Unleash Your Inner Ninja: Guest Post by Allyson Strout of CrossFit KGB

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I am a bonafide box-stalking, blog-obsessing CrossFitter. I love to see affiliate pictures of people all over the world doing squats (with their girlfriend overhead) and handstand pushups (at the top of a mountain) and running (with a Fiat on their shoulder).  I get into reading coach’s blogs and am wild about creative WOD programming and I get giddy seeing that Ethel McAwesomeness in Toledo just got her first 85 pound deadlift just as much as I get giddy watching Lindsey Valenzuela do that Games snatch ladder over, and over, and over.  I watch YouTube because I just know that the secret to my elusive unassisted pull ups lies in some random video out there in cyberspace. (Pleeease, let this be true! And let me find.that.video.Pronto.)

But my own CrossFit story is not nearly as gasp-inspiring as the stories that go viral. Other box-stalkers have no idea who I am. I am, of course, thankful that I have not overcome adversity to get to where I am in my CrossFit adventure. I have not even given birth, so no taking-care-of-little-folks-at-home challenge there, either. Yes, reader(s): I have achieved this state of hopeful mediocrity simply by overcoming an astonishing history of laziness. Someone, alert the presses.

Not only have I not survived catastrophe or suffered severe trauma of either a physical or emotional nature (Thank You, Universe!), I have not come to CrossFit as an injured/bored/retired athlete of any kind. Well, I did play field hockey for one season my sophomore year in high school.  I was so, so bad that I never even got a team kilt but instead was provided a pair of gym shorts in our school colors (I suspect they were soccer team leftovers) just in case a majority of my team members, who were actually capable of understanding and executing the game of field hockey, were killed in one mass tragic accident. The accident never happened, I played twice for a total of six minutes (in my snazzy shorts), and walked away uninjured and uninspired.

I know that in some circles it is cool to mock the globo-gym, magazine-reading treadmill and elliptical machine junkies and I would be lying if I said that I didn't want to burst into one of those places and drag every woman there to my CrossFit box, assuring them that I am changing their lives for the better. But I WAS one of those women. I even had a treadmill at home; it is from that machine that I saw two full seasons of Dr. Phil and read countless books. Sometimes at the same time. Instead of a trophy-winning history with organized sports, it was my treadmill that was my gateway to CrossFit. I got caught up in the I-run-and-therefore-I-rock thing for a full year. I was obsessed. I got thin. I got Runners World magazine and read it, cover to cover. I met people. I competed with them, with myself. I didn't eat enough, and then I ate too much because I “could” – I would just “run it off” tonight/tomorrow/this weekend. Repeat, repeat, repeat. (Teaching moment: I know, now, how lucky I am that I did not suffer a serious injury, even if that would make my story more interesting.)

Then, my best friend got the crazy idea to sign us up for an obstacle course race. I figured the running was no problem (because I am a RUNNER and RUNNERS ARE AWESOME)…but I had to climb walls? Deal with ropes? Shimmy under barbed wire and (gasp) maybe even help other people do the same? There are no book holders, no TV, on an obstacle course! I was panicking. I had a Facebook friend in Australia who kept posting about how strong and sore she felt from squatting and how she could see the muscle tone in her arms and how much she was learning and how invigorated she was with this CrossFit thing. I asked her about it, she told me, I signed up.

That was almost two years ago.

Now, I am in love and live with an affiliate owner. I am a Level 1 coach. I am heavily involved in programming, in building and supporting our amazing community, and I am madly in love with CrossFit. I do not lift like Lindsey, and I don’t always enter (or leave) the box on top of the world. But I am no longer lazy, and I am motivated in all aspects of my life in a way that I never imagined.

