You may be thinking, “Great, just another CrossFitter letting everyone know they do CrossFit.” But, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. My roommate in grad school belonged to a box, but listening to him talking about it drove me nuts. Also, I couldn’t believe the membership price thinking it was a rip-off. There was fruit stacked for juicing, chicken, bacon and piles of avocados. This was ridiculous. “My gym membership is just fine,” I remember thinking.
Fast forward to marriage, kids and a career as a CPA. Working long hours primarily sitting down in front of a computer screen was beginning to take a toll. Being in my mid-thirties, I have become increasingly aware that I am no spring chicken. To add insult to injury, my wife once told me that the dad bod was actually in style; ouch!
I have always enjoyed being active, but my increasing responsibility began keeping me from doing much outside of work and family. I was throwing money at a gym membership that I didn’t use and regretting that I didn’t go.
My wife finally talked me in to trying out a local box in Phoenix, Chuckwalla, in January of this year as they had a free week incentive (I sent my old roommate a text that Hell had frozen over). It was humbling, and I felt muscles sore I didn’t know existed. On a brighter note, I noticed new people joining for similar reasons.
I will admit that I am quite awful at most of the CrossFit movements, but the coaches and others have motivated me to do better. After going for several months now, I began to realize other benefits outside of finally getting this dad bod moving again.
1. It saves me time. Chuckwalla is within five minutes of my house and I show up with a set workout in place. There is really no wasting time and the coaches will let you know when you need to move on.
2. I feel more energetic during the day, and I get better sleep at night, which allows me to better focus on my work.
3. It’s motivating. You workout and huff and puff around the same people, which creates a common bond among everyone there. Rather than go into a gym where people are literally on the phone and texting, everyone is doing the same workout. I have found being motivated in one area translates to motivation in other areas. This couldn’t be more helpful especially as a CPA!
4. It’s helping me to achieve new goals. There are movements that I can’t do right now, but I am sweating off weight, gaining strength and learning techniques so that one day I can do something called a “muscle-up”. This then helps me to think about setting other personal and professional goals.
I am not advocating that CrossFit is the only way to go, but as a busy professional it sure has been a blessing to me.

#Chuckwalla #CrossFit #Productivity #Motivation #Energy #CPA