A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about my experience doing “75 Hard.” One of the things I realized when I started committing to working out twice a day was that I really missed the camaraderie of doing group workouts. As I’ve mentioned in a couple of previous posts, exercising is something that I make a priority in my life, but for the past few years, I’ve been working out solo. Although this was a godsend when Covid hit because I already had a home gym in my garage, there is something to be said for the communal aspect of a group fitness atmosphere that inspires me to challenge myself way more than I do when I’m alone.

Several years ago, I was heavily into CrossFit, and it was the workout genre that changed my life in terms of my views on fitness and athleticism. I initially discovered CrossFit through a co-worker back in 2009, and for someone who has always thought of herself as being completely uncoordinated and lacking any athletic ability, CrossFit was a transformational experience. It showed me that both my body and my mind were capable of so much more than I had ever thought or believed I could do. Like many people who get sucked into the CrossFit cult, I embraced it completely, falling in love with the challenge of pushing myself to continually get stronger, faster, and more flexible. I wanted to become… dare I say it… an athlete.  

As couple of years into it, I started doing competitions, first at my own gym, and then locally with different organizations and CrossFit affiliates within my community. I was never badass enough to become CrossFit Games material, but I did place 3^rd in my age category in the 2015 United States Police and Fire Championships CrossFit Competition, so in my mind, that was a pretty awesome accomplishment for a girl who grew up with zero athletic ability.

My favorite thing about competing, though, was the collaborative group environment. Most of the time, I competed with a partner or as a member of a 4-person team, as opposed to entering solo events. I loved representing my “box” (CrossFit lingo for what is basically an expensive warehouse space turned into a gym) and celebrating victories with my fellow teammates.

I also became a certified CrossFit trainer, coaching at three different locations over the course of several years. I truly enjoyed coaching because teaching and inspiring others is something I’ve always had a passion for. Watching people discover and hone their skills and abilities is an incredibly rewarding process. I especially loved it when people would have doubts about their capabilities, like I did when I first started CrossFit, and six months later, they’d be doing shit they never dreamed was possible.

I stuck with CrossFit for about 8 years, deciding to quit both coaching and participating in the workouts in 2017. At this point in my life, I was in my mid 40’s, and I was constantly struggling with injuries. Yes, some of them were CrossFit related because I was competitive, stubborn, and hardly ever gave myself rest days. However, a good majority of my injuries were also work-related and from jiu-jitsu, which I was simultaneously training in several times a week while doing CrossFit.

When I was accepted into the Mounted Unit at LAPD during my tenure as a law enforcement officer, adding daily aggressive horseback riding into my routine proved to be my breaking point. Feeling frustrated by the limitations of my injuries, I decided to give up both CrossFit and jiu-jitsu, opting for a program of basic weight training on my own to reduce the impact of explosive and cardio-intensive movements that had been wreaking havoc on my body.

In truth, I was putting my body through too much stress, and just as some people are not good at taking care of themselves when they are sick, I’m not good at taking care of myself when I’m injured. Or at least, I haven’t traditionally been in the past. Okay, let’s be real, I’m still not. As I mentioned above, I tend to be fairly stubborn, and rather than allowing my body to rest and recuperate like I know I should, I push through the pain and usually end up either making my injury worse or greatly exacerbating my recovery time, which is exactly what I did with CrossFit.

My passion for CrossFit was both a blessing and a curse. As a certified coach, I had the tools and the knowledge to modify movements or substitute them altogether, and I completely understood the principles and purpose of proper rest days. However, I had also developed a competitive nature and had established very high expectations for myself in terms of performance.

CrossFit truly was the first athletic venture that I was ever any good at, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to continually improve and achieve new milestones. Eventually, this turned out to be detrimental because I developed an “all or none” mentality where I decided that if I couldn’t do a workout “RX” (completing the prescribed weights, movements, and reps), then it wasn’t worth doing at all. A shitty attitude for sure, but that was my mentality at the time.

When I stopped doing CrossFit, I tried several other gyms that offered more low-key group classes, including Orange Theory, an MMA (mixed martial arts) gym, and a treadmill running studio (Yes, the woman who loathes running joined a treadmill studio…). For a while I created my own lifting program, and I also did a lot of at-home app-based workouts like Les Mills and Beachbody on demand. A couple of years ago, I ended up getting a Peloton bike and a Peloton treadmill, which I must admit I really love.

