SAFUN

As noted in my previous blog entry, I have been trying out Alamo CrossFit. I finished my introductory 3 classes and officially signed up as of last Friday! I am excited about this new journey of meeting new friends and establishing a level of fitness I haven’t yet met.

I met with Rick Martinez, RN, owner of Alamo CrossFit, to sign the paperwork. When I met with him, I asked him about his gym and how he got started. His story was so simple, yet inspirational that I have to share it.

If you visit his bio page on the Alamo CrossFit website, you will see that he is a graduate of the nursing school at The University of the Incarnate Word. He has been a registered nurse since 1995 working primarily in the emergency room and trauma settings in Texas and around the country.

Before returning to San Antonio, he served active duty tour as an Army nurse at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. Here, he took care of wounded soldiers – our country’s heroes. These were men and women that put their life on the front lines to protect Americans, you and me.

Following his active duty, Rick could not return to the ER. He quotes:

“As an ER nurse I came face to face, day after day, with people who presented with problems that could have been avoided…maladies that they should not be suffering from…and all because we fail to take care of the number one thing…our health and bodies. I always asked myself, what if this person had the proper coaching, nutrition guidelines and fitness program toget fit and STAY fit?”

He has been active in sports his entire life – soccer, running, triathlons, adventure racing and martial arts- and has been involved in CrossFit for quite some time. So instead of going back to the ER, Rick followed his passion to become a professional trainer and help others live a more fit and healthier lifestyle. Along with his wife and children, he resides in San Antonio and owns and operates Alamo CrossFit.

He has started his own following in San Antonio creating a circle of family and friends that are passionate about staying healthy and fit through hard work and dedication. He only accepts people that are committed 110% and nothing shy of that.

I find his story to be so inspirational. The American culture gets so caught up with money – how much can I make and how fast? What about asking yourself what are you passionate about? How can you use that passion to help others follow their passion? This should come first. Once you ask yourself that question, success (and happiness) can only follow.

Get your butt off the couch and follow your passion! And remember there are people out there suffering more than you and they are still making the best out of their situation.

I challenge myself too because I know I haven’t yet reached my potential, not even a fourth.

First time I heard about Crossfit was at Thanksgiving dinner last year. I had just finished the San Antonio Rock n Roll marathon and I was looking for a new challenge that didn’t involve running another marathon. I like running but 26 miles was getting old. I wanted to reduce mileage and focus on speed. This means that I needed to get fit. My aunt’s husband, Mark, told me about Crossfit. Mark bikes and lifts weights on a consistent basis. He maintains pretty good fitness. He had just started doing Crossfit.

CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

Mark said that he never felt so much in shape in his life. Crossfit helped him get more lean and has actually helped him run longer distances and at faster speeds. I wanted to know more.  He invited me to a free Crossfit session at the Medical Center one Saturday morning. My sister and I went. We started off with a few stretches. Then we went to the grass area where stations were set up. We basically ran back and forth to stations where we did kettle bell lifts, push ups, sit ups, squats and frog jumps. We had to do as many as we could under a certain time frame. It was awesome! I felt like I was in high school all over again. That was in November. 6 months have gone by and I still hadn’t committed to anything. The gym that Mark goes to is far from my home and I was looking for something located more conveniently. I started to do some research. There are many gyms that offer Crossfit but that wasn’t their specialty. It came down to Alamo Crossfit. Still not closest to my house but closer and more convenient than the other gym. Plus I have heard so many wonderful things about this gym. I had to check it out.

I emailed Rick with Alamo Crossfit and he said I could attend the Tuesday class. I showed up a bit early. I really had no idea what to expect. I walked in and there were a bunch of guys working out – like UFC type guys. Hand stand push ups and all. It was nuts. I was thinking to myself “Where the heck am I?” As it got closer to our class time, more normal people showed up. Apparently the class before was for the elite that actually competed. Phew!

Since it was my first day, I had a personal trainer and we went through the “Baseline Workout.” The Baseline Workout is something every beginner has to go through. If I remember correctly, this is what it is: 500m on the rowing machine, 40 squats, 30 sit-ups, 20 push-ups and 20 chin-ups. The only thing I was worried about was the chin-ups because I never do chin ups. Everything else should be pretty straightforward. So we started. I started a bit slow on the rowing machine but began gaining speed. Craig (the trainer) pushed me to go faster and I did. From there, I went to squats then to sit-ups and where I started feeling it was at the push-ups, I finished the 20, just slower than I expected. Then was the chin-ups. So what we do is get a step so I can reach the bar. At the bar we tied a rubber band and pull it to the bottom so I can put my foot down to stretch the band in full length. This is to help me get some push while I pulled my body up. My arms felt like jello. I seriously kept stopping and ended up doing them in 2’s. Something funny happened though during the chin-ups. Since I was feeling weak, my legs couldn’t stabilize. My rubber band ended up popping out from under my foot and went right in between my legs, like into my crotch. So there I was hanging from the band. Poor Craig was trying to help me but it was such an awkward position. So embarrassing to say the least! I laugh now but at that point, I felt so weak and helpless. I finally finished in 10:30 min. I guess if I didn’t have the rubber band fiasco, I could have done way better. They said that the Baseline Workout will always kick your butt no matter how long you have been doing Crossfit – your goal should always be to increase your time. It looked simple on the board but not so much in real life. Crossfit Level 2 peeps have finishing times starting at 6 min. That is my goal.

I liked Crossfit so much that I decided to give it another try. Today we did full squat jumps with a 15lb bar for 1 min straight, rest 1 min and another straight minute. I finished with 28 and 26, totaling to 54.

Then we did shoulder lifts. We were looking for our max, within 7 tries. I was with 3 other girls. These girls were awesome. 2 were somewhat new and the other girl had been doing it for a while. I did the least max at 55lbs. The highest was 70lbs. Another goal.

That’s what makes Crossfit so cool. You are always setting goals. Beat this time, lift this weight, add more reps. Every work out is different so you never know what to expect. They are lonly 45 min so they are high intensity. And you are working with others so everyone is pushing each other, cheering each other on. We were a team.

Alamo Crossfit, in particular, is like a family. Many SA law enforcement officials attend this gym including SWAT. It’s like Cheers, where everyone knows your name. I really liked it and think I am going to stick with it.

Also, Alamo Crossfit takes photos at every workout. So yes, they have some photos of me. I am going to use these to motivate myself and strive to get better.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alamocrossfit/3531719337/in/set-72157618071657343

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alamocrossfit/3531727757/in/set-72157618071657343/

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