a little tired from the previous day, so it didn't go as well as I expected. At the time I weighed 97 lbs, and I totaled 363 with 125 lb squat, 173 lb deadlift, and 65 lb press. This was not my PR but overall I was satisfied with my performance. I was at a little disadvantage because I was the lightest of all the women so I ended up only placing 11 th.
Every moment of the games was a highlight. Being around the people and watching everyone perform was a great experience. I love this community and all the people who make it possible. Among all the excitement of watching great people workout I was flattered and honored to receive the Spirit of CrossFit award in the form of an 8kg kettlebell. Of all the awards I have received, I have the most appreciation for the Spirit of CrossFit and I cannot express how honored I am. CrossFit has inspired me to go the distance and continues to make all my goals possible.
I can barely remember what it was like before training with CrossFit. Everything was more difficult, I'm sure, and I came home from daily practice exhausted. I even competed at the same level multiple seasons in order to acquire my skills. Everything changed when I started CrossFit. I passed my teammates up and progressed more than a level in a season. I started winning more events--including a state title. It was unquestionably hard work, but once I learned to have fun with it and realized the benefits, it was a pleasure to work hard.
CrossFit's ethic of virtuosity completely changed the way I look at sport and life. I realize that bringing your chin up a little more over the bar or going a little deeper in your pushups really makes a difference. I watch elite gymnasts fly through the air to land perfectly in place and always think they must have done the "common uncommonly well" to reach that height. I realize it is always precision in basics before hard skills that contributes to a solid performance. I apply that to my training, and even though it was hard at first, I went that much higher, longer, faster and harder. And it was fun!
CrossFit has also opened up many possibilities for my athletics. I am going places I would have never dreamed of going before. With my fitness level I know that I can achieve my goals and do anything I want with consistent hard work and determination.
Besides gymnastics my dad takes my brother and I rock climbing and backpacking in the Sierras. This is one of the other areas CrossFit makes a difference in. This last summer my dad came up with crazy ideas of hiking the 27 miles from Tuolomne Meadows to Mammoth Lakes in a day. Going with the theme, two weeks later he suggested climbing Mt Whitney car to car in a day.
My dad seems to push me and my brother in a way that proves or shows us what we can really do, so in the end we look back and question "Whoa, did I really do that?" It makes me look at things in a much larger scale. Go big! That's what he was saying to us when he took us to hike the 27 miles in less than 11 hrs. I still question if I really did that or not. The Tuolomne to Mammoth endeavor was great; we only carried 20 pounds at the most between three people. We carried Zone meals (of course) and three liter water bottles which we filled in streams along the way. Traveling over two mountain passages, we made it in 10 hrs and 45 min at an average rate of 3 mph. We arrived in Mammoth just in time for dinner.
I have the same doubting thoughts even after climbing Mt. Whitney in a day. After a long week of backpacking at high elevation, Stefan and I agreed to climb up to the highest point in the U.S. mainland. At 14,497.68 feet, Mt. Whitney was a little intimidating, so to train my dad and I hiked up to Mt. Langley, another 14,000+ ft peak, the week before just to get into the groove and adjust to the elevation. To climb Mt. Whitney we camped at Whitney Portal and we were on the trail by 0517 hrs. It was a five mile hike through meadow, over talus and up the gravelly mountain side to reach the first pitch of the East Buttress. We reached that point about 1000 hrs after a brief water and food stop at Iceberg Lake which lies in little valley below the climb. From here we summited in 5 hours, after 13 pitches, and 2 liters of water later, extremely dehydrated. As much as we wanted to hang out at the summit and relax, we had to start hiking if we wanted to get back to the car before dark. We snapped a few photos and carefully scrambled and slid down the mountaineer's route. When we got back to Iceberg Lake we briefly re-hydrated and refueled, then powered down through gravel, talus and meadow and we were off the trail by 1949 hrs. We made it car to car in 14 hrs and 32 min, ascending and descending 6,100 feet of elevation. When I look back at photos, I still ask myself "Did I do that?"
I went to the First Annual CrossFit Games a few months ago and it was by far the greatest experience I've had with CrossFit in the 2 or more years I've done it. Because of my weight I really had no expectations to win anything, so my main goal was to go there, perform like in practice, and enjoy the community.
The first event was the hopper WOD: Row 1000 m, 5 rounds: 25 pull ups, 7 push jerks. For women the prescribed weight was 85lbs. Weighing just under 100 lbs, I had some question of whether or not I should go as rx'd. If I didn't go as rx'd I would place lower than those who did, and if I did go as rx'd I would still place low for taking my time. As you can tell this took a little strategy. I ended up deciding that even though it would be worth the hard work to go heavy, by scaling the weight I would be a lot more satisfied to finish the workout under the 20 min time cap. I stuck with 65lbs. I finished in 17:21, being one of the lucky few to escape losing skin from my hands on the pull up bars. I placed 8 th.
The second event, the run, was scheduled for the same day as the WOD. I had been nervous about the run from the beginning, because I had barely done any training for it previously. I just kept in mind that my goal was to have fun, and once I got out there I realized that it wasn't that bad. I heard people say that it was about three miles; three miles of really steep ups and downs that you have to walk sometimes. I finished in 27:15, placing 5 th among the women.
The CrossFit Total was held on the second day of the Games. I was a little tired from the previous day, so it didn't go as well as I expected. At the time I weighed 97 lbs, and I totaled 363 with 125 lb squat, 173 lb deadlift, and 65 lb press. This was not my PR but overall I was satisfied with my performance. I was at a little disadvantage because I was the lightest of all the women so I ended up only placing 11 th.
Every moment of the games was a highlight. Being around the people and watching everyone perform was a great experience. I love this community and all the people who make it possible. Among all the excitement of watching great people workout I was flattered and honored to receive the Spirit of CrossFit award in the form of an 8kg kettlebell. Of all the awards I have received, I have the most appreciation for the Spirit of CrossFit and I cannot express how honored I am. CrossFit has inspired me to go the distance and continues to make all my goals possible.
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