I was never the “athlete” in high school or college. I played tennis growing up and started getting into health/exercising during senior year of high school – meaning I would run after school.
I had no idea what to do at the gym. I continued doing cardio into college and would work out, very lightly, with some friends. My sophomore year at LSU, one of my friends told me about Crossfit. She had started going to Red Stick Crossfit in Baton Rouge and wanted me to go with her.
I was SO intimidated. I thought she was crazy, considering I had never touched a barbell in my life! I finally decided to do a free trial with her and found out very quickly how uncoordinated and out of shape I really was. I had never felt so sore in my life – but I was hooked!
My first impression of CrossFit was, “there is no way I can do this.” I was the only one in OnRamp and I still remember feeling ridiculous because the coach would tell me to do one thing with the bar and my body would do the exact opposite.
My friend encouraged me to keep going with her – it always helps to have a workout buddy to stay motivated. The more I did the movements and practiced, the easier it got, and I started to see new PR’s each week. After 6 years of doing Crossfit, I can truly say that anyone can do it. There are so many ways to modify each movement so it meets your skill level.
Over the past year or so, I stepped away from Crossfit and tried different workouts – yoga, pilates, TRX, and cardio based training. I enjoyed them, but I knew I was missing Crossfit. For me, there is no workout like a Crossfit workout. I love the variety and how it challenges you in various ways such as lifting, gymnastics movements, and cardio. You end up doing things you never thought you could.
My first “bright spot” at Holy City was just being part of the community again, and being able to get back to the level I was when I stopped a year ago! I thought I would have a hard time jumping back into it, but I was surprised with what my body was able to do.
Now I am working on honing in on my nutrition. I have counted macros in the past and noticed a huge improvement with my workouts and overall health. I have always heard how important nutrition is, and after seeing the results, I 100% believe it’s true.
My favorite thing about Holy City Fitness is how welcoming everyone is and how supportive and knowledgeable the coaches are. They take the time to teach the movements and help members modify as needed. When I am looking to join a gym, that is the most important thing to me. There is so much to learn about lifting and the various skills, I want to make sure I am doing things correctly without injuring myself.