Sorry Swoletown: We have to err on the side of caution-based on the latest weather reports, we are going to cancel tomorrow morning’s 5 and 6A classes.
As for the rest of the morning – We will post again by 630A if we think we can open the gym in time for the 745A class.
I’m 44 years old and started HB Crossfit 4 days before my 44th a gift to myself. I’ve always struggled with my weight from as far back as I can remember. I’ve been married 21 years with 4 kids. Austin 19, Ethan 15, Kenedi 10 and Owen 7. I’m the girl who can gain and drop 10 lbs very easily but keeping it off is another story. My weight before starting HB was 206 lbs. I was stressed over my oldest finding the perfect college and leaving home. Eating crap became the norm and I knew I was destroying my life and teaching my kids lessons that I’ve always struggled with. It needed to stop.
I’ve never exercised regularly other than walking with friends and that was inconsistent as well. I’ve probably done every diet that has existed. I had success with Atkins just to gain it all back. I’ve eaten Clean just to gain it all back again because we didn’t incorporate the lifestyle of food and exercise.
While in high school, I played basketball and in middle school I played softball. I was an Army brat, so traveling high school to high school made it difficult to stick with sports since I had to make all new friends again. That said, I attended 3 High Schools in 4 years. That sucked.
As a family, our lifestyle is active as possible and I am the bus driver. I work full-time as a Montessori Teacher and then I coordinate all the kids activities, sports practices, games, girl scouts, coaching girls softball, etc.… It’s never a dull moment in this house and often the answer was driving through a fast food drive-thru to get food , rather than making food to eat.
My friend, Nicole Hipp had posted something on her Facebook about Highbar. I was interested in Crossfit because I had “wished” for a body like that. A co- worker of mine had started Crossfit a year ago in Reston and spoke highly about the concept. I was scared but could see her results even though she was already in great shape to begin with. Both ladies explained that someone like myself who was extremely overweight and out of shape could do it. I trusted them and part of me believed them but needed to see it for myself.
My goals were very simple. Try to be better than the day before. My free intro class was a reality check. I could not walk for 5 days and although I had my husband and girlfriend their as moral support, it was a slap of reality that I needed. My self-esteem has always been high, so no matter how large or small I was, I still loved myself and had many friends. I’ve never beaten myself up mentally but I was frustrated.
Highbar was hope for me. I had mentally told myself I was going to join the gym, it was just a matter of when and committing to the time. I had a hope to become stronger, more fit and more confident in athletics for myself. I’d always felt confident providing athletic advice in sports, but not for myself.
I started telling my friends I was joining so I couldn’t back out. They looked at me surprised but supported my efforts to get healthy. When I came in to sign-up….the greatest feeling was having Coach Bobby recognize me and say, “Wow, you can back!” He knew I was hurting that first day and didn’t know if he’d ever see me again.
I was just happy he remembered me as an opportunity and not a drag to the gym and their possible “image” they may be trying to create. A vision of where all the pretty Crossfit people go, rang through my head but didn’t stop me since. Nicole said Highbar wasn’t are like that.
What training routine? I belonged to LA Fitness for a year but had no idea what I was doing, nor did I trust their personal trainers. I did not feel welcome and eventually I stopped wasting the money. I’ve mainly walked my entire life for exercise because my allergies and asthma couldn’t tolerate running. When my allergist told me I was breathing at 60% last year, I knew I needed to have a serious conversation with myself.
I told Coach Dan during foundations to treat me like I’m 5 since this was all new to me and we were starting from the bottom.
I’ve seen results since day 1. When I started, I was jumping off a small plate as my box and I couldn’t even squat down properly. Dan who taught my foundations class, took me through things slowly and modified when necessary. I was confident enough to walk through the doors and speak up if I didn’t think I could do something but I couldn’t say “I can’t” without trying first. Otherwise I knew I was giving up mentally without letting my body decide.
Every time I went, the workout got better and better. Not saying it was easy, just saying I was starting to like it and didn’t feel like I was going to pass out. I started with 3 x a week and eventually moved to 5 x a week.
At one point in the beginning, I asked Dan if they had a defibrillator and told him to invest in one just in case somebody like me keels over. LOL!
Coaches Randy and Dan would always follow-up and ask, how was your workout, you want to go higher or try this instead, etc.. It was refreshing to see they actually cared which made me want to work even harder.
