I’m a medial transcriptionist for Mayo Clinic.

Spending time with friends and family.

My husband had actually started CrossFit first.  He works at HGST and they started offering it as a benefit for their employees.  The fact that they loved it so much and constantly encouraged me to try it made me decide to give it a shot!

Just over two years now.

I’ve always enjoyed being active.  Before CFP I did a lot of running and weight machines at the gym.  I had also done P90X and Insanity.

That I would look like an idiot trying to do a bunch of things I had never even heard of before!

Pizza; or pasta and ice cream!

Hmmm… there are plenty.  I hope to at some point be able to do cool things like muscle ups, hand stand walks, handstand push ups (without mats under my head), C2B pull ups, etc.  I also really hope one day something just clicks and I’m finally confident at doing snatches instead of being this far along and still feeling like I don’t quite have it yet!  For the time being, my main goal is just to keep showing up on a regular basis and keep working out through the end of my pregnancy.

I think for me the hardest thing has been not comparing myself to other people.  We’re all different ages, shapes, sizes, athletic abilities, and at different points in our CrossFit journeys. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses and it’s just discouraging and counterproductive to compare yourself to someone else.  I’ve gotten past that but at first it was really hard.  Goes hand in hand with checking your ego at the door! 😉

Well you know all those awesome 90’s rap songs we get to hear every Hip Hop Friday?  I can sing most, if not all of the words right along with probably 90% of them.  Yep, I can rap along with the best of ‘em!

Hard to pick just one but I think being reminded that each day you show up and workout, you’re stronger than you were the day before is so true.  You can’t expect to get stronger and better at things if you aren’t constantly walking through that door for another workout.

It’s definitely been a positive change.  Since I started at CFP my main focus has shifted from  staying active to try to stay thin, to staying active in order to be strong and healthy.  I read an article once where the main point was, when you work out with the desire to gain something, (strength) rather than the intent to lose something, (weight) it becomes so much more enjoyable and fulfilling.  I think that perfectly describes how my outlook on health and fitness has changed since I started CrossFit and I have to say it’s been one of the best things about the whole experience for me.

I think up to this point it was participating in Friday Night Lights last year.  Yes, every week before it was time to do the WOD I was totally nervous but it’s also pretty amazing to see what you can accomplish when you really push yourself.  The energy in the gym was just awesome and it’s really cool to see so many members of the gym participating in something like that!

The people/community/coaches are great.  The accountability/knowing people notice when you don’t show up is awesome and it’s also literally the ONLY thing involving exercise I’ve done in my entire life that I can honestly say I’ve never been bored with; even after two plus years.  No matter how good you are there’s always something to improve on!

I know it’s very intimidating to be starting CrossFit, (or at least it was for me) but don’t let that intimidation hold you back from trying/learning new things.  There were a TON of movements I wasn’t even aware existed when I started CrossFit and a lot of it kinda freaked me out but it feels pretty awesome when not only do you try something new and get it right; it feels even better when that stuff becomes second nature and you can quit looking at other people and wishing you could do what they were doing, because now you can!  Keep showing up, keep pushing yourself.  It’s amazing to learn all the cool things your body can do if you step out of your comfort zone once in a while! 

Obviously so I can eat all the pizza and ice cream I want! 😉  Seriously though, it’s my stress reliever. It’s my “me” time, (pregnant or not).  I also know it’s healthy for me and the baby I’m carrying to stay active and will hopefully benefit me through the labor/delivery process.

Breathing! Haha… trying to move with a belly in your way gets a little interesting at times.  Also, coming to terms with the fact that you have to take things down a notch from what you would normally do.

I, for the most part, have just been listening to my body.  I obviously have slowed down so I’m not totally wheezing by the end of the WOD, have adjusted weights when need be, and I’m not doing anything that would be unsafe to keep doing at this point.  But really, I think I’ve just been operating on the mindset of taking it one day at a time and seeing how I feel on that particular day and going from there.

Haha well believe it or not, a couple pairs came from the Gap but I think the ones you’re referring to are from Motherhood Maternity.  Funny to think that a few years back I’d have never thought that maternity workout clothes would even be on my radar!