Guest Blog: "Why do I CrossFit", by Thom King
Announcements:
Sign up and donate to Lift Up Autism here: http://crossfittrain97333-liftupautism.eventbrite.com
Labor Day Schedule:
Class at 9am
Open Gym from 10am - 11:30am
I was sitting and thinking about a question someone asked me at work earlier this week “why do I Crossfit, and why in the world do you get up at 4:20 in the morning to do it?”. My initial response was pretty vague and I said well I enjoy the diversity of the training, I can get in and out pretty quickly, and I have gotten to be good friends with others at 5am. They listened to my half-ass answer and we both went about our day with neither really gaining anything from my answer…it was as vanilla an answer as “I’m doing pretty good” when someone asks “how’s it going?”. As you can tell I am a little disappointed in my answer and have thought more about the question and a “real” response.
When I first started Crossfit in January 2013 I’d just moved 3000 miles across country not knowing a soul in Corvallis or the West Coast for that matter. I had friends who did Crossfit in South Carolina who all seemed to enjoy it and were always hanging out with their Crossfit “family”, so I thought this might be a good way to meet people. Within a week of moving I joined a Box in Corvallis, and met a couple people who have been “rocks” for me since the first day I met them, Cory Penselin and Robin Wade. It’s kind of funny that these two have been the best parts of my day for the last 3.5 years, and my words can’t begin to express how much they’ve meant to me since I moved here.
We had a small group of 6-7 5:15amers who were really all starting Crossfit together for the first time, so we suffered and learned that confusing mentality “love to hate, but still love” Crossfit thing together. Well that box closed after about 6 months and Cory with his boyish charm (yeah right) talked Brooke into starting a 5am class at Train for us now homeless crossfitters. Those early months of only 3 days a week 5am classes were pretty sparse, there would often only be 2-3 of us and sometimes you could find yourself going solo which at 5am really sucks. There were many days we didn’t want to show up from feeling like complete wrecks, but had to or we were afraid Brooke would cancel the class all together. This is where I have to give a big thanks to my favorite coach, Caitlin (sorry all the other coaches, but Caitlin has been there for us 5amers from the get go so she has a special place)! God bless her for being willing to coach those empty classes and showing up every M,W,F not knowing how many would be there if any. I think we kissed Caitlin’s ass every day, so she would still be willing to do the 5am class because none of the other coaches were willing. Needless to say our 5am group kept growing, we went to 5 days, and now during the school year the waiting list is a month out or greater to get in.
I give you this background because it is a huge part of why I do Crossfit. Yes, I do love the physical fitness aspect of Crossfit. I do not like sitting for very long (I pace a lot, like hole in the floor pacing), and have a problem doing anything longer than an hour (get bored way too easy), so high intensity workouts with variation works well for me! I love the challenge of working on my weaknesses, seeing the improvements from week to week, and the competitive spirit that comes alive after “3,2,1”. Sometimes it’s like as wrecked as you feel beforehand when “3,2,1” happens it’s like your body completely forgets and is ready to perform for you beyond what you thought it could do. In my years of doing different kinds of exercise and sports I’ve never found anything that is even close to keeping me motivated like Crossfit. However as great as all this is, the main reason I do Crossfit has to do with everything around me when I walk into Suite B & C on 3rd Street...it’s all those people on the wall as you walk through that door. You remove that and my “obsession” would not even be close to the same. I think that is one of the aspects of Crossfit that is hard to explain to people, but to me the most important part. I can show you a burpee, or demonstrate a snatch, but I can’t show you how good it feels when you are completely collapsed on the floor in a sweaty heaping mess to have someone come over and tell you awesome job and help you to your feet. I absolutely love it when everyone cheers on that last person and is genuinely pulling for them to finish that last rep and how great that feels especially when it’s you. How the vibe is so positive when you walk through the doors that anything troubling outside in other parts of your life seem to disappear at least for that hour...for me that 1 hour from 5am-6am in the morning dramatically makes a difference in the next 16-17 hours of my day. I know all the classes have that special bond and our 5am crew seems to really have it, caring for one another and providing support for you well beyond just giving you a spot on a back squat. We see each other red eyed, hair a mess, body still stiff from the prior day, dark outside, proud that we just put on matching shoes, and usually only 30 minutes removed from sleeping comfortably in our beds…but almost as soon as we walk in the door we are laughing and having a good time. Personally, this past year has been a trying one to say the least for me, but my 5am crew really kept me going and without them really even knowing they were inspiring me to live as positively as I can. What else can I really say about the 5amers without getting too long winded which I already have? We are a hodgepodge of great people that hold each other accountable, and will be there to catch each other you if we ever need it. I could not possibly think of a better group to cheer for, sweat with, laugh with, smile with, sometimes cry in pain with, and most importantly a group to inspire to be better with every single morning.
So I guess now if someone was to ask me “why do you do CrossFit and why 5am?” my answer will probably be a little long for them and they’ll probably walk away before I even get to tell them about 5am, but I know how special it all is to me. I’ve always known it, but sometimes reflection really makes you appreciate what you have even more. It’s really not about Crossfit it’s about all the pictures on the wall and the life that breathes out of Crossfit Train 97333.
-Thom King
WOD: 9/02/16
10 minutes to establish a 3RM Deadlift
Three rounds for time of:
Run 400m
21 KB Swings 53/35
12 Deadlifts 225/155lbs.