To date I’ve lost 52 lbs., can breath, can run better, can almost do a real push-up, can do a burpee better than before and can jump on a box – I thought I’d never be able to do that. I’m still working on pull-ups but can feel a difference and don’t despise them as much. I want to workout now. I crave it!
A WELCOMING family….a community that looks out for one another. I’ll never forget early on having people who didn’t know me, cheer me on even though I was in last place while running or doing the WOD. It didn’t matter to me. I could tell nobody was judging me. I’d ask people how long it took them to learn how to do pull-ups or push-ups, etc.…and everyone was honest and forthcoming with their information.
I could tell it was me against myself and nobody else. I love it. The coaches all care. They provided techniques to make sure I was safe. That was important to me. I had so many friends who experienced injuries by having people push them to lift heavy or do a workout just to do it but never focused on their well-being or safety.
As described above….I can breath. No more inhaler. No more sinus issues. I’m stronger, lighter and I have arms that have never looked like this…EVER.
Don’t be. Anything can be modified. I started at the bottom and could still see results. The biggest issue is if you want it or not. Walking in there is half the battle. Everyone is there to support and help you.
And I love that the coaches always say, “ Don’t worry about what the scale says!” We are trained as women from a very early age to watch the scale. The coaches are right. It doesn’t speak to who we are, how strong we are or how hard we work everyday.
YES! I can’t believe I love working out. I’ve never had a feeling of wanting to get my butt kicked day in and day out but the feeling I get afterward is worth more than words can describe. My attitude toward myself is better.
I’m happier and even though I would have classified myself as confident and happy before, I REALLY feel like I could take on the world now. My result and new body structure also surprise me. I expected to lose weight but didn’t expect to start sculpting my arms, hip, butt and abs so quickly. I’ve always had decent legs, so I expected them to snap back into place first when
I started to lose weight. To actually see a waist? What? That’s unheard of.
I also didn’t expect the many new friendships. It’s been such a wonderful experience to see everyone daily, support them and learn about their journey.
The food challenge has taught me to cook, read ingredients, plan and enjoy food. It’s mentally given me clarity with food which has been much needed for 40+ years.
Proper strength training in a safe environment increases an individual’s capabilities in every day life, while helping prevent many diseases and chronic conditions. In recent years, strength training has grown in popularity while busting many myths. Some benefits of strength training are listed below.
Strength Training for Every Day LifeBeing stronger, in general, makes us more capable of day-to-day activities such as lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, and jumping. It also makes us far more resilient to physical injuries from impacts, falls, and other accidents that may happen in our lifetime. Strength training increases bone mineral density, builds stronger muscles, strengthens connective tissue, and increases joint stability.
Recent research has found that increasing lean muscle mass directly correlates with an increased base line metabolism. Therefore, by strength training, and increasing lean muscle mass, more fat will be metabolized throughout the day in order to support the lean muscle tissue. In addition, studies have found that strength training, and the increase of lean muscle mass, improves insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control. These physiological adaptations greatly reduce the chances of developing Type II Diabetes and heart dysfunction.
It has been found in research that weight training, especially in females, reduces the symptoms of clinical depression and anxiety.
Listed below are some mental and emotional benefits that come from weight training:
We have received several questions recently in regard to why Highbar CrossFit does not focus on the “competition/sport” side of CrossFit, and in most cases, why we disagree with it. It is Bobby, Dan, and I’s duty to provide safe, but effective exercise programming and coaching to our members and to also educate them on why we do what we do. Since the inception of CrossFit, Headquarters has made it clear that the goal of their program (in addition to general physical preparedness) is to “increase work capacities over broad times and modal domains”. The participants are to accomplish that by “moving large loads, long distances, quickly”, which equates to “increased work capacities” as a measurement of progress. This is the reason why high rep Olympic lifting is so common in CrossFit programming. High rep Olympic lifting allows the participant to move “relatively heavy” loads from floor to overhead very quickly. If you were to plug in the distance the bar has traveled, the weight, and the time it was completed into the right equation, then you can measure the amount of work and power output. By doing this, you are improving the indicator that CrossFit claims directly correlates with better health, which is “improving work capacity” and therefore you are getting it better shape, right? Not exactly.
