A little research on the history of CrossFit will tell you that before we had commercials and Reebok sponsorships and nationally televised games, CrossFit was like the underground after-hours club of fitness. It was done in garages and warehouses and basements. Now, with CrossFit exploding from something like 500 boxes a few years ago to 4,000 boxes today (I guarantee you're chuckling right now, Sam.......grow up) people have more of a choice on where they want to work out and I can't help but wonder what makes someone choose one over another.
When I decided I wanted to start CrossFit, I did a quick Google search and CFGR was the first box I found. I emailed them that evening, set up my beginners class, and never looked back. Bing, bang, boom. Done and done. I don't fuck around. Though CFGR was actually the first CrossFit affiliate in GR, it went into a small hiatus for a few years and had a grand re-opening last October. I started a week or so after it opened and back then, there were days when I was the only one in class. For awhile, I was the only girl and then slowly, one by one, people started showing up. Some came and went, and some have stuck around. Some come once or twice a week and some are there nearly everyday. Some I rarely see unless I sneak out of work for a lunch class and some I will likely never see because I avoid the 6am classes if at all possible.
I'll admit - CFGR isn't the prettiest box. Ha....even I had to laugh at that one. Anyway, it's not. It's literally in a steel factory. When we needed more room, we broke into a wall and expanded into the next door room which, no joke, has wood panels. 70's porn anyone????....bow chicka bow wow. There are no showers and we share bathrooms with the factory workers. They're scary. Sometimes we have to modify our wods so that people start at different points if we have a big class and not enough equipment to go around. As Whitney likes to say, some of our weights were dropped off from the factory and look like they were survivors of the Titanic. We have one rower. We make our own wall balls and sleds. So why do I still go here, you ask? Because why would I not?
CrossFit is not about cute colored kettle bells and fancy equipment. Would that be nice? Hell yeah! I like pretty stuff. I sometimes wish we had a little bit more but I never focus on that for long. In the 10 months I have been at the gym, we are constantly bringing in new equipment. We have new bumper plates, new pull up bars, new jump ropes .....and it keeps coming. I'm sure eventually we may even have to move as we're slowly outgrowing our space but whether that happens in a week, a month, or a year makes no difference to me. We may never get another rower (actually, I hope we don't....Sam take that off the list) but I will never, EVER change boxes unless I absolutely have to. You know why? My coach is at CFGR. My friends and team are at CFGR. Those are my people and that is my home. They know what I excel at and what I struggle with. They know how to push me when I don't feel like pushing myself. They know when to tell me to suck it up and put more weight on the bar and they know when to back off and help me add some bumpers to my little girl box when my legs just don't want to jump that day.
She'd school me
I did my very first double under during a team wod with Skuke. Actually, I did my first handstand with Skuke too. Maybe he's good luck. Whit knows how much it means when I nail my box jumps. Sam can tell me exactly how much weight I can handle on my lifts, even when I don't want to believe him. Lisa E. makes me laugh every single day and Lisa T. works with me in making sure Lisa E. works to her potential when she's being lazy. Marc is convinced I can climb the rope and I love watching Katie say she can't do something two seconds before she does it flawlessly. I will always expect Steve to make fun of himself for his "dip-ups", Angie to get excited about how strong her forearms are and Dan to be super encouraging, even when he's struggling. Marcia just impresses the hell out of me all the way around and I can't wait until JJ hits her first muscle-up. I stay because Amanda is the most energetic person during every single wod that she makes you remember that it's supposed to be fun. I could go on and on and on about these people and everyone else that I have the pleasure of pushing my limits with every single day but this blog would never end.
What's so great about my box? The people inside it. And they're worth more than any pink kettlebell or fancy locker room or cool-kid reputation. I'd put my box up against yours any day, just as I'm sure you'd do for your own (ok, I had to get one more in there before I ended this post). That's the beauty of this sport and I wouldn't change it for anything.
Now, I said I'd post recipes sometimes and since my dinner was super delicious tonight I thought I'd share.
Chicken and Veggie "Pasta" with Fresh Pesto
Spaghetti Squash - Did you know you can cook this in a crockpot? Pierce it a few times so it doesn't explode and throw it in with a few cups of water and let it go low all day or night and boom!
Broccoli - Organic and local from the farmers market
Garlic - Organic and local from the farmers market
Shallots
Tomatoes - from Amanda's garden
Pesto - Homemade with fresh organic basil from, you got it, the farmer's market
Chicken from Creswick Farms - purchased at the co-op
Pesto is so easy to make. Some basil, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and you have the base for a pesto. It also calls for pine nuts but because I always have raw blanched almonds in my freezer, more times than not I add these. Plus they give a nice crunch. Some people also add cheese to their pesto (parmesan for example) but I don't think it's necessary so I don't. Plus we're going for #paleo baby!
Anyway, I threw the veggies in a pan with some good Italian olive oil (is there any other kind??) and the smallest smidge of butter. It looked like this -------------------->
While that was going, I sauteed some chicken breast that I pounded thin and cut into pieces (salt and pepper always people.....on everything). When it was all done, I threw everything into the pan, mixed the pesto into the squash, topped it with the chicken and veggies and sent Whitney a text about how jealous she should be about my delicious dinner.
And THAT, my friends, is what can come out of a simple trip to the farmers market! Until next time...........
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