Chances are, if you’ve heard of CrossFit, you’ve probably heard stories about people doing these off-the-wall, crazy hard workouts and only eating protein shakes. Ok, take that image and scale it way down- that’s the CrossFit that I’ve fallen in love with.
Don’t get me wrong, the workouts are crazy hard, no matter your fitness level, but I love the modifications. CrossFit is designed to push every single person to their individual max. I have been in classes with young, competitive bodybuilders and older, keeping-up-my-strength people, and every one of us felt like we did the most that we could at the end. They might have added extra weights while I took the Beginner option down a few notches, and at the end of the workout, we all felt that we pushed ourselves to be stronger than we were before.
CrossFit = Community, Not Competition
This is partly possible because of how positive and supportive the community is. There is no competition between people. When you are new, everyone wants to get to know you and support you on your journey because they have all been there too.
This type of workout, where I’m only in competition with myself from yesterday, is exactly what I needed. While I have been working out the past few years solo in the basement, it just wasn’t the same as being in a class. I know for sure that I definitely backed down from a challenging exercise when working out alone more than I have when in class. I didn’t realize how much that element of other people wanting you to succeed helps to keep me going.
Functional Exercising Helps Daily Activities
And as a mom, there are so many crossovers, from CrossFit to daily life. Most of the CrossFit exercises are functional fitness-based exercises, meaning we are training in the strengthening movements we do all of the time. Think of how many times you lift a baby in a car seat, carry heavy toddlers in your arms, or squat to pick up the millions of things on the floor. All of those movements are mimicked in CrossFit with additional weights. Those off-the-wall exercises on social media are really for those showing off their incredible progress. None of those are typical in daily workouts.
Daily workouts are different every day. This keeps things interesting and all muscles challenged in different ways. It also forces us to do the things we don’t like and would otherwise skip (cough, I hate running cough).
CrossFit Is For All Shapes, Sizes, And Fitness Levels, Especially Moms
The most important reason I believe CrossFit is for moms is because we all have this incredible ability to keep going. You don’t get a break from pregnancy, you can’t pause labor. You have to push through tiredness to help a teething child in the middle of the night.
We are mentally stronger than we realize. That carries over in CrossFit. These workouts are crazy hard and are going to push you past where you are comfortable, AND we can do it. We can push through the hard because we have so much experience going through hard things as moms.
*If you are a new mom, please make sure you are cleared to begin exercising before starting anything. If you are pregnant or newly postpartum, check out our Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness Guide.
