“I remember hating my body and wanting to lose weight since middle school.  I wasn’t over weight then but more so ahead of the development curve than other girls my age, so I thought I was fat.  In college, I actually started to put on weight and hit 170 pounds for my 5′6” frame.  I was a modern dancer all my life but the weight never seemed to come off.   I started using trainers at the gym, scaling down what I ate, etc etc and I finally shed to 155lbs. It wasn’t until a year or so later I was able to drop to the 140s and then eventually 130 while I was dancing intensely in NYC.  However, when I came back to Texas, i was suffering from depression, a serious breakup, and a dead end in my career with no job to back me up. The weight crept back on.  In August 2009 I had reached back to 155.  I was so ashamed because my previous weight of 170 was just a jump away.  It broke my heart that after all that hard work and the obstacles I had been through to slim down, I had gone right back to where I was. I couldn’t get control and I became more and more depressed about it.  I started with a nutritionist for a mild eating disorder and distorted body image.  That’s when i started CrossFit in August 2009.”

“I went to a free Saturday workout with my roommate and fell in love with the gym and the coaches (I met Heather here at the pull-up bar station!).  I had never lifted weights, butI knew after that first workout that this was a gym who saw results!  Most obvious, the amazingly sculpted and beautiful coaches that led the work out.  Wow, this place must work if all the coaches look like that!!”

“Since starting CrossFit I have dropped to 145-149 pounds, but most importantly I have gone from 32% body fat to 20.7%! I’ve seen the most results in my upper body, arms, and waist. My booty and legs will be the most difficult, but I have finally started to see results there and I can’t wait till it melts off! Crossfit has given me such an empowerment over so many things in my life, especially food.  I have a “no way am I eating that” attitude because I can see the work that I’m doing is paying off and I’m anxious to see how far the rabbit hole goes. While being restrictive and depriving in your food habits doesn’t always have positive effects, in fact most nutritionist frown upon this, the change for me was to not use food as a solution to everything.  If I fall into depression, instead of using food to comfort, I go do a workout to give me strength. I also have realized that I can have that Mexican food and those desserts whenever I want.  There’s no restriction necessary.  But now I am choosing to eat healthy (and not fighting it) because my body functions better.  Not because “I’m dieting.”  Mentally I’m better focused mainly because I’m getting up everyday to do something very active.  It keeps my mind clearer throughout the day.  It allows me to access the enjoyments in life by working out my anxiety through workouts.  When you’re a CrossFitter, there’s no room for BS in your life. period.”

“Sectionals came about because my wonderful trainer said “Hey I’m competing in this competition.  Hey you should do it too.”  The mere suggestion by her showed me that she actually had the confidence in me to compete in this thing, and she saw the spark and the drive that I had really sunk into the few months before. If it was an option for her, it was an option for me.  Once I started thinking about it, I was like “cool, I’m a weightlifter competing in a weightlifting competition.  I’m badass. “  I became addicted to the thought and thus began the journey.”

“Sectionals for me was bittersweet at first.  I was immediately disappointed with my performance (classic Lindsay). My goal was to finish all the workouts and I didn’t finish two.  But I left with a fire and a desire to rip someone’s head off next year.  As it sank in, I started examining the things I learned at Sectionals about my body, my weaknesses, recovery, strength training, endurance, nutrition, and injuries.  The truth is, I learned a whole heck of a lot and I wouldn’t change the experience for the world.  I saw amazing performances by some amazing people.  I want that. I can taste it.”

My future goals are to drop to 16% body fat, put on some mega muscle mass in the upper arms (I want my muscle up!), get that 6 pack I’ve always wanted, and slim down those legs!! I’m an actor and I want to be red carpet ready! So now my body won’t keep me from booking a job (like before) but will instead help me book the job.  My cardio still suffers (i’m an asthmatic) so just getting through long workouts is always a challenge.  I’d like to compete at Regionals next year (who knows, maybe even the Games)! In life, I want CrossFit to continue to promote healthy/conscious eating habits and a healthy state of mind.  The clearing of the mind and the perspective CrossFit gives me will help me pursue my life goals as an actor and, some day, as a wife.”

Lindsay, your story is empowering and very inspirational.  I’m honored to be your friend and coach. You have tenaciously stuck to your training and made enormous gains in strength and fitness and have met goal after goal.  I know your final goal is not far away! I can’t even begin to tell you how proud I am that you took on the challenge of training for and competing at Sectionals.  You did what thousands didn’t have the courage to do!  Well done!  Now, “On to the Next One!!!”

