It’s been just over 8 months since I crawled my way out of my first WOD and cursed the dreaded assault bike, but little did I know that CrossFit would completely change me as a person – mentally and physically. There’s been blood, there’s been sweat and there’s been plenty of personal bests. I’ve grown as a person, my attitude towards fitness has completely changed and of course, I’ve become a lot stronger. But what have I learnt? Quite a few things, actually. Here’s my 8-month CrossFit review…
CrossFit is not dangerous
First things first, let me just clear up the biggest misconception about CrossFit. It is not dangerous. End of. If performed correctly, with good form and correct weights, then CrossFit is anything but dangerous. So where does the misconception come from? Athletes with a big ego. The only time CrossFit becomes dangerous is when an athlete goes beyond their means. I.e, not scaling WOD’s appropriately and lifting heavier than they really can. It’s not dangerous, it’s stupidity.Â
CrossFit is for anyone
Before starting CrossFit I thought that it was for the pro’s, the Olympic lifters, the endurance heroes and the more than capable gym-goer. In actual fact, it’s for anyone. It’s for me, it’s for Bob down the road, it’s for your 65-year-old nan, it’s for your unhealthy, overweight relative. No matter how unfit you are, how inflexible you are or how old you are (age really is no concern here), CrossFit can be for you. You can scale absolutely every WOD. You can take it at your own pace and you can choose how many times you workout in a week. CrossFit is about you and what you can do.
You’ll come across a lot of your weaknesses
Surprisingly, I love this about CrossFit. Throughout my 8 months, I’ve come to realise many of my weaknesses. And whilst this may not sound like such a great thing, it really is, believe me. You see, once you’ve found your weaknesses, you can start to work on them and after a couple of months, there really is nothing more rewarding than turning your weakness into a strength.
It’s not just about strength
CrossFit isn’t just about strength, it’s about endurance, stamina, gymnastics and cardiovascular health too. You may be an incredible lifter, but when it comes to a WOD with an 800m run followed by 5 heavy clean and jerks, you can bet ya bottom dollar that you’ll be running last if your endurance levels aren’t up to speed. Therefore, whilst it may just look like I focus on strength training, I’ve also been working on my conditioning, endurance levels and gymnastic moves too.
Women love CrossFit just as much as men
I love, love, love this. There’s a massive misconception that a rare amount of women love CrossFit and those who do, must be bulky as heck. Whilst I can’t really comment on our appearance (we all embrace so many different shapes and sizes), the love that we have for CrossFit is so empowering and it makes me even prouder to be a woman – a woman who owns the fact that she lifts heavy and sometimes, just sometimes, can outrun the men in a fair few WOD’s.
It’s a damn supportive community
I know I said this in my 1-month review of CrossFit (find that here), but I still can’t believe how supportive the people are at CrossFit. Sure, they may look a bit rough and tough when you first walk in for your fundamentals class, but believe me, after a few weeks you’ll have joined a whole new community. As for the men, they’re probably the most supportive! Ladies, do not be afraid.Â
It’s addictive
It’s no secret that I love CrossFit. I mean, if I could work out 7 days a week then I would. Did I think my fitness journey would go down the CrossFit route? Absolutely not. Although, I’m pretty damn happy that it did! I, without doubt, cannot imagine going back to a gym 6 days a week.
You’ll have good days and you’ll have bad days
Like anything, you’ll have your good days of training and you’ll have your bad days. One week you’ll smash four PB’s and the other three weeks, you’ll hit nothing. And whilst this can suck a little (or a lot), you’ve just got to trust the process, fuel yourself properly and stay patient. It’s the consistency that leads you towards your success. And if I’m honest, there’s nothing more rewarding then hitting your goal after weeks of constant effort. That’s what makes it worth it.
Rest will become your best friend
I learnt this one the hard way. After a few weeks of solid training (told you I was addicted), I hit a real hard come down and for a couple of weeks, my body was riddled with DOM’s. Hopefully, you’re smart enough to know that you need to rest at least once a week when you’re training hard. Although, saying that, most CrossFitter’s insist on having at least two rest days a week. One of those being an active recovery day (aka, cardio day). As well as that, it’s also important to invest in a little self-care. Such as massages (note to self), stretching, ROM WOD’s and mobility work.
Progress takes time – form comes first
This one came up today, actually. No matter how long you’ve been doing something, everyone will still have a weak lift and for me, that’s the snatch. This morning I was becoming frustrated with my form and as the percentage started to go up, my form started to get a lot worse. So what did I do? I stripped back the weight and focused on my form instead. Like I said earlier, leave your ego at the door and your body will thank you for it.
