I will never forget that first night I walked into CrossFit Olathe for the On Ramp class. It was June 5th, 2012. I was extremely nervous because at that point in my life, my only form of fitness was taking the stairs instead of the elevator! Various thoughts were racing through my head…Will the class be full of skinny people? I bet everyone will judge me. Will I even survive the first 5 minutes? Am I too old for this? Why am I here again? I was put a little at ease when I walked into the Box and saw other “newbies” like me from all different walks of life.
One of the owners and coaches of CrossFit Olathe, Jesse, kicked off the class by providing background on what CrossFit was and why he felt so passionate about it. The piece that resonated with me was that he promised it would always be challenging. Sure, you would come to learn and understand the movements, but each day would be a challenge because you would increase the weight or move up in scale or challenge yourself to beat your personal record for each WOD (Workout of the Day). Then we began walking through the movements and I thought to myself…I can do this!
After the first month, I was hooked! Sure, I was sore as hell and couldn’t move for days after the first WOD, but the soreness diminished each day and I began to look forward to what was next. So much so, that I even felt like a stalker clicking the refresh button on the website at night to see if they had posted what the WOD would be for the following day! I got to know the other members of CrossFit Olathe; we shared the pain of the WODs and helped push each other through to the finish day after day. The community is a big part of what makes CrossFit so great!
I would be remiss if I didn’t also share that the coaches are another major factor in your CrossFit experience. Yes, CrossFit as a type of fitness is universal, but not every Box is created equal. Jesse, Jerell and Mikki are rockstars! They take the time to show you the proper way to complete each movement, even if they have to do it repeatedly. Scalability is also something they always discuss prior to a WOD. They want to ensure your success and help minimize your risk for injury. You can certainly tell they love what they do! And to top it off, they seem to be magical at providing mobility suggestions to improve any ailments you have before or after a workout.
I can definitely see and feel the difference after 6 months of CrossFit. I feel more energetic, have more muscle definition and definitely got a butt lift! I’ve dropped 7% body fat, 15 lbs and 2 dress sizes! Not to mention the cool factor of being able to back squat my own bodyweight and push press half of it. Most importantly though, CrossFit has helped me in everyday life more than I can even imagine. I no longer mind running up and down the stairs 20 times each night to calm a crying baby or to carry loads of laundry down. I don’t get winded any longer playing basketball with my son and I even outlasted him at the indoor trampoline park!
So, all-in-all, am I glad I joined CrossFit?
Yeah!
Am I even more glad it was CrossFit Olathe?
Candidly Savage 