9
Sep
Aly Smith

In the three years of dealing with the pain I also slowly started losing the inner badass in me. Although I continued to “workout” I could literally feel my body weakening. I would try and justify it all by saying to myself “this is the way that things will be now, me always in pain.”
There wasn’t a specific event or moment that made me make the decision to get better other than it had finally hit me… I didn’t want to be a spectator in my kids’ lives. So one evening I turned to my husband and with a very nonchalant way I told him, “Can you see about me joining crossfit or what I have to do to get in.” I also remember telling him, “And I don’t want anybody taking it easy on me.” Within the same week I started my first elements class and quickly regretted my above comment because Jarret Jones did not take it easy on me. Nobody knows this but after my first elements class I sat in my car and cried. I cried first because I was mad that I had allowed myself to get so out of shape (I had been a jock all my life), I then cried because I was hurting (playfully and emotionally), and I finally cried because I was happy. I was happy that I had my ass handed to me and it felt good. I had missed that feeling of doubting your body’s ability but then shutting your head and getting through it.
A year and some months later and I am probably in the best shape of my life despite my back surgery. The journey has not been easy because most days I still hurt; however, I no longer let that pain dictate myself. I now use the pain as a drive to push me to work harder. There were many days I felt like giving up after a class because I was the last one to finish the WOD. There were days I felt like a loser because I could only lift the bar. Today I can honestly say there’s no better feeling than that feeling of accomplishment after a nasty WOD or hitting a PR-whether its a adding 20 lbs or 5 lbs.
I came to crossfit and more specifically to Basin Crossfit because my husband had been a member for some time and also happens to coach there. However, I have stay for many other reasons. I have stayed because of the encouraging atmosphere and the great friendships I have made. It’s an awesome feeling to have your fellow classmate help you better your form or yell at you loud enough to “pick that shit up” and you conquer a new PR.
I am forever grateful for crossfit because it has transformed me and my family. The changes that have come forth from crossfit have made us into a healthier family in aspects of the word. I have loved the results of my new lifestyle as I have used it as an opportunity to motivate and encourage others. I am that one person that will hunt you down and ask why you haven’t been to class in two days. I will yell at you in class to keep going. I will be that person you need when you feel like calling it quits because I’ve been there.