Last August, I applied for and signed up to take the Level 3 Certified CrossFit Trainer (CCFT) Examination. I knew my Level 2 certification was expiring in August 2024, and I was trying to be proactive. I didn’t want to continue retaking the L2 course every 5 years, and honestly, I wanted to continue learning and bettering myself, not only as a coach, but as an affiliate owner, leader, and boss.

I won’t mince words; it was nerve-wracking even applying! I’d heard so many things about the L3 exam and how hard it was, and looking at the study content outline was overwhelming. There was SO MUCH!

But I immediately scheduled my exam for February 2024. I made a plan, set a schedule for studying, and buckled down. Or so I thought. I did a lot of my studying online, reading articles haphazardly and watching videos. I thought I was doing okay, checking articles off, just plugging away.

But I didn’t feel like I was making any headway. I still felt so off and unprepared.

And when Nick’s mom unexpectedly passed away in December, everything fully derailed. Studying went to the wayside. Our lives were flipped upside down overnight and it was all we could do to stay afloat. We took one day at a time; sometimes one minute, one moment at a time.

I rescheduled the CCFT exam to April 2024, hoping to re-boot and kick myself in the butt to get back to studying and back to the grind. But I had nothing left in me. Every day was a struggle and the thought of sitting down and studying was the LAST thing I wanted to do.

So in March, I reached out to the certification department at CrossFit to see if I could transfer my L3 exam fee to an L2 course. I knew I’d need to re-up my certification to continue coaching, and I’m not proud that I did this, but it was all I could muster at the time. Or so I thought.

Looking back, I’m glad the answer was no (to summarize it, LOL). Because it forced me to get my ish together.

I rescheduled the L3 exam one more time to July 17, 2024. And I printed out all of the articles. I organized them all by sections and put them into binders. I was serious about it this time. I felt like I was ready.

And I took it one volume, one article at a time. I woke up earlier than the boys every morning and I read before they woke up. Some days were less than others, and honestly, some days I missed completely. But for the most part, I made sure I was reading every day. I took notes, I reviewed things with Nick, I put what I was reading and learning into play in my classes.

And somehow, before I knew it, I’d read all four volumes of binders. When I started, it looked so daunting and I kept thinking there was no way I was going to finish it all before the date of the exam. And somewhere in the middle of June, I finished the last article.

I let a couple days go by without studying – I’ll admit, it was nice to have a few quiet mornings relaxing with my coffee. But then I realized my test was coming up and I probably shouldn’t let it all go.

I watched some of the videos I hadn’t previously, and I made sure to read my notes and go back over the things I had questions on.

And come the night before the test, I didn’t feel nervous. Usually I have a ton of nerves and anxiety over something major like this, but I was oddly calm. I didn’t know how to take that. I didn’t know if I felt calm because I was ready, or because I didn’t care one way or the other (I hate to admit that, but at a certain point, my bandwidth was full. I had nothing more to give.).

The next morning, the nerves finally hit. I guess it was finally real. I prayed the whole drive to the testing center. At that point, it was what it was. I’d done the studying I was going to do, and I was going to see if I’d learned what I needed to to become the best coach I could be.

For those of you who don’t know, the CCFT exam is 160 multiple choice questions, and you have 3 hours and 55 minutes to take it. I went through and answered what I knew right away, flagged what I had questions/concerns on, and finished rather quickly.

I’m glad I had the additional time, because I was able to go back and review the flagged questions, and still have time to go back through everything again.

Let’s just say, this was definitely a test you can NOT wing. You either know it or you don’t. I clicked submit with 44 minutes left. And said another prayer as I walked out of the room. I didn’t feel super confident – it was definitely 50/50 between feeling like I was going to have to re-take the exam, but also feeling confident in my answers and passing.

I legit had no idea!

So I went to the bathroom, looked up at the ceiling and literally said, “It’s in your hands now, God. Whatever happens, I’m at peace with.”

When I walked back into the testing center, the lady behind the desk handed me the sheet of paper upside down. She didn’t have any particular look on her face, so I had no idea what to expect. My heart started beating faster as I flipped it over and started reading.

I was pleasantly surprised to read that I HAD PASSED!! I legit laughed out loud and had to fight back tears.

That didn’t last long though, because when I walked outside to call Nick, I immediately started crying. So much built up stress and tension, so much of pushing it back, waiting to take the exam. I didn’t realize how much tension had built up, how much I actually WANTED to be a Level 3 CCFT, until the relief of seeing I had passed.

Whew.

What. A. Journey.

A year long journey of ups and downs. A year long journey of stressing myself out. A year long journey. Period.

I’m proud of myself. For sticking with it, even if I did try to get out of it (for now). I’m proud of myself for doing hard things. And I’m even more proud that I passed! Cuz that was definitely a test!

So here I am. Your newest L3 Certified CrossFit Trainer.

Y’all – no matter what journey you’re on, just remember: your journey is your journey. Stick with it. Because it is 100% worth it!

Have a beautiful week.

Whitney