Hi, guys! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I spent mine looking forward to my next Crossfit class. Ha! It’s been so long since I have actually looked forward to working out and it feels so good!
Last Wednesday during my second Elements class, I attempted my very first assisted pull-ups using bands. I’ve used the assisted pull-up machine many times in different gyms, but I had never used bands before. To be honest, this was a bit of a fat fear. I always thought there was no way there’d be a band strong enough to hold my body weight, let alone assist it during a pull-up! The moment coach Josh said we were going to practice pull-ups, my heart started to pound. First, he had us just hang from the bar. I’m assuming he wanted to gauge how strong our grip and upper bodies were. Well, I couldn’t hang there for more than 2 seconds… literally. This was already starting off pretty sad. Next, we got the bands and Josh explained how the thicker bands provided more assistance and the thin bands provided less. Naturally, I grabbed the thickest band I could find! I stood on a box, put my foot into the band, and proceeded to try my very first band pull-up! I’ve got to admit, there was a second right before I stepped off that box where I was thinking, “This is it! I’m about to do my first Crossfit pull-up!” I was kind of excited!
Unfortunately, the excitement quickly ended when my body just hung there and I realized this thick band wasn’t doing much for my awfully large body. I jumped down and stood there pretty embarrassed as I watched almost everyone else practicing their pull-ups with one thin band. Just then, Josh came over and asked another classmate how it was going. She confessed that she too was unable to do a pull-up with the thickest band and Josh quickly reminded us that we could use more than one band. Duh! How did I forget so quickly that two bands was an option?? My classmate and I grabbed another thick band and before we knew it, we were both busting out some pull-ups! I was so relieved to know that I could actually use a band to help me with my pull-ups and that it wasn’t going to snap under the stress of my weight like I always imagined in my head. I was also really appreciative to have someone in my class who has some of the same struggles I do. It’s so easy to get discouraged when it feels like everyone else is leagues ahead of you. She and I—we’re in this together!
Monday night’s class was extra exciting and well worth the wait from the previous Wednesday. Why? Because we busted out the barbells!! Last week we did a lot of kettlebell work, which I like. But, barbell work is one of the main reasons I get excited about the thought of Crossfit. I don’t have any experience with Olympic lifts like clean and jerks or snatches, but I’ve always been a fan of deadlifts, which is something you do with a barbell! Can you guess what we practiced?? Ding, ding, ding! Deadlifts!! It was practice, so we used very light weight, but I was super excited about having some barbell deadlifts back in my life!
I have to say, I’ve learned a lot in just three classes and have had some challenging, yet rewarding, WODs. We’ve done various kinds of stretches, squats, deadlifts, and carries. We’ve practiced pull-ups, push-ups, lunges, planks, bear crawls, ball slams, and more. But, the most rewarding part has been seeing how just a few trips to the box have affected my little munchkin. As I shared last week, he fell asleep in the office during the first class. The following day, he expressed to me how much he didn’t like my new gym and how boring he thought it was. By the time we went back for the second class, he asked to sit in the main gym instead of the office so that he could watch us. At the end of the class, he was sad that he didn’t have time to work out too! But, by the end of the third class, he was participating! Yes, you read that right. While we were learning different movements, I would spot Devin practicing cartwheels and push-ups out of the corner of my eye. Everyone got a kick out of it. I guess at some point Devin told Josh that he wanted to work out. As I was struggling through walking lunges across the gym and back, I saw Josh give Dev a 15 lb dumbbell and talk to him about something in the corner. Then, during my last kettlebell carry of the WOD, Dev followed me with his little dumbbell and we completed the WOD together! It was adorable and he was SO proud of himself! I couldn’t be more proud of my little munchkin—the same kid who would just snack on junk food and watch TV all day if you let him. Here is a picture of him showing off his muscles. Lol
After class, Dev begged me to let him practice a few moves. His first request was pull-ups, so I held his legs while he proudly pumped a few out. Next, he practiced a ball slam, which he had seen us do last week. He really wanted to do more, but I had to remind him that it was already way past his bed time and that we needed to go home. While we were in the car, he told me how much he LOVED my new gym. 🙂
Have you ever noticed that you’ve inspired someone younger (child, sibling, etc.) to adopt a healthy lifestyle?
How did that make you feel?
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