CrossFit journey reflection- Marie Saliba As an affiliate owner and coach I am asked quite often how our CrossFit journey started. This article will aim to articulate my journey- the how, the why and the impact it has had on myself and my family and why I love what we do day in and day out. Over 15 years ago Chris and I started Coastal CrossFit, and what a journey it has been. Far from being a sporty kid, I would always place 4th at school sports. It was during my 11 years in the Air Force that I developed a love of training. I wasn’t great at any sporting endeavors but I enjoyed challenging myself and the military fitness kept me “fit”. After having our first child (Chloe) Chris (my husband) and I moved back to our home town in the Sunshine Coast, with our daughter Chloe being 1 year and our son Jesse on the way soon after. After leaving the security of the AirForce Chris and I started renovating properties and at the same time started a Fitness Bootcamp in Beerwah & Kawana. Life was definitely busy with a young baby, renovating houses and running a business. At this stage we had a fully decked out home gym with the bells and whistles. However the lack of time meant we couldn’t spend hours in the gym so we had to learn to condense training into a short time block. This is the first time Chris introduced me to CrossFit (although I didn’t know that was what we were doing). Strength/cardio combined in short sessions (most under 20 minutes). Over a couple of months we were both experiencing improvements in all areas of fitness. What/how? – it didn’t make sense until we stumbled across one of the best articles ever written by Greg Glassman “What is Fitness” (CrossFit journal article). