I’m usually not one to use unprofessional language… But I’ve been thinking on this title for a few days now. So here’s your warning now, if like me, you’re not a fan of curse words. I promise it’ll be mild because I’m not a fan… However, this phrase is really what I’ve been thinking of. I need that intensity to express the level of amazingness that I felt.
So here’s my story. Crossfit on Friday was an experience. I walked in uncertain of how it would go. Friday’s are usually metcons. Metcons are not my favorite. I really don’t like the pace because often times I get so out of breath that it scares me. I’m learning to deal with it and realize even my well in shape friends are just as out of breath. It just means I’m working hard.
So here’s what we did. We started our warm-up with three rounds of rows. We had to hit 100m. If we went over or under, we had to do a burpee for every meter. So, I got 103 and had to do 3 burpees. I ended up doing 3, 3, then 3. Woo hoo consistency!
We skipped stability because our coach knew this WOD would take a long time. The WOD was 5 Rounds For Time. We did a 12 calorie row, and a 200 m sled drag. It sounds simple enough, but we had a great amount of friends there and had to rotate with only 5 or 6 rowers and 5 sleds. The recommended weight for the sled drag for women was 70 lbs.
The 12 cal row went great. Got out to wait on a sled. I went ahead and did the 70 lbs the first round. I had never done a sled drag, but thankfully one of the other coaches went ahead of me, and she’s so awesome, that I just followed her. I was late enough that some people were coming back down the road ahead of me. I almost wanted to just stop and watch them. I looked at them and we usually all say, “Good job!” But…What I think I said a few times was, “Look at you!” I mean really… I wish I could have had a camera so people could see how awesome they were. I was literally surrounded by amazing people.
The first round I did the 70 pounds. It was beyond tough and I definitely struggled. So the next few rounds I dropped the weight. I was looking for sustained ability to keep moving at a reasonable pace. I did 45, 35, then 45 pounds. I got some great advice from another one of the coaches (we had several there this WOD) who told me to pull the straps up and get the sled closer to my body. I pulled from the shoulder through the middle and then yanked up the straps and ran in the last bit. We were supposed to rest for 3 minutes between. But I decided to rest 1 minute to catch my breath then did my row, because we had to wait to switch off the sleds. The last round I decided to up it to 70 pounds and to rock it out. Basically, applying everything I had learned from lowering the weight and using the techniques that worked on the lower weight rounds.
I could’ve stayed there and watched them all day long. I could’ve given a million high fives. I could have stood there with a camera and just shot a thousand photographs or recorded for hours. I was living and appreciating every second of the experience. This was a bad a** workout and my friends, are bad a** people. Not just because of their athletic ability. There were high fives, smiles, and words of encouragement. These awesome people were awesome inside and out. It was like an outbreak of awesomeness.
I stayed present in the moments, second by second. I was appreciating the amazing people around me. Everything else in the world slipped away. It was like a movie where the camera pans around to everything the character notices and you can tell they are so happy and thankful for this moment and it moving in slow motion. Nothing else in the world mattered. There was only good in the world. My troubles fell away. My stress and constant anxiety, stress over my kids, financial issues, my health and weight, anything and everything. In that moment, I was content and happy.
So I invite and encourage you to recognize these moments. Be present in these moments. These bad a** moments! The moments where you feel like you’re at home, right where your heart is. Those moments when you can encourage and accept encouragement. It doesn’t have to be at Crossfit. It could be any moment.
Just a few hours ago me, my husband, and our three kiddos went outside and we all were blowing bubbles. Well… We let the wind blow them because the wind is crazy today. They went around all over and you could see how the wind was moving. We were all smiles. That my friends was also a bad a** moment. I enjoyed every second of it.
Go seek out and recognize your bad a** moments. If you like, share some with us below! I’d love to hear what you think is one of your bad a** moments. I’m sending you lots of love and encouragement from my Common Sense Kitchen to yours. Don’t forget to come back next time and see more bad a** moments whether it’s in the kitchen, the Crossfit gym, or elsewhere.
-Ami M. Lee, Bad A** Crossfitter, Bad A** Momma, Bad A** Wife, Bad A** Common Sense Cook
The Common Sense Cook 