HaleyIn my 2017 Fitness Strategy post, I mentioned I’m back in a CrossFit gym working out a couple days a week and couldn’t be happier. It’s funny how much life has changed in the past 8 years when my husband first opened his own CrossFit gym.
Back in the day (well before kids), I would CrossFit five times a week, cook paleo meals for us every night and get plenty of rest. Nowadays, my life is only predictable by its unpredictability. I have 10 pounds less muscle than I used to have, rarely get a full night’s sleep and consider it a good week if I CrossFit twice. My 1 rep max lifts are considerably less and I get winded during the dynamic warm-up.
And yet, I am happy. I’ve found a balance that works for me–for my family. I get enough of a taste of CrossFit each week to keep me excited without making me so sore or exhausted that I can’t lift my kids. I proudly choose the scaled WOD when the RX WOD is much too heavy, without any second thoughts. Nowadays, I CrossFit not to win the WOD, but to push myself and to stay fit and ‘mama strong.’
This past weekend, I competed in a local CrossFit competition called Metro Mayhem. I was a bit nervous going in, because it had been 6 years since I’ve competed–before I started having kids. But thankfully, my team chose to compete in the scaled division so I could compete, and once the clock started my nerves left and I was just like every other CrossFitter, focused on the WOD and oblivious to my surroundings.
Our team, Spider Chalk Junkies, ended up placing right in the middle of the pack for scaled division, and I’m OK with that. I was just happy to finally be able to compete with my husband, who is typically the one running all the CrossFit competitions through his Atlanta Affiliate League.
Photos by Recon Photography
My new CrossFit gym is all about competing in the upcoming CrossFit Open, so for the first time ever, I will be competing. And I feel pretty lucky that my 35th birthday is coming up in a couple months, which automatically puts me in the Master’s Division. I’ll take all the help I can get!
Best of luck to all you other CrossFitters out there competing in the Open!