My 7-month progress
Progress wise, you could say that I’ve come a far way considering the fact that I had only been weight lifting 3 months beforehand at my local David Lloyd. Overall, my weight on the bar has increased for most moves and my form has also drastically improved. Minus my snatches. For those wondering, here’s my progress in numbers from my first month of CrossFit to now…
- Snatch 20kg – 35kg
- Clean 42.5kg – 55kg
- Clean + jerk 32.5kg – 50kg
- Push jerk 30kg – 42.5kg
- Front squat 40kg – 65kg
- Back squat 55kg – 80kg
- Overhead squat 17.5kg – 47.5kg
- Deadlift 90kg – 107.5kg
- Pull-ups 1 – 4
- Kipping pull-ups 0 – 11
- Double unders 0 – 1 double after 3 singles
Luckily, CrossFit has also given me the opportunity to work with some really cool brands, from the likes of Bulldog Gear, KITBOX Co and Urban Gym Wear. However, for all CrossFit equipment, Bulldog Gear has definitely been my go-to brand. From my gym bag that’s almost as big as me, to my favourite mobility foam roller water bottle, I honestly couldn’t recommend a company enough. Here a few of my favourite things from them…
JR2 Bearing Jump Rope
I love this rope. A lot. Despite my awful whip marks from practising double unders, it’s still one of the best ropes I’ve used. It’s incredibly durable, thick and overall a good bit of kit. The rope I was using beforehand was slightly more flimsy than Bulldog’s JR2 bearing rope and I could definitely feel the difference straight away. As for the grip, well, let’s just say that the rope isn’t slipping out of my hands anytime soon!
Strength wraps
I’ve only needed to use these a few times but when I have used them, they’ve been a massive help for wrist support, especially when my overhead squats start to become ridiculously heavy. They’re a little clumsy to put on at first (or that may just be my stupidity), but once you get the hang of them then they really are an essential bit of kit.
Mobility water bottle
Everyone (and I mean everyone) at my CrossFit box has made some kind of remark towards my water bottle. They love it. It’s definitely a conversation starter, that’s for sure. Yes, it’s bulky, but for the gym it’s ideal and quite frankly, I love it. Both as a water bottle and foam roller.
Mobility roller
It’s light, does the job and comes with a handy holder at the end of the roller. I wouldn’t say it’s a special foam roller of any kind but it’s certainly the lightest foam roller I’ve had so it gets a thumbs up from me.
Gym bag
Besides my beloved foam roller water bottle, this is my next new love. Yes, it can almost fit a human being in it. Yes, it’s a little large but boy oh boy, it’s a sight of beauty for any CrossFit athlete. Just like my water bottle, I receive tons of compliments on this bag and it fits absolutely everything in. It also comes with 2 extra straps (for all your strap desires), side handles, a name badge holder and a handy zip pocket inside the bag to keep your tiny thing ins.
Chalk mug
Nothing screams CrossFit W*nker as much as this mug does. I love it! Again, it’s another unique little number that grabs people’s attention and it’s particularly handy to doodle my WOD’s on (or my forever growing ‘to do’ lists). Either way, whatever you want to doodle, it’s definitely a little CrossFit gem.
Keyrings
A nice touch if you want the outside world to know you’re a CrossFit goer. I stuck my keyring on my car keys and it sits ever so nicely against my white fluffy ball. Oh, the contrast of girly ft non-girly.Â
What’s next?
Over the next couple of month’s (up until my 1 year CrossFit anniversary I suppose) I’ll be competing in my 3rd CrossFit competition, taking part in our in-house pairs competition (mainly just for fun) and continuing with my current training programme. This currently focuses on strength, conditioning, Olympic lifts, gymnastics and accessory skills. So far I’m really liking the change and hopefully, on top of that, I’ll also be able to increase strength in my upper body (back, shoulders and triceps in particular).
My goal at the moment is to get stronger, be happy and stay healthy. That’s all. Whilst at times it may sound a little serious, I’m just so happy to be doing a sport that I feel so passionate about. For me, it’s important to make sure that my training always keeps me engaged, motivated and most importantly, allows me to have fun. At the end of the day, if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, then what’s the point? As I always say, do what you love and love what you do.
What am I wearing?
Camo leggings – Better Bodies @ Urban Gym Wear
Grey vest – Gavelo @ Urban Gym Wear
Black recycled leggings – Player Layer
Black halter vest – Better Bodies @ Urban Gym Wear
Black and white Reebok Legacy Lifters
Use my code HANNAH10 for all Urban Gym Wear products.
And lastly, a big thank you to India-Whiskey Photography for his amazing photography at my CrossFit Box, CrossFit Fareham. I would 100% recommend Ian to any locals in the Hampshire, UK area. www.india-whiskey-photographic.com