I remember my first day walking into a CrossFit gym. I walked in to a rig full of people doing beautiful pull-ups, loud music, and no idea who to talk to or where to go.

I was so intimidated walking in. I thought there was no way I’d ever be able to do half the movements they were doing, let alone an actual pull-up.

My only regret with starting CrossFit is that I wish I’d started sooner. I allowed someone else’s opinion to dictate what I did (and didn’t do). I’d heard over and over again that it was a cult. And I just took that at face value… I didn’t do my own research. And I kick myself for that.

I went through my three days of Foundations, which were one on one with a coach. And with each one, I knew I’d found something that was going to challenge me and push me more than anything else. I’d never done some of the movements I was learning and truthfully, I hadn’t heard of some of them either!

I also remember my first CrossFit workout out of Foundations. It was a girl workout named Jackie. The workout itself is For Time – 1000m Row, 50 Barbell Thrusters, and 30 pull-ups.

All I can say is I was humbled by that experience. All the fitness I thought I had went out the window. I went way too hard in the row, which was dumb, I hit myself in the bridge of the nose with the barbell (I’ve only done that once in my 8 years of doing CrossFit), and I used a thick green band for my pull-ups.

I went home after the workout and laid on the floor of my bedroom for awhile, hoping I wasn’t going to puke. And then I went back again the next day.

When I started CrossFit, I was super competitive. I wanted to “win” the workouts and get better at all the movements I was terrible at. I would look at the workouts the night before and stress over how I was going to do, if I would be able to Rx the movements or whether I’d have to scale.

I look back now and laugh. I definitely didn’t have the right attitude, although it helped push me into working hard and improving at a lot of the movements.

I certainly have a different outlook now. I still love pushing myself and while I am still competitive, I certainly don’t go into the workouts hoping to “win.” Now I workout for longevity. I pick one thing in the workout I’d like to train and I focus on that. For instance, if it’s doing unbroken pull-ups, that’s what I focus on and the rest is just movement and work.

And of course, after having a baby, things are certainly different. Some days feel great and I can push myself a little harder, while other days are just movement days. Where everything feels hard or heavy. And I’m no longer worried about writing Rx next to my score. I’m in the gym moving and sweating and that’s what matters to me.

That’s what I want to share with everyone who walks through our door. It isn’t about being the best in the gym or pushing yourself to the point of puking. It’s about getting a good workout, having fun while doing it, and being able to come back the next day for another workout. It’s also about being better than you were yesterday. Your only competition is you.

I hope you have an amazing week. And I’m here if you’re intimidated to start CrossFit. Come see me and let’s chat. I’ll tell you about how I was scared to jump on a small green box when I started. We all start as beginners. And I’d love to help you start on your CrossFit journey!

Whitney