Kissed and Made Up

A while back, I posted this photo of me to show the progress I’ve made since having started CrossFit in November of 2011.

During the first few months I just couldn’t stop telling everyone I know that they should try it and why. I’ve toned down a lot already. Don’t get me wrong, I really am enthusiastic when I talk about how CrossFit is such a fun and effective workout.

I guess what I’m tired of hearing is how people complain so much about gaining weight and wanting to lose it but never do anything about it. It is kind of tiring to keep hearing “Tomorrow, I will..” (Reminds me of this really powerful line Nike uses — YESTERDAY YOU SAID TOMORROW.) Then if they actually do something about it, a lot of them either just starve themselves or go to a globo gym in hopes of getting that beach body with a few hundred bicep curls and by going mad on the treadmill. Nothing really wrong with that if the goal is to look…decent. None of my business, really. To each his own.

However, I am a hundred percent sure that many of you globo gym goers feel that there’s something lacking. Yes, you see a bit of physical change and you feel better about yourself… but maybe, just maybe, you’ve asked yourself at least once if you can keep it up your whole life. How will you achieve progress? How FAST do you think you’re progressing with whatever program you have now?

It all boils down to what your goal is. A lot of people see fitness as a superficial thing. As long as you look “thin” and “slim,” you’re considered beautiful and fit. To me, fitness has become a WAY OF LIFE. It’s something you do day in and day out; something you stick with whether you like it or not. That’s what CrossFit has taught me. That’s what my Coach, Aaron Dela Cruz (CrossFit Insurrecto), showed me. I have long since stopped weighing myself and measuring my body parts. The only reason why I weighed myself the last time was because I was weighing check-in luggage. I am now 116lbs — the heaviest I’ve been in my 23 years of existence — but I’m proud to say that this is the fittest and healthiest I’ve ever been as well. Weight is a poor guage of quality of life. What I know is that with what I’m doing, I’m adding quality AND quantity to my years on earth. If you’re looking for the same thing, go to CrossFit Insurrecto. It’s the BEST box in the Philippines. Trust me, I’ve tried all. If you think CrossFit is too difficult for you, find something that’ll work for you. Whatever it is, just make sure you can stick to it.

Sooooo, after 6 months of CrossFit, I think I say I’m on the right path considering my goal.

I’ll consider this my AFTER of the previous AFTER photo.

So what has the last three weeks of strength training and a WOD here and there given me? A STRONGER ME. The physical is always just the bonus. I’ve been doing Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 and I know he says it’s “boring but big” but I actually think it’s a lot of fun. I train with amazingly dedicated athletes (yep, the big boys) but the atmosphere is really great! Having Jr. Coach Karen Kennedy train with me and encouraging me while the big boys do their thing makes lifting more exciting than I already think it is.

My little sister told me this was kind of (okay, she actually said REALLY) scary but just so girls don’t get that scared, check out my photos exactly 16 days ago HERE. That’s still close to how I normally look like now! I’m positive 90% of people I know, especially the older ones, would say “Ay, hindi na maganda yan! Maganda yung slim lang!” (Bluntly put:That’s ugly, thin is beautiful.)but I don’t care at all. I know when I’m older, I’ll be thankful.

I still have a lot of weight to lift and hundreds of WODs to conquer before I become even the smallest fraction of one of my favorite CrossFitters, Andrea Ager. But I know I’m on the right track. I trust the program. I trust my coach. I trust myself.

I trust CrossFit Insurrecto

Drop by the box. #36 AAA Health Plaza, Scout Torillo St., Tomas Morato, Quezon City. Follow CrossFit Insurrecto on Facebook and @Cfinsurrecto on Twitter.