You don’t have to have a high school or college trophy on your shelf to CrossFit. You don’t have to have survived a disease or a disaster, and you do not have to have a story to tell. I am 42 years old. I have now – much to my surprise - participated in organized CrossFit competitions and events with varying degrees of winning-ness but equal degrees of astonished motivation. I have had a blast at obstacle course races, I run 5k road races with faster times than ever, and I completed (with a relative degree of ease) my first sprint triathlon this summer. I am not a rock star, but I am delighted that I have an inner ninja. I am real person, who never in a zillion years imagined that I would do the things I am doing. If I could go back to sophomore year, I total would – but only to get that kilt.

So, if you are one of my fellow CrossFit box-and-blog stalkers but are waiting for that one picture/WOD post/athlete profile story that will push you the one final step to actually walking into your local CrossFit and getting started, maybe this is it. That would be wildly cool, and you can thank me later by sending me the link to that elusive pull up video, k?

And now for d&d's very first giveaway.  

One lucky guy or gal will win a CrossFit KGB t-shirt (like those pictured above)! Guaranteed to make you run faster and jump higher! New workout clothes are the best! 

Here's how you can enter:
-Please 'like' deadlifts & doppelgangers and CrossFit KGB on Facebook
-Then leave us a comment here letting us know you'd like to win
-Earn an extra entry by sharing the giveaway and/or Allyson's post via your Facebook or Twitter (we're @DoppelgangerGrl by the way)

That's it! Way easier than burpees! 

Thanks to Allyson and to CrossFit KGB for all of their support and endless motivation.  

Conditioned for Life

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Eight years ago today I was awakened at 5am by the sharp ring of my cell phone. I knew what had happened before a single word was spoken, before I even saw the number on the Caller ID. My father had died. 

The minutes and hours that followed were perhaps not what one might expect for a young woman in my situation. Brush teeth, contacts in, drive 30 miles to meet my mom at what seemed like the 15^th nursing home/hospital I’d visited in the recent months. See him for the very last time. All without a single tear. Why? Because I had been conditioned for this.

To characterize my father with descriptive words or traits wouldn’t really be appropriate. He wasn’t as much a collection of vibrant and noticeable qualities as he was a subtle absence of all of the attributes he didn’t care to embody. He wasn’t quiet, he just wasn’t outspoken. He wasn’t cold, he just wasn’t affectionate.

And although he would hate to be described as such, he was a diabetic and a Vietnam Vet. Sadly, he was the former because he was the latter. A lifelong athlete and lover of the outdoors, his Type II Diabetes did not resemble the more modern, obesity-induced, “reap what you sow” affliction. Exposure to Agent Orange was the more likely culprit. He battled to various degrees for much of my life and by the end, after countless surgeries and hospitals stays, had lost both of his legs and his nearly all of his vision. He was 55.

He forced me into independence practically from birth, always preparing me to stand on my own two feet. I was allowed to roam and explore much farther than other kids my age, but if I got myself into trouble, I had to get myself out of it. He didn't hug me or say 'I love you', he didn't participate in my activities or come to my games, he didn't even go to my college graduation. I never felt, and still don't, that this was because he didn't care or because he didn't love me. I believe it was because he thought the best thing he could do for me was to prepare me for a life without him. 

As athletes we progress. We condition. The threshold of the pain, endurance, and exhaustion that we're able to tolerate extends.  Callouses break at 75 pullups where they used to break at 10. Knees hurt at mile 13 when they used to buckle at mile 3. In the beginning it's always difficult to imagine ourselves stronger, to imagine throwing harder, running farther, or lifting heavier. Yet once we get there--stronger-- its usually more difficult to remember our weaker selves.

It is difficult for me to imagine myself as anyone who was not made strong by her father, by his influence and by being a young spectator of his painful journey. He conditioned me. For loss and disappointment, for struggle, for conquering the things you think may break you. For crediting no one but yourself for your successes, and for holding no one but yourself responsible for your failures. Despite all that's happened before and since his death, I wouldn't change any of it. And something tells me neither would he.

