Welcome to "The Box"

So today was THE day - My first day at a crossfit gym. It has been a mixture of excitement and absolute terror and so its not surprising that now, I am completely drained. My hands are extremely sore, I have bruised my thumbnail and muscles ache that I was never aware of having but I am also extremely proud of myself. Today I have taken a step, that 3 month ago I would never dreamed of doing. I have managed to prove to myself that I CAN do anything, no matter how scary it is, if I just put my mind to it and summon up some determination. Never let obstacles get in the way of what you want to do.

Crossfit Britannia in Portsmouth is on top of a very big hill, and as today was particularly sunny, I could see straight out over Langstone Harbour. If I had had any breath left from cycling up that hill, then the view would have taken it away!

I owe a big thank you to Michelle Abrahart, as from the moment I entered the gym she made me feel at ease. I think I would have easily bolted straight out the door if it had been for her friendliness. I think it also helped that it was just me and her there, going through the fundamentals. We quickly ran through what I knew (very little), what I didn't (so much!) and what crossfit actually is. After this was out of the way, she asked me to perform a squat to see how good my form is.... queue an awkward laugh! I have been so worried that it would turn out that had been using shocking form the past 2 months...

It turns out that I lead with my knees and trying to correct this requires a lot of thought! However, apart from that I think the rest of my form wasn't too bad... I think! :P

Next was learning the front and overhead squat. The overhead squat has scared me for sometime now as I feel that my upper body strength cannot cope with keeping that bar up. With more than a few tips, I think I could now attempt to do this move with a lot more confidence in myself.

Fast forward to pull ups. I can now do one un-assisted pull up and halfway back up to the next one! Massive achievement for me and something tick of my list of goals :) I have also started to learn the intimidating kipping pull up - my lack of co-ordination makes this a little tricky!

And finally - Kettlebells. I can quite firmly say that, my god this is harder than it looks. It is because of the kettlebells that I hurt in place that I never knew existed. My technique is poor and I am struggling yet again with the co-ordination but I know that I will get there eventually.

Last but not least: My first WOD

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

• 5 Chest to bar Pull-ups
• 10 Wall ball shots, 
• 15 Kettlebell swings

I am a weakling and Michelle mercifully cut the 20 minutes down to 12 to spare me from dying. If I remember correctly, I completed 3 rounds with the first round taking me 1min 30.

Not bad for a first attempt. The exhaustion that hit me after I had done just 3 rounds was unbelievable. I don't think I have ever worked that hard in my life! The pride that hit me after I had recovered (which took a considerable time for the shaking to go away) was awesome. I have really enjoyed today and will definitely be going back for more. I must be mad ;)