2.8.17 Wednesday Wins!

Today we celebrate one of the amazing women in our Fresh Start Challenge!  Ashely M. has made incredible progress since she started and the benefits go FAR beyond a scale or how she looks (both of which are shifting dramatically, by the way).  We all know that CrossFit is hard… and eating well sometimes even harder, but she is proof that massive changes can happen quickly when you put the work in.  Like most of us, she was terrified to even start this journey… so her story is even more inspiring because of everything she has overcome.  He asked her to tell us a bit of her journey and here’s what she had to say….

I started at the Cove in June of 2016 and I was afraid of everything. I have a few health conditions (like a lot of people) that have kept me far away from any gym. I realized that if I wanted to feel comfortable regarding safety, I needed to scale scale scale! I DID scale the workouts, but I was still afraid of the gym outside of my comfort zone “regular coaches” (Josh and Marina). “How will I quickly explain my limitations to coaches that don’t know me?” . “Will they understand?”.  “What will I look like to other people doing burpees holding onto a box or only lifting 35 pounds?”.

After a few months at the Cove, I got a nasty cold which kept me away for a while. All at once, my anxiety returned. I said to myself, “I can’t do this.” “I’m going to hurt myself.” “I don’t remember the movements.” “I’m not good enough to be in these classes.” “What if I go in one day and Marina or Josh isn’t there?” I told myself that I would go back tomorrow every day and the time kept passing.

I didn’t go back until  the FRESH START CHALLENGE came around. I wanted to give fitness another try by taking a class that would ramp me up again while receiving additional mentorship. I wanted to have a furious battle with my workout anxiety and win. I also wanted to go on a hike and do a push-up. 🙂  Which brings me to my goals…

1. THE HIKE:  I am going to visit my brother who lives in Alaska in the near future and I want to be able to go on a hike without asking him to stop while I rest 9274829927482 times.
2. THE PUSH UP: Before the Cove, I had never done a push-up successfully. Even now, I use the bands or just kind of do the worm and struggle on the floor.

Which brings me to my gains (so far):

1. I LEARNED TO COOK: I wasn’t aware that there was an eating challenge for FRESH START until I got my welcome email! I panicked!!! I was used to skipping breakfast and lunch almost every day and grabbing whatever snack was around at work. Dinner time wasn’t much better. Paleo was a HUGE change for me. I have cooked more in the last few weeks than I have in the last few years combined.

2. WEIGHT LOSS: My personal gym goals did not include weight loss, but that has definitely happened. I lost almost 10 lbs in a little over 3 weeks. SCALING!  SCALING THE HECK OUT OF EVERYTHING, in fact!  Scaling more than everyone in the class every time!

3. BLOOD PRESSURE: My blood pressure has been consistently high for years. I ignore it when the doctor talks about it because I’ve heard it so many times. In November 2015 my BP was 144/93. In October 2016 my BP was 148/98. In January 2017 (just one week into FRESH START and Paleo eating) my BP was 120/76! This isn’t a CrossFit Cove ad right now, this is my real life. This happened and I was blown away.

4. FRIENDS: Everyone is SO NICE and encouraging! If I’m not laying on the ground in a pool of sweat, I’m smiling. I have met a few of the other coaches now and they are all lovely. I have no more fears about attending other classes.

And it is just the beginning for me…

You’ll see pictures of me doing that hike on the CrossFit Cove Facebook page. I already feel strong enough!I am going to do a perfect push-up at some point and it will be glorious!!!And who knows… likely, more conquering of fears and accomplishing things that I never thought I could do.

Push Jerk 3/3/3/3/3

(Build up in load) 

1 minute of Shoulder Distraction Stretch after each set

WOD

Coach’s Tip: If you want to know about how to tackle this workout, talk to the Fresh Start ladies… they did this on Monday!  The barbell should be a weight that you can do unbroken for the first few rounds  Or if you need to put the barbell down, it should be quick rest.  We want you to hit several rounds, so pick a weight you can move. As we discussed at the DU clinic, the rope is your ‘rest’ here.  But if you have some doubles, DO THEM.  Just scale the volume!!!!!  Once you do dubs, you don’t look back!!!