I’ve been working out a la CrossFit since August 2012. I love it, and have made a ton of new friends over the past couple of years. There are days where I wish my crossfit quads could fit in my size 8 jeans again, but then again we all have those days, so whatever. When I’m not traveling throughout the country on business trips, I’m picking things up and putting them down for time at CrossFit Factory Square.

Early on, I fell in love with the CrossFit regimen and the community that comes with it. Since beginning CrossFit, I accomplished things that I never thought I could realistically do, like a pull-up. Over my first year of CF, I gained the skill to kip a bunch, and even get a few strict on any given day. I got to being in the absolute best shape of my life (which is saying something, considering my athletic background), and I didn’t ever want to look back.

However, a spike in business trips between November 2013 and July of 2014 led me to be out on the road just as much as I was at home. I lagged in my training and nutrition. Since graduating college, I never used to go more than 2 days without a workout – suddenly I was uncharacteristically skipping weeks on end, while constantly eating mediocre catering or restaurant food for every.meal.of.the.day. I felt (and still do feel) the lingering feeling of guilt and grossness for becoming so undisciplined and letting so much of my strength and conditioning go.

However, it’s also given me a new perspective of CrossFit and lifting, a chance to hit the reset button. Having always been a somewhat strong girl, I started CF and just muscled my way through lifts. Even though the technique wasn’t there, I still had enough raw power to throw around weights comparable to the stronger girls at the box. Getting under the bar with snatches was both awkward and frightening. Why work on form with a 75lb bar when I could just throw 90 up without having to bend my knees?

I consider it a second chance. This go around, I’m really working to pay attention to how I’m lifting my bar – not how much weight is on someone else’s. No more barely hitting depth on squats just to get the number. No more rounded backs on deadlifts. No more snatches without squatting and the same goes for heavy cleans!

So far, it’s working. I’m getting closer to matching my old PRs, but with much better form. Hit a lifetime PR squat snatch at 100lbs recently, and stood up a 140lb squat clean multiple times in the same training session. What I wish I knew earlier = PRs require patience. You can only fake it for so long before you have to WORK to make it any further.

Cheers to doing things RIGHT, even if it takes longer to get where you’re going.

PR’s & One-Rep Maxes

• Clean & Jerk – 150lbs
• Snatch – 105lbs
• Deadlift – 275lbs
• Back Squat – 185lbs
• Max Pull-Ups – 11
• Mile Run – 6:57
• Fran – 6:12
• Grace – 3:05

You can keep track of me in the CrossFit Open here.