Year in Review: Fitness

This has been a pretty crazy year for my fitness, and while I like to think I have learned from it, I don’t really ever want to have another year like it. Lots of ups and lots of downs and lots of that somewhere in between, either way, it has been a year for the ages.

Back in the beginning of the year when I was home for winter break, I was still kind of just getting into CrossFit. I had already “drank the Kool-Aid” and thought it was incredible. I was watching every video on YouTube or the CrossFit games site, really anything CrossFit, I was either reading it or watching it. The best part about being home though was that I was able to finally work out at a CrossFit affiliate and actually do everything instead of just trying to make things work at the school gym. Since I was only going to be home for about a month, I honestly just looked for where I could get the most for my money for the month, and I found CrossFit Haven. It turned out to be way better than just a place to work out for the month. The coaches there are great and know what they are talking about; the programming seems to be quite solid and everyone that goes there is really nice too. I loved going there, and it was sad when I had to go back to school because I would have to go back to just kind of figuring out what I could do that wouldn’t get me in trouble at the gym.

Also in January I got my personal trainer certification in hopes that I would be able to get a job either at the school gym or somewhere to get some work experience. For those who don’t know, I eventually want to get into more elite level strength and conditioning coaching instead of personal training, but I can say that I do enjoy personal training and it is incredible to see people achieve their goals and do things they didn’t think possible. Since I want to do that coaching, obviously I need to have experience so personal training is the best way, plus getting paid isn’t too bad either.

For the rest of my spring semester, I was doing well. I was making progress on all my lifts with fairly basic programming, my conditioning was getting better, and I really wasn’t sustaining any injuries, not even minor ones. I loved working out; it was so much fun, plus my dorm was a 2-minute walk from the gym so it was so easy. Unfortunately though, new rules were being implemented, especially that of no more Olympic lifting. There were forums (which is where the assistant director of fitness and the coordinator of fitness staff got to know me) where I was very vocal while, I like to think, still being respectful in why we should still have the Olympic lifts allowed in the facilities. In the end though, the lifts were banned. By the end of the semester though, I ended up getting a job as a personal trainer and as weight/fitness staff (the people who walk around the weight room and supervise) so it was almost ironic that I went from being so against the staff and their rules to being a part of it, but I needed work experience, and getting paid for that stuff is just a bonus.

After school let out I had a phenomenal beginning to the summer. I was back at CrossFit Haven and I was going to be volunteering at the CrossFit Regionals that were taking place in Chicago. I already wrote about that experience here if you’re interested in more details, but it was amazing. I then went to work at my overnight camp and the absolute best intentions of still working out and not only maintaining but still increasing my lifts and conditioning. Things took a change, and being busy at camp happened so I was already working out less and less, but then something happened, and I just kind of stopped enjoying working out. I still loved the idea of fitness and learning about it and the idea of programming, but doing it myself, I stopped losing interest, and as such, I lost a lot of strength and my conditioning went down considerably.

Getting back to school in the fall, I had a rejuvenated desire to actually start working out again, but I had a strength focus instead of just regular CrossFit, so I did mostly strength work with the occasional rowing interval and regular metcon. I was doing well and getting near where I was before the summer but then I started having issues with my shoulder so I had to focus more on my legs and right around the time my shoulder started feeling better, you guessed it, my left knee started acting up. I wish I could say that my knee is completely better, but that would be a lie. It is getting better and stronger, but there are still days where it does hurt even from doing nothing at all. I will say though, I got the original Rehband knee sleeves, and they are phenomenal. They warm up my knees and give me good support without much restriction, and I think with those I will be able to make a lot of progress; I just hope I don't use them as a crutch and that my knee does get better. 

Now, I’m starting the new year, I’m focusing on technique while trying to build my strength back up and get back to a good level of fitness. I have also realized that while I do care about my fitness and want to be fit, that my main priority, and interest for that sake, is programming and coaching. Coaching someone else to their goals and finding what works and doesn’t, that absolutely fascinates me, and I hope that I’ll be able to do much more of that in this upcoming year. I have a feeling that this year is going to be much better for my own fitness, but also for the sake of coaching, training, and programing for people.

To 2014, may it be great for us all, and let’s all be great.