One Year Later: Sharing the Love
If there’s one thing I like to do, it’s to share things I love. Okay, well, there are certain things I like to share. My kale? Er, only if I have a couple of bags on reserve. A sip of my chocolate tea? Well, only if it’s not a huge sip. A bite of my open-face breakfast sandwich? Um…maybe you should just make your own.
Okay, so I’m not so good with the food-sharing.
But I am good—perhaps pushy, in fact—with sharing my workouts. While I’ll talk your ear off about any workout I love, get me talking about this place and you might have both of your ears talked right off for keeps. I am certifiably addicted. Similar to CrossFit workouts but with their own Fit Pit flare, I’ve never been in a gym that’s more encouraging, supportive and—to be honest—brutal. You drip sweat, get bruised (I can now climb the rope like a monkey now, but the effer bruises the heck out of my feet), and I’ve even bleed from the place from time to time (an odd badge of honor from doing pull-ups and having a callus tear). I know it’s not for everyone but, for me, there’s nothing better.
I go three days a week, and look forward to it every darn time. In the first few months I went there, I made HUGE gains in strength and ability. I went from doing box jumps on the shortest box to the medium-sized boxes. I went from using the rings to doing pull-ups on the bands. I bumped my wall-ball weight from 8 to 10 pounds, and I increased my ball slam weight by 10 pounds. I even went from doing 5 push-ups on my toes to 15 without stopping.
And now, about a year after I started regularly doing the Fit Pit’s Workout of the Day (WOD)? Holy cow, it’s amazing. I’ve trimmed down and added muscle, I can do six REGULAR pull-ups without stopping (doing my first unassisted pull-up was a huge deal for me), I can climb the rope and ring the bell seven times in one workout, and I’ve moved up in weight and difficulty of about every exercise at the gym. (The only thing that still plagues me are burpees. Holy God, I hate burpees.)
Now, I am by far not the fastest, strongest or most agile person at the gym. Some of the girls and guys there are ah-mazing and inspire me to push myself everyday. But I am doing my absolute best, and improving upon my best—even redefining what my “best” even is (much like Kristen has redefined what her “normal” is). And the pursuit of that, seeing myself achieve goals—even little ones like going a few pounds heavier on wall ball—has done something that you can never put a price tag on: it’s built my confidence. Day after day, week over week, these small victories add up to physical, mental and emotional results that are truly life changing.
I loved myself unconditionally before going to The Fit Pit. But it’s like pushing myself allowed me to step even more into the person that I always knew I was deep down: strong, empowered and limitless (like my I-can-do-anything marathon feeling, three times a week). The whole process has brought me so much joy. And I seriously wake up at 4:45 a.m. excited to go to a 5:30 a.m. class at The Fit Pit. Because the three days a week I do that, the rest of my day is set with a tone of pure awesome. Even on days that I’m struggling with a workout, I’m still proud of myself for being there and doing my best.
With all of the aha/feel-good moments I’ve gotten from my time at The Fit Pit, it’s only natural that I’d want to shout it from the rooftops. To tell everyone I know about it. To darn-near harass (sorry, friends!) others to join me. But I literally want to share the love. And, thankfully, a few of my friends have joined my husband and I at the gym, which both simultaneously momentarily satisfies my urge to convert everyone I know to try it AND makes me want to tell more people. So, here I am. Telling more people.
Have you ever done a workout that changed you physically, mentally and emotionally? One that you wanted everyone to try? Share it! I want to hear it! —Jenn