But Did You Die?

My CrossFit Gym Crew, I love these ladies!

But did you die?  I know that is such a cliché line…but it totally applies to what I’m about to tell yall.

If you have been following along on my fitness journey that started in February 2024, when I joined a CrossFit gym, I did something I never dreamed I would not even in my wildest dreams.

Let’s back up a little: 

I’ve made some really cool gym friends.  Can I tell yall that just makes going to the gym so much more fun.

When I joined CrossFit, I didn’t realize that they had competitions…and to be honest that was never on my radar.

My reason for joining was to improve my overall health, increase my range of motion, and just to become active as I age.  I wanted to be able to play with my grandkids and not always be winded or have to stop.

And let’s be real, as we age, falling becomes an issue.  I want to make sure that if I fall, I don’t break something…that seems to be the down fall of many older women ( even though I’m not old)

Ok, so back to my gym friends and the CrossFit Open competition. 

A few of them signed up, and asked me if I was going to sign up.  Since this was not my main goal, I declined.  I just wasn’t sure it was for me.

And to be honest, I was scared.

As my friends were talking about how excited they were to compete, it got me to thinking.  What have I got to lose?  I mean if you think about it, it would be a great way to track my progress over time.

So…I signed up…then the anxiety set in.  What was I thinking?  OMGosh, people will be watching me…what will they think.  Will they laugh, cause yall I’m so not coordinated and of course still learning.

A little about the CrossFit Open

It is 3 Friday nights in a row, and you don’t know what the workout will be until Thursday…they keep you in suspense.

You have 6 athletes per heat/round.  And we signed up for the first heat…again, what was I thinking?  By going first, I would not have the opportunity to see how things flow…or should I say, I would have more time to stress over it. 

But, lemme tell ya, going first means you get it over with, and then you can relax and cheer on your fellow athletes.  So yeah, I will be doing that again.

The workout sounds simple enough…but yall already know that’s just an illusion.  It started with 3 burpees over a dumbbell, followed by a 30 ft walking lunge.

Then each round, add 3 more reps for the burpees and dumbbell, walking lunges stay the same.  You do as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes.

Can I tell ya that was the longest 15 minutes of my life!  However, I managed to get in 4 rounds. 

Doing a Burpee

My score was low, but I’m excited for 2 reasons.

One, I now have a base line for future Opens, and to track my progress over time.

And two, I did more burpees than I ever have, as well as walking lunges without losing my balance.  Both of these are huge wins for me.

Yall I DID IT! 

And I didn’t die!