The only weight I panic about now is my back squat weight!
I can sit here and tell you I used to weigh 300 plus lbs and that CrossFit helped me but I’m not. I’m going to tell you that CrossFit changed my attitude, I went from having an obsession with my bathroom scale to working at a 200 plus pound deadlift. I signed up at Rodney’s Revolution a little over 2 years ago for spin classes to add more cardio into my daily routine between running, Pilates, personal trainers, and downright just burning out my body with zero results. I’ve always had personal trainers or tennis pros telling me count your calories, increase your cardio you will slim down, try this shake or these pills- nothing worked. CrossFit introduced Olympic lifts, gymnastics, very high intensity movements that increased my muscle strength and changed the shape of my body entirely. I actually have definition and curves now.
In the beginning CrossFit didn’t appeal to me, I didn’t want to try a workout that I would always come last in. But after weeks of encouragement and the intense excitement people in the gym had over this thing called CrossFit, I attempted my first WOD. I came dead last but I completed it. As months went on I added a few CrossFit classes but I still couldn’t let go of my personal trainer. I doubled workouts with CrossFit and the gym, until I realized I was fed up of stressing over what the scale said- someone once told me I’m not a provision stop jumping on a scale.
So I started with one a week,then two a week, now I’m up two classes twice a day. It’s all I want to do most days. I owe a lot of my CrossFit eagerness to our coach at CrossFit 12-12-12. I never had someone believe in me like Rodney does in all his athletes. ‘Smallz’ is the guy that pushes us to new expectations and encourages us to come up with goals; he is always there to guide us when we fall off our paleo/zone wagon. And that was it- I drank the juice; I took the pill; I cut everything out of my daily routine to CrossFit. I love it so much I try to get as many WODs a day as possible.
CrossFit not only gave me new goals, it helped me to achieve and develop a sense of pride in myself. At the beginning of this year with very little training I completed my first half marathon in 2 hrs 36 minutes- something I have wanted to do for years and with the encouragement of my friends at CrossFit 12-12-12 I finally did it. Now instead of quitting my diet or giving up on the gym I have found an entire box of crazy people that I can’t live without who are my support crew, they push me everyday to accomplish things I never thought I could. I used to feel like I was running on a treadmill that never cut off, now I feel like I’m on an adventure race with new obstacles and goals to attack and I owe most of my changes to my woodland creatures of CrossFit 12-12-12, and our coach. Thanks ‘Smallz’!!!
– Jamie Hadeed
