Jen – Balance in Busy Schedules

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I Started CrossFit About 2 Years Ago After Going To Visit A Friend To See Her New House. She Had Mentioned Before How Much She Liked CrossFit And After Seeing Her Again And How Awesome She Looked, I Realized I Needed To Do Something. I Was Overweight, Seriously Out Of Shape And Honestly Had Never Really Been A Gym Person Before. But, I Sent The Gym An Email That Afternoon And Scheduled A One-On-One With Coach Zach That Friday. I Figured If My Friend Liked It So Much, It Couldn’t Be That Bad… Right?

My First Class Was Painful, I Am Not Going To Lie (Remember Above, Out Of Shape And Overweight)! Looking Back It Was The Easiest Workout I Have Done At CFA. Some Stretching, Rowing, And A Few Rounds Of 15 Sit Ups, Air Squats, And Push-Ups. That Night And The Next Day I Was So Sore I Couldn’t Even Walk But I Went Back The Next Day Because I Knew The Coach Was Expecting Me.

After The Initial On Ramp I Starting Figuring Out How To Incorporate CrossFit Into My Daily Life, Which Was Not Easy. I Am A Mother Of 2 Boys, Now 5 And 7, I Work Full Time And My Husband And I Own A Local Small Business. Needless To Say, Life Was Really Busy. Luckily CrossFit Amoskeag Offered 10 Classes A Day, So If For Some Reason I Missed My Normal Morning Class, I Could Possibly Catch An Afternoon Class (Again No Excuse But Me). I Wouldn’t Say My Gym Schedule Is Regular, It Changes Every Week Depending On Work, Kids, Travel, Etc. Most Weeks I Would Attend A Morning Class, Before Work. I Figured The Only Excuse For Me Not Making A Morning Class Is Me!

Within A Few Weeks I Made Some Pretty Awesome Friends And Met All Of The Coaches And Owners. It Was Really Great To Workout With People Who Were Motivating Me To Do Better And To Show Up To Class. If A Missed A Few Days I Would Get Emails Or Texts From Other Members Or Coaches Asking Where I Was And Telling Me To Get My Butt Back To The Gym. I Started To Really Enjoy Going To The Gym And It Was, And Still Is, Something That I Get To Do For Myself, Which With 2 Kids And A Full Time Job Doesn’t Happen Often. It Took A While, But Now I Am Able To Make Going To The Gym A Priority At Least 3-5 Times A Week.

Within The First Year Or So I Lost About 15 Pounds And Felt Pretty Good About That, But Eventually Felt Like I Plateaued At That Weight. This Past Fall The Gym Offered A Nutrition Challenge, Which I Wasn’t Thrilled About To Be Honest. My Gym Buds Thought It Would Be Fun To Do It Together, Keep Each Other Motivated And On Track And I Reluctantly Joined. I Always Thought, I Work Out, Why Do I Need To Watch What I Eat? This Challenge, With The Help Of The Coaches Leading The Challenge And My Gym Friends, I Lost The Last 10 Pounds I Was Looking To Lose. So After Almost 2 Years Of CrossFit, I Have Lost 25 Pounds And Gained A Ton Of Muscle And In The Last Week I Figured Out How To Do Pull-Ups, Which I Had Never In My Life Done. I Used To Be A Size 12 And Now I Am A Size 6! I Am Lighter, Fitter, Healthier And I Feel Amazing.

I Think For Beginners The Hardest Part Is Making The Initial Phone Call Or Email And Making The Commitment To Do Better For Yourself. From There It’s All About Making The Gym A Priority In Your Life. I Realized That My Health And Fitness Needed To Be A Priority Just Like My Kids And My Job. CrossFit Amoskeag Was The Perfect Fit For Me; It’s Fun, The People Are Really Amazing And For Someone On A Tight Schedule You Have A Lot Of Options For Classes And You Get Such A Great Workout In Such A Short Period Of Time, It Fits Into Almost Any Schedule.