*"Anguish" - completed upon my dad's return from Vietnam and reentry into civilian life in the 1970s. Original artwork remains a part of the National Veterans Art Museum's permanent collection in Chicago. It was also included in The Twins Platoon: An Epic Story of Young Marines at War in Vietnam by Christy W. Sauro Jr.

Knowledge is Power

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Well, the count down begins.  In 4 short days I will be headed to Columbus to sit through 2 days of Crossfit classes at Rogue Fitness and test to become a CrossFit Level 1 Certified trainer.

I know I've come a long way since this time last year but sometimes, when I really think about it, I feel silly for signing up to get certified already. I've only been Crossfitting since November 2011, not even a full year yet. I already have a full time job so I don't intend on actually becoming a full time coach and I'm not nearly as advanced as some of the other crossfitters at my box who do not have their Cert.

If any of you have looked into getting certified, you'll see the classes are generally booked solid for 5 to 6 months out.  The earliest class opening when I looked back in July was for January 2013 and it was to be held out of state. That would not have been very convenient and the travel would have added even more expense to the already costly class. 

Well as chance would have it Rogue, located only a few hours from my home town in Columbus, Ohio, opened up an extra class at the end of September 2012.  I was immediately nervous and excited about the opportunity. Obviously nervous for the reasons I mentioned above, but also I kept thinking: seriously! who am I to take the cert?  Will there be new expectations from my friends, co-athletes, coaches or family? What will I use it for if I'm not going to be a full time Crossfit coach?  Do I really want to spend THAT MUCH on a measly little certification? On the other hand I was excited! This was an opportunity to grow and learn new things about a passion of mine. This was a chance to take ownership of my new lifestyle, put it into practice and take my training to the next level.  It's a resume builder, it's a confidence booster, it's a way to Put Good In, it's a challenge that I never thought in a million years I'd be in a position to take on. And as my mom advised me when I called her with my dilemma, 

"Leah, no one can take away your education. Take every opportunity in life to attain knowledge and become proficient in whatever you are passionate about. You can not put a price tag on that, I say GO for it."

DONE! 

I went straight home to my computer and signed up. Wish me luck cuz here I go!

Rosy glasses

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“The great virtue in life is real courage that knows how to face facts and live beyond them.” 

~D.H. Lawrence

  

I want to honor a hero, to honor someone who was stronger than anyone I’ve ever known.  

“Maybe that’s the real key to happiness – 

not giving a damn, 

laughing with those you love the most…. 

It’s almost like making them smile or cheering them up or doing something sweet for them makes me feel more alive. 

That’s what it’s all about, I think – just loving on people.” ~ Kat Gorkavchuk

Tonight I will regretfully have the privilege of attending the memorial service to celebrate Katya Gorkavchuk's remarkable 27 years on this earth. I, like thousands of others, had the privilege of being touched by her life and by her extraordinary story…

Katya Gorkavchuk 2/5/85 - 8/25/12

Even from the beginning this hero had an amazing outlook on life. She was human through and through, with the same emotions and fears as the next person, but she didn’t take life for granted. 

 
The post below was written 2 years ago on June 22, 2010 by Kat.  

 

“Now the trumpet summons us again

 – not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; 

not as a call to battle, though embattled we are;

 but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, 

year in and year out,

 ‘rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation’, 

a struggle against the common enemies of man; 

 tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.”   

~ John F. Kennedy

Riding the Pine

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 I am currently in the middle of my second doctor-ordered hiatus in the past twelve months.  Last spring I was determined to have a dorsal wrist impingement. 

If you're like me, you're probably thinking that sounds like something a dolphin would get.  A dorsal wrist impingement is a chronic injury resulting from repetitive combination of hyperextension and axial loading. It is the most common injury among gymnasts. The commonness doesn't provide me with much consolation, as nearly everyday I notice the little ways it affects me.

