Dreams, Support, and Change

It's happened a few times over the past several months and it happened again last night. I dreamed of CrossFit.

The Box was no longer the place I remembered in my dream, but it was more like an outdoor track adjacent to an old lady's house or a moderately priced hotel. I didn't recognize any faces but everyone excitedly questioned me about my presence. I was feeling anxious and afraid and intended to have an active rest day since I couldn't find the white board anywhere and everyone seemed to know what to do except me. They all kept smiling though and asking me if I were a chef (hmm, no) and I felt welcome there. I felt inspired to go out and try to copy what everyone else was doing (at least until I realized I wasn't wearing any pants... a recurring theme in my CrossFit dreams is that I'm in my PJs). And then Coach J came in from the kitchen where the old ladies were hanging out having coffee and caught up to me stumbling along trying to follow the other people and gave me a big hug (at which time I promptly tripped us both and we bit it) and then Coach H was there giving me the vaguely concerned, amused look that she used to always give me whenever I demonstrated my extreme grace (such as falling from the toes-to-bar and nearly breaking my neck). 

In that instant I felt like home. I felt like even though the place had changed and grown (into a hotel it seemed at one point) and I didn't have my regular 6 AM compatriots there, it was still a place that I could fit. Still a place that I could belong. 



Last night I had a look back on my life the past few years. I was into some pretty destructive behavior and very negative thinking as I spiraled down into depression and self-negligence. There were a bad few years. Thinking about when it all stopped, I wondered how I became so comparatively well adjusted and it occurred to me that it correlated with when I started going to CrossFit. I wasn't instantly cured, but I suddenly started thinking of my body differently and caring about I put into it for other reasons than weight loss. By caring for my body mechanically, it forced me to care about myself.

All this dawned on me last night as I chatted with my roommate and fellow CrossFit enthusiast, T. She is recovering from an injury which has kept her from WODing the way she'd like and we commiserated a little bit on the loss of the community and catharsis of our sport. 

Sometimes I feel like I can't say it's my sport anymore since I've been AWOL so long, but it is and there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that I'll get back into it. It's simply a matter of when. 



As I was doing the Whole Life Challenge last fall it became very apparent that a supportive community is essential when you're trying to live a better life. If everyone thinks you're being weird when you politely decline baked brie in a bread bowl (OMG), it's a lot more difficult to resist it. If you're surrounded by people who brought guacamole instead, you're more likely to eat clean. I like that support, and I loved the support of going to the box and feeling included, even if I didn't know anyone in the class. 

Maybe I do particularly well with a community because as a society we're all so isolated from each other these days thanks to the technology we're attached to and the sheer amounts of data we take in, but I feel like most of the time I'm on my own. I feel disconnected from other people quite a bit and being in a situation where I'm mentally and physically engaged with people who are present with their entire beings feels like home compared to spending time with people who commune exclusively with their iPhones. 



Been working hard to make some  changes (as always) and I'm feeling good about this year so far. Now I just need to start moving again and writing about it here. This was a good situation for me and I miss it. 

Return to the WOD...of the Non-CrossFit affiliate variety

I got in a couple of "Alpha" workouts over at Life Time Fitness back in November which were cached here on my blog but unpublished. Here's a taste of what the rich folks' WOD looks like:

Tuesday

Warm Up:
Some stretching
Quad Rolling
Tiger Tail (ow)

Ab Ball.
Legs straight, hip raises x10
Legs bent, hip raises x10
Legs straight, hip raise, roll in to bent knees/higher hips x10
2 sets

Plank on ball, circling arms 10 times left, 10 times right, 2 sets

PVC Pass Through and PVC circle throughs x 20 and x20

Goblet Squats 3 sets of 10 12 lbs

KB Dead Lift x10 -3 sets to get form

Skill:
Deadlifts for form
KB Swings for form

WOD:
4 Rounds (Not for Time)
-5 Deadlift (75lbs as I wanted it to be difficult, but havne't deadlifted in forever and didn't want to get hurt)
-10 KB Swings

Finisher:
10 Minute AMRAP
-10 TRX Rows (Very low)
-10 Ab Dolly knees-in with hips high in plank position.

I did 5 rounds of the rows and 4.5 Rounds of the Abs.



Thursday

Warm up:
Stretching
Hamstring Rolls
Tiger Tail
500 Meter Row

Class Warm Up:
Ball Work: 10 Straight Leg, 10 Bent, 10 Curls
On rig, squat bottoms
10 Goblet Squats
10 Overhead Squats with PVC
Spiderman Lunges

Skill work:
Squat Mobility
Band around knees (8 inch circle-ish)
Squat Half, wide legs: 10 knees in together, 10 Right, 10 Left
Walking Lunges with 10lb dumbbells overhead 5 each leg

WOD:
10 KB Swings (12lbs)
10 banded knees together
5 Front Squat with 45lb Bar and Band around knees
Adjusted farmer's carry, one arm up and one arm down 14lbs each arm, alternating at half-way through the route.

Discussion about knee physiology

Calf Raise Machine- Until I felt the burn.