I've never valued the importance of health, nutrition, and exercise until I joined CrossFit City Limits in January 2017. As a health care provider, I should know better since I myself give health advice, but I didn't practice what I preached. I don't have much of an athletic background besides some martial arts as a kid and PE class in school. Throughout college, I would watch some online videos on quick easy workouts before heading to the gym, but I lacked confidence in what I was doing therefore I never enjoyed it, rarely went, and, even then, never felt like I really got a good workout in.
I moved to Austin summer of 2016 where I met someone who had been doing CrossFit for some time. He convinced me to try CrossFit City Limits and to meet Kyle. I was hesitant at first since I had no real experience with weights and was worried about injuring myself, but I finally decided to sign up for free introduction class with Kyle. That first class was eye opening. I was taught about what the gym was all about, proper technique, and did a workout. I had never been physically challenged like that before in my life. I had to take many water breaks during the workout and, in fact, I couldn't even finish the whole workout! But Kyle was very encouraging, helped keep me motivated, and made sure my form was good throughout. Although the workout was extremely challenging, afterwards, I felt empowered. I was still unsure, but knew I was in good hands to try this stuff out.
For the next year, I stuck with it and slowly built confidence in my performance and ability and saw tremendous improvements. For example, I worked up to back-squatting 35 pounds my first month at CrossFit City Limits, but 1 year later I was up to 115 pounds and injury-free (with the coaches' help). More importantly, my progress inside the gym has made its way to my everyday life. I feel better about myself mentally and physically since I started routinely working out. I may not necessarily feel stronger the moment I leave the gym but my mental health has improved, especially after a stressful day of work. I know this doesn't sound much, but being happier every day adds up fast. Before I joined the gym, when I attempted to hike Big Bend, I was extremely frustrated with myself that I couldn’t keep up with the hiking group. I can now keep up with my hiking partners without even a second thought.
Not only have the coaches been supportive, but so has the overall community. I can say that I've made lifelong friends by sharing classes and experiences with people in the gym. Even though I had never considered myself athletic growing up, I am definitely the fittest and strongest I ever been and I can't wait to see how much more progress I make this year. Thank you CrossFit City Limits!
