It took me a long time to step into CrossFit Gold Rush. I had been wanting to join for a year, before I got my courage up. I had an idea in my head of where I needed to be fitness wise before I could go. I thought that CrossFit was where fit people get strong, not where a Mom of 5 with a 100 pound weight loss goal would start. I was so wrong!
My children actually started before I did and were my inspiration. I would take them to their CrossFit Kids classes and watch them light up and excel. While I was there watching my kids I started to notice all the strong, beautiful women in the adult classes. They were all different shapes and sizes. They were all different fitness levels. They were everything I wanted to be. Yet, what was most inspiring, was how they built each other up. They encouraged each other, supported each other and wrapped one another in a sisterhood I had never experienced at any other gym. I wanted to be a part of it and when my eldest daughter moved up to the adult class I decided to find my strength and join her. We did the Beginning CrossFit Course together and I can truly say that it was a life changing experience.
There is nothing like the “community” aspect of CrossFit Gold Rush. No other gym makes you feel like family, calls you up when you haven’t been in for a while or drives you to improve the way CrossFit Gold Rush does. During my first week of the Beginning CrossFit Course, I was struggling to get through one of the first WODs I had ever done. Running and burpees! Everyone else was done and they were waiting on me to finish. They were not just standing and watching, they were clapping and encouraging. Then, even though they were all tired, they all got down and finished the burpees with me. I can not explain how much that meant to me and from that moment on, I knew that I was a part of a family that would inspire me to get to where I wanted to go.
I started doing CrossFit in March of 2014 and as of October 2015, I am 50 pounds into my weight loss goal. What I am most proud of though are my 225 pound dead lift and the fact that I can squat bellow parallel, I could hardly squat to a 30 inch box when I first started. I can now row 6000 meters in 30 minutes and I can bench press 115 pounds. I can clean 110 pounds and I can do a 16 inch box jump, I could not even jump up onto a 45 pound plate when I started. There are lots of things I still struggle with and many things that are challenging, but I am a work in progress. I have had some set backs and back slides. Sometimes I take one step forward and two steps back, but my CrossFit Gold Rush family is always there to get me on track and remind me of my goals.
My fitness journey is not over. I am still striving everyday to reach my goals and get better at burpees! I am striving to teach my daughters that strong is beautiful and that they can do anything they put their minds to. I am striving everyday to be one of the women who inspire other women to step into CrossFit Gold Rush. I want all women to know that you don’t have to be perfect to start, you just have to step through the door. Every struggle, every time I thought I couldn’t and I did, every push and every sore muscle are so worth the fight! When you are ready I will be here to encourage you and cheer you on! Here’s to my next 50 pounds!
Lisa Conely (member since March 2014)