As a Crossfitter, this is especially disheartening because of the many ways we use our bodies in this manner: push ups, burpees, front squats, overhead squats, wall climbs, cleans, wall balls and handstands. The list really could go on and on. Even low-impact athletics like yoga can be tricky.  The things that are supposed to help us feel our strongest, at times only shine a spotlight on my weakness.  

I started using braces, Shock Doctors with rigid internal stays, for movements that were particularly bothersome.  I have progressed to using them for almost everything. I can often be heard unlatching six noisy Velcro straps during final savasana (can you think of a more soothing sound as you reflect on your practice?). 

I'm told that it is of great importance to mitigate any repeated inflammation as my family's history of arthritis, particularly the auto-immune Rheumatoid Arthritis variety, puts me at increased risk of accelerated joint degradation.  

So is there a silver lining here? Well we all have limitations. Just because I can't do everything doesn't mean I can't do anything.  I'm using this rest period for both physical and mental re-booting.  I plan to return to CFCB with a renewed focus and determination to be the best athlete that I can be.

Rise Again

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Life happens…

You can’t speed it up, or slow it down and normally you can’t change it… much. For the most part we are forced to just roll with the punches. Some punches turn out to be a love pat but often they connect and knock us to the ground.

I’ve been reading the training guide in preparation for my Level 1 Crossfit Certification test in September. For the last 10 pages Coach has been trying to define fitness. 

He says “Done right, fitness provides a great margin of protection against the ravages of time and disease.” He’s been explaining that true fitness is not specialized.  He says “Crossfit advocates and develops broad general and inclusive” training. “Our specialty is not specializing.”  

 I’ve lived enough that I have a bit of "LifeFitness" under my belt.  But like any other good fitness training regiment, you have to always keep working, advancing and becoming more agile day by day. Each of us has our weak areas that we hate facing and do our best to avoid. We’d rather cherry pick our problems and face things we feel more confident in and avoid the more inconvenient aspects of our weaknesses. But “LifeFitness” doesn’t come from hiding from those parts and specializing in our strengths, instead we must face all life's difficulties head on.

We are setting goals at Crossfit Legacy and posting them for all to see. We are taking a good look at ourselves and admitting personal weakness and becoming vulnerable to our fellow athletes so that they can love on us, encourage us, keep us accountable, push us, pick us up off the floor, and just be part of our process until they are no longer weaknesses. I think this is healthy exercise to do in every aspect of our life so that we can become better equipped for what life has to offer. By taking an inventory of ourselves and with a little help from others, we can become more complete, stronger and more agile in our response to the difficulties that come at us.

We must wake up every day with renewed hope and awareness so we don’t succumb to the negative we see all around us.  By realizing that life is an adventure and every chapter in that adventure has ups, downs, scary, and happy times we can have hope when looking toward what will happen next.

So what are some of the things in my life that provide my margin of protection against the ravages of life? 

1.        A relationship with Christ. I’m told in Philippians 4 that I shouldn’t worry about anything and when I turn to Him when I’m in need, I will experience His peace which exceeds my understanding. And it will guard my heart and mind as I live.

I have seen this play out in my life and know that this is the most important sword and shield one can possess.

2.     Faithful Friends. These are the people that wipe the sweat off my brow, bandage up my lip, give me a sip of water, pat me on the butt and send me back out to face the world just a little bit stronger.

3.     Family Ties. I didn’t choose them and they didn’t choose me, but there is no turning away from it. They are family and they will love me unconditionally. A cultivated healthy relationship with family members can give you the gift of honesty while also proving a haven when times are tough and the world seems cold.

4.       Life Experience. One of my favorite quotes is:

 GOOD Judgment comes from Experience.

    And Experience comes from BAD Judgment.

Each tough situation that I go through reinforces the importance of utilizing each aspect of my margin of protection. Each defining turn in life is an opportunity to be more prepared for the next one down the road. If I’m watching and taking notes I can slowly become "LifeFit" and learn to better navigate through this adventure.