Like all businesses, we need to be able to recruit new members based on how we’ve done and how that could happen for overs. We’ve asked a lot of folks to write us a story that would use showcase our results — a special anecdote that really describes what we do and how it works. In our time over 9+ years, we’ve gotten a lot of stories, and they’re all great. But none are greater than the ones that are unprovoked and unannounced like this one, from an amazing athlete named Irish (last name redacted – if you know her, you know her).
When I started at CFKI in August 2018, I didn’t trust my body. It had let me down on a couple of major occasions making my mental limitations for what I could or would do physically very restricted. This was not me. I used to throw discusses, hammers, and javelins over 100 feet. I would cartwheel and do handstands randomly just because I could.
During my initial training sessions or “on-ramp” at the Box with Coach Ryan, I had trouble jumping onto a platform about a foot high. I was scared. Would I trip and fall? If I did, would I hurt my arms trying to catch myself and/or twist my back in the process? Ryan could see my potential but was very patient with my lack of confidence.
For a few months, I scaled the jumping movements. Instead of jumping into the 20” box, I did step ups. Then, we did a workout that tested how high we could jump. Coach Alicia suggested that instead of jumping onto boxes, if we felt more comfortable doing so, we could pile up mats. We started at 20” and worked our way up. By the end of the session, I found my actual limit for that day, 30”. Well, that changed my mind about the 20” box… it looked way shorter than it used to and I started practicing and completing workouts jumping instead of stepping on the box.
Then, this past Friday, our workout included a “high” box jump of 24”. It looked super tall when I started my warmup. I reverted back to step ups but then I just took a step and jumped. Both feet landed together and I stepped off the back of the box. After a few more, my confidence caught up to my abilities and I completed the workout 9-6-3 (reps) of 105lb snatches and 24” burpee box jump overs (where you have to do a burpee then jump onto and over the box) for time. Before the second round of burpee-box jump-overs, I was tired, out of breath, and my legs were flagging. I had to take a deep breath, center myself, and just start with one.
Irish’s story is not uncommon, we work with people that are unsure of themselves every day. But Irish’s story is motivational in that she stuck with it, has achieved results, and is still going!!
This post goes out to Irish, Ryan, Floyd, and everyone that is fighting hard to keep a life of fitness, family, and faith alive in our communities.
Ryan