About Battle CrossFit

Three years ago I walked through the doors of Battle CrossFit and it changed my life forever. I had been reluctant to join Battle for all the reasons everyone else is, self-doubt and lack of knowledge. I had checked out the website, had listened to my friend who was a coach at Battle rave about how it was a life changer for her, and saw the athletes running on Route 4 but I still thought, "That place is for real athletes". What I didn't know was I am a real athlete. I never, ever considered myself an athlete until I joined Battle CrossFit. Before joining Battle I had a brief career running with hopes to run a full marathon, however it was pretty apparent from repeated injuries and pain in my IT band, back and shoulder muscles I was weak and a marathon was way out of reach if I didn't gain some strength. Before starting to run in my late 30's I had never participated in any athletic activities whatsoever. I had no knowledge of Olympic weight training, metabolic conditioning, tabata or AMRAPS. To me to "clean" something meant Windex and paper towels. I began running to have an outlet for "life" - I was working full time, raising three kids (one with Type 1 diabetes), managing a household, and watching my dad disintegrate at the hands of a ruthless neurodegenerative disease. To say the least, life was stressful. Running gave me an hour to expel the pent up stress and emotional pain I was experiencing. Then my dad succumbed to the disease called Lewy body Dementia. The strongest person I knew had been taken out. As the disease cripples a person cognitively and physically, I distinctly remember one day he fell in his closet and could not get himself up as his brain couldn't communicate with his muscles. But what's worse is, I couldn't help him because I wasn't strong enough physically. It's a moment I often wish I could got back to now that I am strong enough physically and emotionally. Losing a person you love introduces your life to this thing called "grief". I like to view it as an energy, or a force. It is a powerful force that can take you over if you don't show it who's boss. Battle CrossFit has helped me control the force of grief in my life. Every year on my dad's anniversary I set a physical goal - rope climbs, pull ups, double-unders, and now, this year's goal - a muscle up. All my grief energy goes into attaining those goals. I remember my first goal - rope climbs. I was in the gym on a Saturday, during open gym. The ropes were down and I was staring up at them. Coach Justin came over to me and said, "Do you want to get up that rope today?" And I replied, "I do". He then had me do about 100 rope locks and returned to me and said, "Are you ready" and I replied, "Justin, my dad died on this day two years ago. I don't want to be sad. I want to do something great". He took a step back and looked at me and said, "Let's do this". As I got to the top of the rope, the entire gym was looking up at me, cheering me on. It was a great day. A day that could have been so much worse if not for me being at Battle doing CrossFit. As Battle has helped me deal with my grief monster, it has also given me a place day to day to deal with everyday life stressor. But, even better, as I am coming off of 20+ years of raising kids, and approaching empty nest-hood, it's allowed me to have time for me. A place to make myself a priority after devoting so much to others. It's a place I can really focus on me to feel good and even more important to be strong physically, emotionally and socially. Yes, socially. Battle is a social place. It is the people of Battle that keep me coming back. Not only had I never been an athlete, I'd never been on a team and had never been coached. I never experienced an athlete standing beside me cheering me on or a coach giving my nonjudgmental feedback to help me improve until I joined Battle. I'll never forget doing private sessions with Coach Nikki with the goal of getting across the rings. When I did she jumped into the air and screamed "Yeah!" The people of Battle CrossFit are the most positive, genuine, kind and supportive people you will ever have the privilege of sharing floor space with. They know your goals, they know your struggles, they know your strengths and they are there not only to improve their lives but to support you in yours. If you are at all hesitant about CrossFit because you think it is for "real athletes" don't be. You are a real athlete. It's in you, let Battle bring it out. Find your place, set your goals, be coached, and cheered on and do the same for others. Make you a priority. If you're worried about the cost, I promise you won't miss the money. The payback is worth its weight in gold. You can't put a price on this stuff. As for me, I don't know that I'll ever run a marathon (more because it's not something I really want to do), but I do know I'll get a muscle up.