Since moving to Texas and no longer having the luxury of a garage gym with a squat rack and plenty of space like I had when I lived in both California and Washington, over the past year, my workouts have primarily become a combination of various Peloton cardio and strength classes, with a few Les Mills Bodycombat classes and outdoor walks thrown in for variety. Although I believe all the different gyms and workout programs that I’ve tried have great health and fitness benefits, and I’ve honestly enjoyed all of them, I haven’t experienced the same level of camaraderie and sense of belonging that I did when I went to CrossFit.

Last week, Stephanie and I did an “Unapologetically Outspoken Podcast” episode on the importance of community. One of the topics we covered was the fact that when you surround yourself with people who inspire you and share your values and beliefs, it gives you a sense of empowerment and pushes you to want to perform better. Online communities like the Peloton groups I belong to are great when you get a virtual “high-five” during a workout, but it’s not the same as physically being in a shared space with people, suffering through a workout together. I don’t think I addressed this during the podcast, but the community aspect of CrossFit had a significant impact on me in terms of improving my performance levels and being more accountable in my workouts.  

There is something about the culture of CrossFit that is entirely unique. Yes, there is absolutely a highly competitive aspect to CrossFit, but it’s a friendly type of competition that’s difficult to describe unless you experience it. Even though people are competing against each other for time, reps, or weight, gym members still cheer each other on during a workout and encourage each other to keep going. After collapsing on the floor at the end of a hard WOD (Workout of the Day), CrossFit folks get up and high-five each other, giving out genuine compliments and admiration for their fellow competitors. As much as people joke about CrossFit being like a cult, it’s truly a “high vibe” environment, and it’s something I didn’t realize I missed until recently.

After quitting CrossFit, I swore I would never go back. I convinced myself that it was the bane of my existence and the cause of all my injuries. Truthfully, I was my own worst enemy, and I was just pissed off that I was being humbled by overtaxing my body.

Yes, CrossFit can cause major injuries, but realistically, so can any other sport or physical activity. Sadly, I’ve sprained my ankle multiple times just casually walking on flat ground and stepping off curbs (not an exaggeration…). Like most athletic undertakings that require learning specific techniques and skills for optimal performance, CrossFit can wreak havoc on your body if you overtrain or don’t learn how to execute the lifts and movements correctly. Yet, it can also legitimately improve your balance, flexibility, strength, and cardiovascular endurance if you do it right.

On a whim, about a month ago, I decided to see where the closest CrossFit gym was in my area. Since I live in a fairly small town, I assumed it would be at least 30 minutes away in the nearest city. Much to my surprise, I discovered a CrossFit facility less than a 5-minute drive from my house. Taking both my sudden piqued interest and the proximity of this gym into account, I decided it was a sign from the Universe that I should go check it out.

Walking into the familiar warehouse building and seeing a stack of rowing machines and wooden boxes against one wall, a series of metal rigs down the center of the room, and perfectly spaced sets of gymnastics rings and ropes hanging from the ceiling, was like coming home. Even though I hadn’t seen the inside of a CrossFit box for almost 6 years, and I hadn’t touched a barbell in over a year and a half, I muttered to myself, “Well, fuck, I guess we’re doing this…”

It’s been a few weeks now, and even though my body is still adjusting to the aches and soreness of performing lifts and movements I haven’t done in years, I’m loving it. Being back in a physical gym environment of supportive, like-minded individuals has been a much-needed change after working out by myself at home for the past several years. I also feel very blessed to have found such a genuinely warm group of people who immediately welcomed me into their community. Maybe it’s a Texas thing, but this is hands down the friendliest gym I’ve ever been a part of.

I’m also surprised by how quickly I’m picking things back up. I figured I’d be starting over from scratch, but muscle memory is kicking in, and it’s kind of like riding a bike. However, this time around, I’m taking a humbler approach, tackling workouts from a perspective of establishing longevity and avoiding injury. My competition days are behind me, and I have no shame or hesitation in scaling movements or lifting less than the prescribed weight. I’m having fun, getting in a good workout, and meeting some really cool inspirational people. And if I can still do power cleans, burpees, and wall balls in my late 60’s like the woman I did a partner workout with last week, that will be pretty kick ass too.

Unapologetically Outspoken,

Tara