These CrossFit kids are working on their mental focus during a CrossFit WOD, which required concentration and focus during intense exertion.

5 Rounds:
10 Squats
10 Push Ups
10 Pull Ups
In between each round draw a card with a State name and then put a pin on the map identifying that State.

Yeah, but you can have spinach too!  Spinach is a super food! It is a good source of Niacin and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.

So eat up!

So my question is, “Why CrossFit?” The answer that I hope we find is, “We CrossFit for the sake of others.” The army sergeant trains five days a week so that he will be prepared for any combat situation, not just for himself or his country, but for the buddy next to him. The grandfather CrossFits so that he can conquer diabetes and watch his grandchildren grow up. The mom trains to set a good example for her children, and to prepare for the day when her two year old runs into the parking lot and she has to sprint after him to save his life. The de-conditioned co-ed CrossFits to lose 100 lbs and then becomes an inspiration to others. Being “CrossFit” is about being able to do something greater with your health, using your strength and training for the benefit of others.

The bible has something to say about it as well: “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” I Timothy 4:8

More to come on physical fitness and spiritual fitness…….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrJfOi5rnlU

Mark Rippetoes says that, “the main feature of a squat shoe is heel compressibility. The drive out of the bottom starts at the floor, where the feet start the kinetic chain. If the contact between the feet and the floor is the squishy gel or air cell of a running shoe, a percentage of the force of the drive will be absorbed by the compression of the cell. This compression is fine for running, but when squatting it reduces power transmission efficiency and prevents foot stability….Squatting in running shoes is like squatting on a bed. Many people get away with it for years, but serious lifters invest in squat shoes.”

Here is a great article by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore explaining more about the different kids of shoes for lifting ranging in price from Chuck Taylors for $40 up to the state of the art Adidas shoe for $200.

Below is R. Plukerfelder (USSR) in a deep split clean. These photos are from the European Weightlifting Federation.

Here is Lopatin, also a Soviet lifter, wearing an early model of the Soviet made weightlifting shoe.  Look closely and you’ll see that he hasn’t laced up his shoes completely for ankle flexibility.  He has even fashioned a crude metatarsal strap with his laces.

I am home from the Level 1 Crossfit Certification in Ft. Worth (I’m in the middle in the black tank top.)  It was a tough, informative weekend with some incredible trainers.  Lisa Ray, Jon Gilson, Chuck Caldwell, Tony Budding, Dutch Lowy, and Major Andrew Thompson of Crossfit Quantico were all phenomenal teachers.

I felt like a pony among thoroughbreds, but it was an incredible experience. We were all instructed on the nine fundamental movements/ technique along with corrections for all of them.  The pattern for the day was instruction, performance, repetition, correction, repetition, more correction. Tired? Lactic acid overload? Good, repetition, more correction. It’s amazing how heavy an 8 ounce pvc pipe can become after holding it over your head for two days. I needed a whole day to recover.  We heard lectures on: What is Crossfit, What is Fitness, Nutrition, Glycemic Index, Sick-Wellness-Fitness Progression, The Nine Fundamental Movements, and Programming.  I am on information overload. I loved the format of experiencial learning, and I’m really looking forward to my Crossfit Kids Certification later this month.

I would have not been able to complete this workout if I had been alone.  One of the things that struck me so strongly yesterday is the communal aspect of crossfit.  Five times a week I get together with a group of insane people and we force our bodies to do unbelievable things.  The slogan for crossfit is “Forging Elite Fitness” and of course this is true, but it would not be possible without the community.  I got to pull up number 82 and could have easily quit, but my coach was in my ear spurring me on, he knew I had more in me even though I wanted to stop.  Because I had friends around me encouraging me and believing in me, I completed the workout and posted a good time.  If I had been alone, I would have quit and failed.

Crossfit is such a good example of how ordinary people can overcome enormous obstacles and achieve great things together.  But the only way it is possible is in community.  Our lives as followers of Christ is no different.  Alone, I may set big goals for myself and strive to be faithful to the Lord, but I often fail because there is no one walking beside me.  But in a community of faith when we are working towards the same goal and supporting and encouraging one another we can finish the race together.  We can resist the temptation to doubt and fear because together we are strong.  Without accountability and support I would not only fail in crossfit but in my spiritual walk as well.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. ” Hebrews 3:13

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ” Hebrews 10:24-25