It’s been about 8 months (and 35 pounds) since I started working out at CrossFit Eastside in Redmond. I’ve managed to become completely addicted to it. When I started I would go three times a week for the (typically more laid back) morning classes. Now I’m there five nights a week working with the so-called fire-breathers. At first, I definitely didn’t belong in that class. I’m sure that Michael and Carrie were (and probably still are) irritated with having a newbie in the advanced class. Typically, they suggest that newcomers spend some time in CF Eastside’s ‘elements’ classes to gain familiarity with the movements and the routine. I basically bypassed those – electing to just jump in to the deep end and either sink or swim. The patience and restraint that Michael and Carrie showed in not kicking my ass was substantial.

It’s only been recently that I’ve started to feel like I’m not a total newbie chump during workouts. I now feel like I can do pretty much all of the workouts ‘as prescribed’ (i.e., without reducing the weight/reps/distance) and it’s been a while since someone stopped me in the middle of a workout to prevent me from killing myself. I’m still near the tail of the pack on a lot of things, but at least I can generally keep the pack in sight.
My list of CF goals for last year was fairly conservative. I wanted a muscle-up, 30 pull-ups, and a sub-10-minute time on Fran. I managed to get 2/3 as I was only able to get to 26 pull-ups. This year’s list is going to be a bit more ambitious:

• 2.5 x Bodyweight Deadlift
• 2 x Bodyweight Squat
• Bodyweight Overhead (Clean & Jerk)
• 30 Pull-ups
• 5 Muscle-ups
• All CF Named Workouts ‘As Prescribed’
• 6:30 Fran
• 750 CrossFit Total Score
• 5 Freestanding Handstand Pushups

I’m close to some of those goals (bodyweight C&J, for instance) – but some of them are going to take some real work. At the very least, I’ll have fun trying!