I will copy what I posted on the other thread from a new crossfitter.

Expect to be very sore. Learn to love the foam roller (embrace the pain) and mobility work.

Remember that while right now the warmup might seem like it's own killer exercise, it gets easier fast. I knew I was making progress when I finished a warmup and was thinking "cool now I'm ready to do this WOD" instead of sucking wind. Those warmups will go a long way to alleviating the soreness too.

If you're sore and still, go to the gym anyways. It will help.

Focus ENTIRELY on form and technique to start. Get the movements right, scale the weights if necessary, don't worry about intensity. Once you can do things the right way, THEN start upping the intensity. If you have questions about form, ask. I went to all the coaches and told them to never, ever think I'd be made if they stopped me and corrected something I was doing.

Keep an eye on your diet. I lost 20 lbs immediately and then have stabilized for a year because I was not paying proper attention to my diet. You can't out-train bad eating. Don't be crazy about it, just keep an eye on it.

I think someone posted a good meme here that I'll repeat:

It will take about one month/six weeks for you to feel the difference in your strength.

It will take another six weeks for you to notice the differences

It will take another six weeks for other people to notice.


Paleo is a great diet and I stick to it about 80% of the time (100% right now, we are doing a team Paleo challenge at the gym.) Our coaches always say you can't out-train a bad diet and they are right. I am much stronger now after a year of Crossfit, but I have not lost the weight I need to lose because I have not properly focused on my diet. I'm using this challenge to make sure the changes made this month keep me moving forward and get me down to where I want to be.

I'd love to get my first strict pull up before year's end and losing weight is by far the biggest thing that will let me achieve it.

Thanks Bostonwolf! I already have a foam roller, and yes love it! I am not getting too sore; tired, stiff, but not too bad. The trainers are amazing and always hang around and keep an eye on me (and everyone else). I could not even pretend that I could do the WODs without scaling but I dont care what others are doing around me. They are inspiring rather than me wanting to do the same as them at the moment. Haha, the warm ups are pretty intense, but again I enjoy the challenge. I guess I am lucky in that I have not come in to this with no fitness, not much, but not nothing. And I can already tell I am improving, so that's motivating in itself.

I have two weeks holiday coming up in a week and I am looking forward to being able to focus on crossfit and diet for a fortnight.

Thanks for the response.

The first time you roll your IT band will be a revelation, and not necessarily in a good way. After a while your body gets used to it though.

Good luck, nice that you have two weeks to focus on it without distractions!

Hello Emma,

Welcome to Crossfit!

I have been doing Crossfit for 15 weeks and I just love it! I started the first month with only two classes a week which was perfect because I needed more time between workouts to recover. On the second month I started doing 3 classes a week and some times 4 because I am making up a Saturday I missed. I also started Paleo diet on the second month and I have lost quite a bit of weight yet I always feel strong when working out.

I am not 100% Paleo, I call it 97% with a focus on eating a lot of protein to feed my muscles and staying away from processed foods as best as possible.

I am just like you, I am inspired by others at my Box. I cannot even believe how much I have progressed in just under 4 months!

Good luck to you and enjoy!