Now, I’m sure you’ve heard this before. I know I’ve heard my
coach say many a time that if we want to get better we need to eat more,
mobilize more, practice our weaknesses and drink less. Those are the obvious
sacrifices for any athlete.
I’m speaking specifically to women about this one – getting
better at CrossFit means sacrificing our (and society’s) body ideals. Now what
do I mean by this? I will explain with a story…
About 6 weeks ago I started a strength and conditioning
program from Catalyst Athletics. At the same time I
started an eating (I don’t like the work “diet”) program from Eat to Perform. Long story short, I was eating more and lifting more
with the end goal of getting stronger.
So, I ate a lot of protein (150g/days) and added in more
starchy carbs. In the beginning I felt a little bloated – like I was drinking a
case of a beer each night, but I knew I had to see this thing through. After a
few weeks the bloat went away and I was slowly but surely feeling stronger.
A couple days before my testing day I decided to try on this
fabulous dress I bought a few months ago for a friend’s wedding coming up the next
weekend. I absolutely fell in love with the dress – it was more than I wanted
to spend, but it just looked amazing and was posh enough for this NYC wedding.
Well, the dress didn’t fit…I was too nervous to even try to sit down in it,
there was no way I was busting any moves on the dance floor and I would even
need someone to go to the bathroom with me! This obviously was not going to
work!
At this point I was devastated. I’m a girl, I loved this
dress, and now it doesn’t fit.
The next day I went into the gym and told my male coach my
extremely girly problem…at the end of the conversation I said, “I better PR on
my lifts!” Obviously, not really into my tremendously girly problem, he kept it
short and said, “you will…”
It came to testing day and needless to say, I was ringing
the PR bell like no one’s business! Below are my before and after numbers:
- Snatch: 105 - 125lbs
- Clean & Jerk: 125 - 140lbs
- Back Squat: 180 - 200lbs
I was beyond excited! 125 was always my “dream” goal for my
snatch and after I stood up with that barbell, did a dance, and dished out some
hugs – with a smile on my face I said, “that was totally worth my dress not
fitting!”
We all make sacrifices. I had to sacrifice how I viewed my
body in order to get stronger. My legs, butt, and arms are all bigger…infact, I
think I only have one pair of jeans that actually fit now! But, I’m fine with
that. I will take bigger thighs and ass if that means my lifts go up and my
times go down.
You have to decide if you are willing to make the sacrifice.
I leave you with this quote: “Sacrifice is giving up
something good for something better.” - Unknown
**below are videos of my snatch and clean & jerk PRs...not the prettiest jerk - something I know I need to work on, but I'll take it!
**below are videos of my snatch and clean & jerk PRs...not the prettiest jerk - something I know I need to work on, but I'll take it!
Meghan Prunty is a Holistic Health Practitioner and Fitness Coach. I work with athletes of all ages and skill levels to perform to their optimal ability in sport and life. We work together to form a set of goals for your sport, relationships, career, nutrition and lifestyle. From these goals we formulate a game plan for you to meet and exceed your goals.
For more information or to sign up for your free 50 minute consultation please visit www.therealrx.com
