Brooke’s Story
When I first came to Four Barrel Crossfit for my introductory class, had just finished my Master’s Degree and moved from St. Louis to southern Indiana to begin my ‘big girl’ career the month before. Growing up, I had always been an athlete participating in sports year round and been in decent shape. I got to college, went through cycles of getting out of shape then working out for a few months then stopping for a few months and so on. My last year of graduate school, I was busy with internships, studying, and writing papers, and I frankly just didn’t make the time to go to the gym and I definitely wasn’t eating healthily–which lead me to the point of being very out of shape by the time graduation rolled around. I had finally finished my education and landed a job and that part of my life was rockin’–so I took a good hard look at myself and decided I had no more excuses for being so unhealthy and had to make some changes. I have spent plenty of time on treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes, as well as training for and completing a half marathon, however I do not actually like any of these things very much and while I had seen results sometimes, I obviously had never stuck with any of them for more than a few months at a time (probably because I don’t like them!). So I decided to go for something completely foreign to me, did some research, found that Four Barrel Crossfit was in the town I worked in, and signed up for the free intro class. I went to the class and was hooked.
Here I am, 11 months later, and I’m still hooked. I have seen physical transformations–I’m stronger, leaner, and generally more fit, and I can do things now that I never thought possible just 11 months ago. More importantly, however, slowly but surely I am noticing that I have actually made the “lifestyle” change that fitness writers and magazines always talk about. I now make my workouts a top priority and hate missing one when my schedule doesn’t pan out. Along the way, I have also adapted my diet. My perception of ‘fitness’ and ‘being in shape’ have also drastically changed. I no longer turn to the scale and numbers to determine if I’m making progress. Progress is when I’m doing a skill I couldn’t do last week (or doing it better), when I’m able to put more weight on the bar, when I go for a run without hyperventilating, and when I finish a workout, go home, and am proud of myself and feeling great. Because of crossfit, my new outlook on my big thighs is this– They’re big, but at least I can squat some decent weight to back them up =).
To sum it up, reasons I love Four Barrel Crossfit:
-The coaches, members, and overall community are unbeatable. Prior to crossfit, I disliked group workouts and people watching me work out, now I feel like a lost sheep when I work out by myself without someone telling me what I need to be doing. The coaches are knowledgeable and willing to teach/help with anything and other members are always there for motivation and support.
-It’s fun. I love going. It’s an awesome feeling knowing I will continue to make progress and get stronger because I know I’m not going to just quit coming one day–as I have with all other approaches to exercise I have taken in the past.
-It’s challenging. Every day there is a new challenge to step up to, whether it be a skill you haven’t conquered yet, doing more weight, a faster time, or just finishing any given workout.
-It’s not boring. Every single day there is a different workout, so I don’t get burnt out doing the same thing every day.
-It’s efficient. I love that a 5-10 minute workout can leave me sweating, aching, sore, laid out on the ground, and feeling awesome.
-It works. I am stronger and overall healthier than I have ever been. I still have a lot of progress to make, but now instead of just hoping I can reach my goals some day, I know I will, it’s just a matter of when.
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