“Michael”
3 Rounds for time:
800 M Run
50 GHD Back Extensions
50 GHD Sit-ups
“Lauren, there are two threads hanging from your skirt…oh those are just your legs!!” I can always remember people commenting on my thinness as a child…always poking fun of my “chicken legs,” my long “Orangutan” arms…but, then it was always followed up by something else: ”just wait ’till you’re my age…then you will not be able to keep weight off…” REAL NICE…every 10 year-old-AWKWARD American girl needs to be thinking about that…
First it was, “wait until you get to high school…you’ll get a muffin top.” I stayed in shape…
Then it was, “Watch out for that Freshman fifteen!” I went to college and graduate school…I stayed in shape…
Next it was, “Ahhhhh you are working at a chain restaurant, you’ll eat one too many fries.” I stayed in shape.
My favorite: “When ’till your late twenties, early thirties…that’s when your metabolism slows.” I am in the best shape of my life (I’d LOVE to duel with the 18-year-old me now!)
Now there’s the infamous: ”Just wait till you have kids…I used to look like you…now I’ll never get my body back!”
No one every stopped to ask why I passed through each chapter in my life in shape: I WAS ALWAYS CONTINUALLY COMMITTED TO BEING FIT. It was always a priority. I realize that some of the most difficult chapters of my life may be approaching. I know motherhood will be challenging…I know my forties will change me…I realize that menopause will come…but you can bet your bottom dollar that the habit I have formed to BE COMMITTED TO FITNESS will not change. So you can sit around and speculate over how and when I will get FAT, or you can ask yourself if you have made this same commitment to fitness.
With that being said, the world of CrossFit has SQUASHED the notion that moms cannot be fitter, stronger, healthier, and deadlifting sexier than pre-children. Ladies, check out these CrossFit moms that I have been blessed to meet and they keep me unafraid to have children…and please, instead of speculating on how they are “genetically predisposed not to gain weight,” congratulate them on their hard work and the compliment they give to the race of womanhood:
Jen, age 43, mother to Noah, 11, Zach, 9, and Jeremy, 5.
Michelle (center blue sports bra) age 42, mother of 4 ages 11, 9, 8, & 5
Liz, age 34, mother to Darin (8), Maxwell (5), and Lucy (1 year!!)
Heather, 33, mother to Maya (10), and Jonah (4)
Kelly, 29, mother to Dylan (8 months!)
Gina, 38, mother to Julia (10) and Christina (7)
Ladies, never resign yourself to being just “mommy.” You hold that (the most important title in the world) and so much more! Check out this post by Lisbeth of CrossFit Watertown:
I refuse to become one of the walking undead. The unwell. The quitters, the complainers, the crybabies. Those who say “Oh, well, I’m fat” and just accept it. Those who don’t even try. Those who won’t get off the couch and on the road to anything but the drive-through. I am so done with them.
Although I have reached what used to be quaintly referred to as “middle age” I no longer think of it as some green pasture to lay down in and count my money until I die. This is my prime.
I will not go gently into the good night. I will not let my body spread, my willpower relax, and my determination downgrade. I am making a stand here. Like Dylan Thomas, I am raging against the dying of the light.
I refuse to listen to “Oldies Rock” and wear “Mom” jeans and appliqué my sweatshirts with inane seasonal greetings. I won’t use the phrase “old enough to know better.” My body is older but I am better. I am fine.
I vow not to become one of those people who stroll past hard-working CrossFitters and sneer, “You’re not getting me to do that.” Instead, I will be one of those people who stop and ask, “How can I do that?”
I am not too old for triathlons; I am too young for complacency. The next forty years is a long time to sit on the sidelines. I am not too old for CrossFit; I’m too young for life on the f***ing couch.
I am not in the wrong place. I am, finally, in the right mind at the right time.
And to those on the other side of the spectrum, the young firebreathers in the CrossFit Daily Comments who deride “the soccer moms ruining CrossFit”, I have this to say: I am no soccer mom . . . But this deadlifting, back-squatting, clapping push-up lacrosse mom is ready to kick your butt to Dumbassville and back again. To you, CrossFit may just be a continuous stream of crazy workouts, skin, puking, Rock Star, and boobs; but, to me, it’s a whole lot more. To me, it’s like breathing. And, trust me, you don’t want to get between a woman and the source of her oxygen.
So, step aside, I’m taking my turn at the pull-up bar. And I brought some bands for my girlfriends so they can take this path too. Get used to us. We’re CrossFitting for the long haul. We will not go gently into that good night.
Thanks for the "shout out" Lauren. Almost makes me want to have another. You won't be any different. Thanks for introducing me to xfit and getting me back into the fitness world; I feel fulfilled, met new friends, and am probably a lot more patient at home – because xfit has made me feel whole again. Can't wait to visit you guys, liz