Friday, May 22, 2015

CrossFit- fun. functional. fitness

Kristin Jones, CF-L1
Co-Owner of CrossFit MontCo, East Norriton, PA

[Disclaimer- this is my first ever blog entry!]

A few years back, my fiancĂ© (Dave) and a friend (Brooks)-  attended a Kettlebell class in Mount Airy.  They came back to Manayunk exhausted but extremly enthused about the gym they had just worked out at.  They described this gym as one that had no machines- just some kettle bells, weights, some ropes and some big a$$ tires.  I immediately made a joking remark, "Hey you guys could open a place like that... I'll be the secretary!"
Photo Cred- Marissa Williams

...Little did I know, about 6 years later, I would be 9 months pregnant, part owner of a new box and leading our very first OnRamp session at- CrossFit MontCo [CrossFit lingo for Gym] I was more enthused than ever about my involvement in this next level of fitness in my life!

CrossFit was just coming into the mainstream fitness industry. Dave told me about how the actors in the movie 300 did a workout with 300 repetitions for time to prepare them for filming.  I still held the same position- "that's really cool- but not for me."  As a PE teacher and lifetime athlete I thought I could do everything on my own but the reality was I wasn't doing enough and was repeating the same workouts over and over and over again. At the time we were members at one of those large "Globo-Gyms" and it was always the same- bench,curl,press,treadmill, repeat.  One day, Dave convinced me to do a CrossFit style workout at this very busy, very tidy machine filled gym- Thrusters and Pull Ups (Jumping Pull-Ups for me) were on the Agenda.  For any of you CrossFitters, I'm sure the name FRAN just came to mind and you may have cringed a little.
  If you've ever been a member at one of these "Globo-Gyms" you know how we stuck out and the types of looks we were getting doing this weird 21-15-9 rep scheme for time...Not to mention I wasn't strong enough at that point for pull-ups so I stacked up some plastic aerobic step boxes and used the tricep pull down rope to complete Jumping Pull Ups in order to get my chin over the bar.  For a few months we used CrossFit main site to develop workouts- still getting those awkward looks and people asking us what the heck we were doing.

At this time, I was struggling to keep things together- on the cover, my life was great but something inside of me was eating me alive- ANXIETY had taken over. [I struggled a lot with anxiety in college but I attributed it to Dave's deployments and my school work]  I was in my fourth year teaching in a low income school in Philadelphia where many times I was wearing the hat of not only a teacher but a parent, counselor, doctor, coach, friend etc.  I can remember crying on a fairly regular basis and times where people would ask me what was wrong and I couldn't construct an answer- I just didn't feel right.

The year had just turned to 2012, CrossFit still wasn't super popular but people were starting to recognize the brand. Brooks had been a member at CrossFit Manayunk for a few months and Dave finally convinced me to give it a try-more BAD NEWS- CFMY'S OnRamp [Classes for beginner's to introduce members into the CrossFit Methodology, movements and standards] were sold out for months!  I have to give Dave credit for this one- he enrolled us in the intro class at another local CrossFit for a pricey fee [I contested because of the price] but a few weeks later we were getting started! We had to complete 6 introductory sessions in a small group with 2 coaches before we could attend regular classes. One Saturday, we had to do a make-up class and let's just say learning how to get yourself inverted hungover is not fun!  As soon as we were done we contacted David Lee and his wife Ana [who happens to be a killer Real Estate Agent in the area- click here for more info on her] and we were welcomed in the CFMY Army with open arms.




Day 1 at CFMY was definitely intimidating. We arrived a few minutes early for our first class and climbed the 4 stories leading to the converted gym on the 4th floor of the Manayunk Storage Facility. [Great way to start a workout, huh?] I still remember being extremely nervous approaching Ash, one of the coaches [now a great friend] and thinking Holy Crap, she's so strong.  She couldn't have been more helpful and encouraging.  As a lifelong athlete, I sized up my competition and proceeded to get crushed. For a while, I would not go to classes without Dave- it was still so scary walking those 4 flights to do this new crazy workout routine.

I didn't know it yet but CrossFit Manayunk was about to change my life for the better- not just physically but also mentally and socially!

2 comments:

  1. Holla coach!! Great 1st post!! So glad you joined:)

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  2. Haha took my long enough- not sure this is how ya do it- but this is what ya get! Excited to do more!

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