My first impression of CrossFit before even hearing about Arsenal Strength was honestly not a good one. I had only seen photos on social media, and was sort of annoyed by how much people were talking about their workouts. I’ll admit that initially I didn’t fully know what all CrossFit entailed. However, I like to try new things, and am the type of person that wants to try everything at least once, so even though I had a bad impression of CrossFit, I figured I should give it a shot.
Since my first day at Arsenal, my impression has changed dramatically. The workouts are really difficult, but it is great to be able to push myself to limits that I wasn’t reaching while working out on my own. I really like getting down and dirty with the workouts, and doing a lot of exercises and weightlifting that I haven’t done since high school. Like I said, the workouts of the day can be brutally difficult, but the feeling of overcoming whatever task is set in front of me is really rewarding. Brooks does a great job of motivating me to overcome those daily physical obstacles.
The great thing about CrossFit is that because of the variety of exercises, everyone is good at something! I’m lanky, so anything where length is a benefit I have done well (e.g. rowing). Also, I do fairly well with core-oriented workouts. And since there is so much variety in terms of movements there is always something I can work to get better at. I want to be able to improve every time I come to CrossFit. The thing I like the most about CrossFit, and it is obviously sort of the point of CrossFit, is the ability to cross-train. I think that with time I’ll continue to get better in every aspect thanks to the well-rounded workouts.
I would be crazy to not bring up the fact that I beat an active 20 year old in a rowing competition in one of the first weeks of doing CrossFit. But overall, I would say my favorite experience is feeling accomplished when I walk out of the door every morning at 7:00am!