Pam W.

May 24, 2011 was a red-letter day for me: I got my first pull-up. I mean, my first ever, in the entire 58 years of my life!

To understand why that’s such a significant milestone for me, consider that as recently as 10 months ago, when I joined CrossFit Bloomington, I by no means considered myself an athlete. I didn’t exercise as a girl or young adult and never played sports in school (this was before Title IX, folks). I exercised only sporadically throughout my 30s and 40s. About 5 ½ years ago, I realized with a jolt that I was feeling decidedly and uncomfortably old. Decrepit and creaky, even. I was at a high point in my weight and a low point in my energy levels. I decided I needed to change course. I joined a gym, and started the standard gym routine familiar to so many: 30 minutes on the elliptical 6x/week and strength training (mostly on machines) 3x/week. It helped, no doubt (along with eating healthier). I lost weight, and I started to feel more energetic.

Fast forward to a year ago. I’d kept up the standard gym routine, but didn’t feel I had much in the way of gains in strength or physical capability to show for it. True, I wasn’t feeling badly or decrepit, and I was no longer winded from moderate exercise or unable to move comfortably, but I hadn’t been able to get to that place of feeling like I was physically thriving. And that’s what I was now after. Once I got past feeling badly, it became all about aging well. I was seeing lots of friends and relatives my age who were suffering from a host of aging-related health problems and were resigned to suffering through them. I didn’t want to go down that road without putting up a fight. I knew that the best insurance against the frailties and infirmities of advancing age was to get as strong as I could. Now. The physical plateau at which I found myself just wasn’t going to cut it.

But what to do?

I started hearing a couple of different friends and acquaintances talk about this thing called CrossFit. Intense. Demanding. Full-body functional movements. Interval training. Maybe just the ticket, even though it scared me (not an athlete, remember?). My fears were trumped, however, by my curiosity about this new (for me) approach to exercise and my determination to see exactly what I was capable of physically. I joined CrossFit Bloomington right after Labor Day in 2010, and I haven’t looked back since.

Almost immediately, I was thoroughly disabused of any notion that I’d been “fit.” Simply put, CrossFit kicked my butt. The workouts exhausted me, but in a wonderful way. I went from never having touched a barbell in my life to hoisting a loaded one in the air! I started hanging and swinging from an overhead bar for the first time since elementary school (and I wasn’t good at it then). It took me longer than I’d expected to master the basic movements (not an athlete  no muscle memory on which to call for a lot of this stuff), but under the demanding and careful eyes of the CrossFit Bloomington trainers, who made damn sure I got my technique down and didn’t do anything that risked injury, I slowly learned the basics. Hey, look at me, I could do a deadlift! A back squat! A clean and jerk! This was the kind of stuff that I only saw the Very Serious Men doing in the weight room at my former gym. And I was having a blast along the way.

Within a very short period of time, I became a CrossFit junkie. (For confirmation, ask my husband….) I love working out with such capable and skilled trainers, who are able to find that sweet spot between pushing me to be stronger while keeping their eyes on my safety. (Proper form is everything!) I couldn’t push myself physically the way I have these last 10 months without knowing that they have my back. As do the other folks with whom I’ve had the privilege of working out during my time at CrossFit Bloomington. We have more fun together than I could ever have imagined having while exercising this hard. We all celebrate each others’ accomplishments, while at the same time use those accomplishments to motivate ourselves to push harder. It’s a combination of camaraderie and (friendly) competition that’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. Doing the workout with others, under the watchful eye of a great trainer, somehow ratchets up the energy levels tremendously. It’s wonderful.

As an older woman with no history of being an athlete, I especially appreciate the comfort I feel while going through my paces with some seriously gifted athletes. Whereas the weight room at most gyms has always felt to me like boys’ territory – not very welcoming to women, especially women my age – here I was working out side-by-side with strong young athletes (women, too) who welcomed and even encouraged me. Another new experience. And seeing others around my age or older doing amazing things has been a constant inspiration.

In short, I have loved, loved, loved this journey into Lifting Heavy Things. I love feeling strong. I love my new-found sense of being physically capable. My balance has improved, and I move through everyday life more gracefully (I think) and with far greater physical ease. I used to have a somewhat unsteady left knee. It’s now rock solid. And I love, love, love the muscle definition I see in my arms. My legs. Other places I won’t detail. I feel more comfortable with and at home in my body than I ever have in my life. I’ve never been in better shape.

In the past 10 months, my strength and general physical condition have improved far more than they did in the prior 5 years of doing the standard gym routine of cardio and weight machines. I’ve hit milestones I never could have imagined. Besides getting my first-ever pull-up, in the past couple of weeks for the first time I bench pressed 100 pounds and deadlifted 200 pounds (compare that to my starting weight of 45 pounds for both). A handstand still eludes me, as does the rope climb, but I haven’t crossed them off my list entirely. Maybe by the end of the calendar year. I remind myself that I once thought I’d never get a pull-up.

And dare I say it? Now, finally: I’m an athlete. Thanks to everyone at CrossFit Bloomington.