The problem with some CrossFit gyms is that they are using the tools incorrectly. Yes, high rep snatches will allow you to achieve the goal of “increasing work capacity by moving large loads, long distances, quickly. However, this loose measurement of “improving your health” is completely illogical at best, and a calculated destruction of your body at it’s worst. The Clean & Jerk and Snatch, are tools designed to improve the participants all out anaerobic capacity through one explosive repetition at a time. They are to be used for increasing anaerobic capacity (exercise not requiring the presence of oxygen), not aerobic capacity. You have all seen the amount of time it takes to master the Clean, and how many components there are to focus on. Performing these lifts in a “touch and go” fashion at high repetition makes it nearly impossible to practice the movement properly. Therefore, using the Olympic lifts in high repetition does not only increase the chance of musculoskeletal injuries, it also dilutes the movement patterns that you work so hard to perfect. This is just one example of the improper use of exercises in CrossFit programming. This leads us to the next discussion.
A sport is a physical activity in which a group or individuals compete against each other. I will not argue that you could then technically call CrossFit a sport. Some other examples of sports in which exercise is the basis of the competition are Weightlifting (Olympic lifting), Running, Rowing, and gymnastics. The difference between these sports and CrossFit as a “sport”, is that the latter competitions listed are individual events, in which the tools and movements are being used in their proper context, and not just “for time”. Those athletes have structured training regiments that are intelligent and efficient. CrossFit as a “sport”, however, is a mash up of exercises that are being used incorrectly and recklessly. Pit the competitors against each other and surround them with cheering fans pushing them past their limits, and we have a recipe for disaster. What I’m saying will make total sense to the opened minded individuals that participate in CrossFit, but will have those who are “drinking the kool-aid” shaking their heads. We will let them shake their heads and we will (in most cases) be hearing about their injuries from “competition” within just a couple of years. The point here is that, yes, you could technically consider CrossFit a sport (based on the definition), but the basis is absurd and the price to pay is way too high. My question to you is, did you get into CrossFit to improve your health and physical condition, or did you get into it to compete? If your answer is competition, then please pay close attention to what I am going to say next.
Athletes who compete at a high level, in their respective sport, understand the sacrifices that come with reaching their goals. They sacrifice their bodies, time, relationships, and many other factors to train and compete. Those sacrifices are the foundation on which an athlete stands. Now, are we willing to sacrifice our bodies for a “sport”, that any educated Kinesiologist like myself (or other professionals in this field) would tell us is mechanically reckless? If your answer is “yes, I love CrossFit and I will do anything to be the “fittest man or woman on the planet”, then you know what you want, but I hope you understand the consequences and that the odds are against you. Just be open-minded for a minute and consider the likelihood of risking musculoskeletal injuries from competing in this “sport”. In 5, 10, 20 years, will the injuries acquired in this “sport” be worth the desired accomplishments? Only you can answer that for yourself. If your answer is still “yes” then we hope to prepare you for your competitions as much as possible without losing sight of your best interest. If you don’t feel that we are following the CrossFit guidelines close enough, and
that we aren’t the gym that will best prepare you, then there are other gyms out there selling their program on having the ability and know-how to make you ready for CrossFit as a sport.
You may have noticed that, in general, we do not call our members “athletes”. In our mind, to call somebody an athlete insinuates that they are competitors who are willing to make the sacrifices mentioned above. We aren’t saying that you are not athletic, or becoming athletic. There is no doubt that many of you are way more athletic then the majority of the population and physically prepared to compete in sports. However, by telling somebody who does not compete in sports that they are an athlete, they will carry themselves as one and be willing to take the risks in their workouts associated with competing in sports. Please understand that this is not meant to take away from any of your hard work and personal accomplishments. It is simply keeping things in proper context. Most of you have come to us to improve your physical condition, health, and to lead a happier and more capable life. To embrace CrossFit as a sport and subject our members, as a whole, to competition would be a moral dilemma and against what we know is right for the general population. Again, it is our job to keep you all safe and moving towards your goal of improving health and wellness.
In summary, we, the owners of Highbar CrossFit truly care about our members and their well- being. We are not saying that the other gyms don’t care about their members. If they don’t understand the bottom line here, then the problem is ignorance, not that they don’t care. If they understand that they are putting their members in harm’s way, but proceed because they don’t want to turn off the “kool-aid drinkers”, then shame on them.
We will continue to stand firm with this position and what we know is right for our members as a whole. We cannot say enough how much we appreciate the never-ending support that you all offer and what you have all made of the gym. Let’s continue to grow as a community and do what we know is right!
