If you’re a regular reader, you’ve heard me griping about how I miss CrossFit. I had really gotten into it during my last year and a half in Dallas and made some really good friends, along with dropping about 30 pounds from my all time high. There are CrossFit’s all over the world, but not yet in Puerto Rico. This really bummed me out, because as soon as I knew I was getting relocated, no matter where I ended up, I’d counted on finding a CrossFit I liked and meeting people that way. Instead, I joined the new gym in town. And it’s nice enough, but it’s just a gym. Some of you read my Boot Camp Chronicles, and much like that time of my life, it’s really hard to go back to the boring old gym after getting used to a workout regime that pushes you to the very limit on a regular basis.
Still, I had high hopes of finding a couple of classes that I liked, becoming a regular attendee, and possibly meeting some people in class. All the classes have strange names that really don’t tell you at all what the class is; the first one I went to was called “Exco” – which turned out to be jazzercise with shake weights. Not exactly my thing after completing WOD’s (Workout of the Day) that involved cardio sprints and Olympic lifting and absolutely everything in between. The next class I tried was “Kempo Combat,” basically Tae Bo in Spanish. That’s the other thing; I don’t know how it completely escaped my stream of consciousness that the class would be taught in Spanish - with a background of high volume techno music.
So I gave up on the classes and half-assed focused on the Half Marathon. BORING. I don’t know why I continue to sign up for these things. I always think it’s going to help me lose weight, and I never do. I’m so hungry all day on the days of the long runs that I think I eat away any calorie deficit achieved for the week in one afternoon. I’d managed to only gain a couple pounds during the whole relocation process, but between boring workouts, my November/December travel schedule, and the compulsory two week binge over the holidays, I’d found myself up another seven. But with all the muscle tone I’d lost from not doing CrossFit, it felt like 20.
So I jumped on the same bandwagon that I and millions of other Americans do every January and vowed to get it together before it spiraled completely out of control. First step, get back to eating Paleo. I won’t get on my soapbox for too long, but after years of fighting my doctor’s request that I limit the carbs, I finally took the time to understand the biology behind what they do to your body. For someone with a strong history of diabetes in the family who at one point was trending that way herself, it made a lot of sense. And it was much easier to do when most everyone I was working out with was doing the same.
I’m on day 12 of no carbs, no sugar, no dairy, no caffeine, no alcohol and I feel great. On day three, I wanted to mix a pot of coffee with a bottle of wine and chug it. I felt like shit. My head was pounding, I was exhausted and I felt like I was moving through quicksand all day. But boy, once you get through that fog, it’s great on the other side. I’m sleeping like a baby and have plenty of energy. Sometimes during the day this feeling comes over me and I have to take a minute to appreciate how good I feel in that moment. It’s hard to explain, but there’s something to be said for purging your body of all the poisons you routinely put in it.
Second step, get back to doing WOD’s. I bought a large workout mat for my office, a set of dumbbells, a jump rope, an ab mat, and a kettlebell. Just ordered a 12 inch box that I can use for box jumps. So far, I’ve been doing these workouts in my office for about three weeks now. Already I can feel the muscle tone is on its way back. I follow the website for the CrossFit I went to in Dallas, and make modifications when I have to in order to complete the workout. It is much harder to do it on my own than it was surrounded by others, coaches cheering you on, trying DESPERATELY not to be the last person to finish the WOD. Some of the workouts I’ve done have taken me forever, but I just keep telling myself at least I am doing it.
What I missed most is the feeling right after you’ve finished kicking your own ass during one of these WOD’s. I suppose it’s endorphins though I haven’t researched the actual chemistry of it all, but there’s a feeling of utter calm that sweeps over you. It’s a feeling of complete and total serenity after a job well done. I’ve always heard about this mysterious “Runners High.” Frankly, as someone who’s completed four half marathons and all the training involved with each, I think it’s bullshit. I’ve never experienced this mythical phenomenon in the nearly decade since I did my first Half. But if it’s anything like the feeling that I get after a WOD, I see why runners stick to it. Though with many WOD’s lasting around ten minutes or less, I’ll take CrossFit over running miles and miles, any day.
I told myself if I could do this for two weeks I’d earned a couple of beers during the Super Bowl, but now I’m not sure I even want them (who am I kidding? Of course I want them, I just don’t want how they make me feel the day after.) What I do want is coffee. I miss the coffee most of all. It will definitely be back on Monday. Caffeine never did much for me by way of a pick me up. I can drink it before bed and it doesn’t affect me. But clearly, I was addicted. Take yourself off caffeine for a few days, and you’ll see just how much you need it.
I haven’t weighed myself yet. Last year when we were doing the “Paleo Challenge” at CrossFit, I didn’t weigh myself for nearly two months, and that’s the way to go. Ignore the scale and pay attention to how you feel and how your clothes fit, and you’ll be much more successful. I can feel it in my stomach, it’s like the carb bubble that had been living in there the last few months finally popped. The jeans that were becoming a struggle over Christmas fit again. And I have plenty of motivation - I live on the beach, for heaven’s sake!
So sadly, unlike the title suggests, a CrossFit hasn’t opened in my ‘hood. (Free rent to anyone from GVCF that wants to come down and start it!) But one is slowly being assembled. When I finally break down and buy a rower, it’s on!
