Before I tore my ACL and meniscus, I worked out at a standard gym by myself and then at home. I thought I was in shape and doing all I could for myself. 

But after 6+ months of physical therapy and recovery, when I started back to my old routine, I was bored. I found it wasn’t working for me anymore. I couldn’t bring myself to do the same types of workouts or to push myself anymore. 

That’s when I found CrossFit. Well, to be honest, my mom found it for me. She didn’t even live near me, but she found it looking for nutrition stuff. Sad, but true. It was literally 5 minutes from my house! 

I was intimidated at first, especially when I first walked in. But after meeting the coaches and going through foundations, I was hooked. I started going to classes and never looked back. 

Not only did I like the workouts, but I loved the class aspect with other people and the coaches. They helped guide me, push me past my comfort zone, and helped me grow as an athlete. I wouldn’t have pushed myself quite as hard without great coaches and other people in the class. 

And I especially loved that I didn’t have to think about programming. I didn’t have to come up with my own workouts. I simply went in and did what was written on the board, or some variation/scale of that. Honestly, that was my favorite part! 

It truly makes a difference when you have a great coach and when you surround yourself with other people working towards similar goals. You have accountability partners, which leads to consistency, which leads to results. 

Coaches make sure you move safely, push you outside your comfort zone, more than you would push yourself, provide guidance and support, and help with setting and then helping you achieve your goals. 

But, and yes, there’s a but. You have to be coachable. You have to be willing to listen to your coaches, yes, even when they push you outside your comfort zone. 

We, as coaches, do it because we know you can, we believe in you, we see something in you that you may not see. Yes, it may be scary, but if you never try, how will you know if you can do it? And we won’t push you to the point of hurting yourself. Or at least a good coach won’t. 

So trust your coaches. Listen to your coaches. If you have good ones, they have great training and continue to learn and will guide you where you’re looking to go. Or even beyond where you’d ever thought you’d be. 

I know that’s what happened to me. When I started CrossFit, I had one goal – to get a strict pull-up. I had never been able to do one before and that’s all I wanted. I would have never imagined, 10 years later, that I’d still be doing CrossFit and even be an affiliate owner. This has truly become my passion. Helping others on their health and fitness journeys. 

So thank you to my first coaches. Who held me to a higher standard. Who made sure I moved well and moved safely. Who pushed me beyond where I thought I could go. Who inspired a lifelong fitness journey. Thank you for helping me get where I am now. 

I hope you find your coaches. The ones you trust, the ones you listen to, the ones that guide you. Whether that’s at our gym or some other gym, I just want you to find yours. It truly does make all the difference. 

Have a great week! And push yourself a little more than you normally would this week. You may just surprise yourself. 

Whitney