brand new

MagonElizabeth

HELLO!
I am brand-spanking new to Crossfit (meaning I have completed 1 WOD ) and I have some questions. My boyfriend has been doing Crossfit for a little over 2 years and completed Level 1 certification. He has been on me for a long time to do Crossfit and I finally caved. He is going to be coaching me through this and from what I have learned and done so far, I love it! It took me forever to get up the courage to go because there are so many strong, athletic, intense guys there and its intimidating. I mean, at my regular gym I completely avoided the "heavy lifting" section because I didn't want any of those people to judge me and think "who is she kidding?!" There are also a few girls (this is a very small box) and they are quite small, lean girls, but they are very strong. I am by no means lean OR small. I have about 60 pounds to lose to get to what I consider a goal weight! My fear is that I wouldn't "fit in" and wouldn't be able to do what these people do. My weakest body parts are my arms and abs...I can barely do a pushup...so you can see why I'm so nervous!

Here are my questions...
Like I said, I have quite a few pounds to shed and I understand that I will be gaining muscle so I'll try my best to ignore the damn scale :grumble: but is Crossfit the right thing for me to do if I'm this overweight?! I don't mind gaining muscle...I WANT to be strong and have some muscle definition...but there is a lot of fat to deal with! bottom line....I truly want to be a smaller person...not super thin or skinny, just smaller. I feel like a very large person and I HATE IT!

I love to run and I just got back into it about a month ago. Will I lose my endurance for it if I don't continue to run every day like I do now at my old gym? I won't have time to do both, and if I leave my current gym, I will have nowhere to run in the crappy winter months we have ahead. We tend to get lots of nasty snow and ice!

I don't know why this is so scary for me, but I feel like I am abandoning everything I know (which isn't much) about working out and starting all over with something completely foreign to me. Did anyone else feel this way?

I would ask my boyfriend all of this, but he wants me to do this so bad so he would just end up telling me what I want to hear! lol :laugh:

PS- if anyone has any pictures of themselves before starting crossfit and now, that would be awesome motivation!!

Thanks for your help!

Mummyadams

Hiya! Sorry I have no pics to share but have been doing CF for about 3 months now. While not hugely overweight i felt really heavy and ungainly when I started. As I have progressed (and remember I am still very much a newby) I can see the improvements and progression slowly. I only go 2 x a week but I LOVE it. I also go to the gym other days and it is costly but I love the variety and while I can afford it (well, hubby paid for my CF membership as a bday present) I will continue to do both.
One thing I have just done was purchased a specific pair of CF shoes (Inov-8 Lite 230) which have made quite a difference as they are so light and springy compared to my running shoes. I just feel lighter on my feet and feel it will really help me. Not only with my WOD's but also with my confidence to try new things. I can now box jump the same as the guys and even attempted a one legged box jump! So all I can say is do your own thing, dont worry about everyone else. They are probably so focused on themselves that they aren't even thinking about you. It's when you start reaching PB's that you will start shining!
If you can't do both CF & running perhaps you can do some work outs at home using DVD's to gain fitness?
Good luck, I am sure you will gain the confidence you are looking for within a very short period of time.

MagonElizabeth

thanks! I actually do some Jillian Michaels DVDs at home right now and I go to my local gym. I have been working out and changed my eating habits for a little over a month now and have started losing weight. I alternate working out at home vs. the gym 6 days a week. If I decide to continue with Crossfit (which is what I am leaning towards) I will end my gym membership and do Crossfit 5 or 6 days a week.

zookeepersuzy

Here are my questions...
Like I said, I have quite a few pounds to shed and I understand that I will be gaining muscle so I'll try my best to ignore the damn scale :grumble: but is Crossfit the right thing for me to do if I'm this overweight?! I don't mind gaining muscle...I WANT to be strong and have some muscle definition...but there is a lot of fat to deal with! bottom line....I truly want to be a smaller person...not super thin or skinny, just smaller. I feel like a very large person and I HATE IT!

I'm also overweight, I have about 30-40lbs more to lose, but I wish I had started crossfit 20lbs ago. I feel like the WODS work me more than I worked myself when I was running alone. I've only lost 2-3 lbs since starting (Mid-august) but I can tell I'm getting stronger. I need to eat better than I have been, I think that will help.

I love to run and I just got back into it about a month ago. Will I lose my endurance for it if I don't continue to run every day like I do now at my old gym? I won't have time to do both, and if I leave my current gym, I will have nowhere to run in the crappy winter months we have ahead. We tend to get lots of nasty snow and ice!

I run in my warmup & many of the WODS have running. If you LOVE it, you could do an easy run on a day off from crossfit. I wouldn't do both on the same day.

I don't know why this is so scary for me, but I feel like I am abandoning everything I know (which isn't much) about working out and starting all over with something completely foreign to me. Did anyone else feel this way?

YES!!

Don't be afraid to ask how to scale things you can't do yet.

Also- I wouldn't start off at 5-6 days a week. Your body needs rest!

FloEd

I've been CrossFitting since January. I am typically the largest, slowest person in my "class", usually finishing a timed WOD 2 to 5+ minutes slower than every one else and usually at lighter weights. I find that most everyone is very friendly and supportive, yelling encouragement to me after they are done. I just scale the workout to what I think I can handle. Sometimes I have to re-adjust the scale mid-WOD! I have gone in to many WODs thinking "there's no way I'm going to finish this one" but to date I've never had to bail.

I will say that when I was just CrossFitting I only lost about 9 pounds. Since I also started restricting cals I've lost another 10. Now I think I have to change the quality of the food since I still have a gut. But my rear is getting smaller and I actually have some biceps now.

I wish I had found CrossFit sooner. It is the only thing I've stuck with this long because it is always something new.

aggiejane07

You can run AND do cross fit. Start out slow with cross fit. Go 3x a week and run the other 3 days. Crossfit can easily be addicting but if you really do love running you should keep time for that too. I feel the same way. I started cross fit, got hooked and went 5x a week for a few months. I was getting stronger (noticeably. I've even been told by two of the coaches that I have had the most apparent improvements out of everyone who has started there since the box opened in april) but I didn't really lose any weight. I'm sure a lot of it was muscle moving in and body fat decreasing. Now I'm making myself go only 3x a week so that I can still run. The whole point is to be functionally fit and have a balance. I love to run. I love to cross fit. Now I can do both I'm training for a half marathon in december while doing cross fit and It's been working out fine so far. Good luck with everything

aggiejane07

also with the issue of the ugly winter months, check craigslist for treadmills. I bought one for less than $300 last year and I love having it at home.

mollieprice331

I started crossfit about 4 months ago. I love it. I go anywhere b/w 3 and 5 times a week (5 on a really good week) and even though I can't RX most of the workouts I love it. The community and everyone being so willing to help is what makes it so great.

I did a Bod Pod right before I started (it's a giant egg shaped machine that basically calculates your body fat.) When I first sat in it I was at 33% body fat and I can't wait to do another.

I haven't really seem a big weight loss at all, but I feel like my clothes are fitting better and I'm a lot more confident so I count it as a win. I don't focus so much on racing against others to get done. I take as much time as I need to do it properly and to gain as much as I can from the workout.

Hope you enjoy it!!