I went to my third CrossFit personal training session yesterday. There are only four onboarding personal training sessions, then I’ll be kicked out of the nest. I think I’m expected to join the classes which are filled with flocks of insanely fit, competitive and passionate CrossFit cult members.
Unless I decide to continue to pay for personal training, my next training session will be my last — my “graduation”.
If you’re reading this because you are hoping for some insight into what it’s like to start CrossFit as a middle-aged woman after doing nearly nothing for years, I can say that I’m slightly more sore after my third session than I was after the second. My trainer explained that she designed each session to be incrementally strenuous, so I shouldn’t expect the soreness to dissipate. In fact, that’s a core part of CrossFit. You never get bored because there are always new combinations of moves, and you always have your own personal records you can beat, in every single session.
My third session focused quite a bit on weight-lifting form. Even though it was just yesterday, I can’t for the life of me remember what the different moves were called, but one was lifting from mid shin to mid-thigh, the other was from chest-ish-height to overhead, and the third move was combining mid-thigh on up to overhead, with an added slight squat at the start to add upward momentum. I had tried a full squat-to-overhead-lift first, but felt an uncomfortable twinge in my right hip. It hurt enough that I got nervous about injuring my hip, so my trainer made adjustments to the depth of the squat and all was good again.
Then we moved on to the WOD, or workout-of-the-day, which was the apparently-famous “Fran” WOD with a series of 21 to 15 to 9 reps. You do 21 reps of “Thrusters”, then 21 “Pull-Ups”, then you do 15 reps, then finish up with 9. For me, as a beginner, I did the thrusters with PVC pipe instead of real weights, and I did pull-ups by holding on to rings, placing my feet on the floor below the rings, and leaning all the way back (and pulling “up” to the rings). So, I did a baby “Fran”. š But, I did it in 6 minutes which is apparently pretty great for a beginner. WOOT.
My trainer and I have a running joke that I’m a CrossFit prodigy (only because I was able to do full sit-ups on the first day without any beginner props or positioning tweaks). It makes me laugh hysterically every time she says it. We laugh a lot during the sessions and the time really flies. I’m really going to miss the personal training sessions.
Can you even believe it? I, Fatty, have a fitness-related inside joke. Time flies when I’m working out. I’m going to actually miss my personal training sessions.
Who am I?
Total Fatty 