There’s a quote I love in a passage I love even more written by Frida Khalo. It reads, “Don’t lose too much weight. Stupid girls are always trying to disappear as revenge, and you are not stupid”. Without even trying to, Frida sheds an enormous amount of light on how the majority of women and girls are approaching exercise. There is one part of this that Frida gets wrong. Girls like this are not stupid but misinformed. Today, we focus on being thin. That is the society and culture we are a part of. Any girl, including myself, can probably look back at some point when they were lost in a monotonous routine of treadmills and crunches and salads with low-fat dressing, trying endlessly to become as small as could be.
This is not what working out is. If there is anything I am thankful for, it’s the past year that I’ve spent falling in love with CrossFit. CrossFit has changed my attitude, love, and respect for working out and has taught me so much about what fitness really is.
Muscle is a word that scares girls because “strong” is a word that’s typically associated with men. A woman who is strong; physically, mentally, or emotionally, is a force that can’t be stopped. Being strong shouldn’t be something that’s associated with “manly” women, it should be something that’s associated with all women.
CrossFit taught me that working out is not about working until you disappear. It’s about setting goals and working hard every day until you reach them. Fuel your body, strengthen your body, and become as present as you can. Strive to be strong. Build yourself up, both literally and figuratively. Muscle will give you a better figure than just losing fat ever could.
CrossFit taught me that working out is not about immediate results, and it never will be. There’s no such thing as a quick fix or miracle diet. Results come from raw hard work and dedication. It is infinitely more rewarding to know that you have worked for what you have achieved.
CrossFit taught me that women are 100% just as capable as men in literally everything. I often find myself wondering if someone will put my barbell and weights away for me because I’m a girl. Then, when I realize what I’m thinking, I laugh and think “I just spent 20 something minutes squatting this weight overhead, and now I want someone to put it away for me?” Women in CrossFit are just as accountable for reaching their goals, hitting their weight, and working their body as men are.
CrossFit taught me that working out is a group effort. Women see other women at the gym as competition, silently judging who’s walking instead of running or who’s wearing shorts that are too short. You will never find that in a CrossFit box. Watch a video of the CrossFit games, and you will see the finished athletes cheering for their opponents to get one more rep. Walk into a CrossFit box, and you will see more enthusiasm given to the last person to finish than you could imagine. There is nothing but genuine love for the sport and a mutual respect for those that love it with you. Women need to start looking at other athletic women as inspiration, not competition.
I remember walking into my first CrossFit box in Downtown LA like it was yesterday. I will never forget the ball of nerves as I walked up to the door. Looking back at that today, I am so thankful I went because Trojan CrossFit has become my second home. Call it a cult or a phase or whatever you want, but CrossFit is changing the face of exercise and fitness all over the world. CrossFit is creating athletes who are accomplishing things they never thought were possible, and that is what fitness is.
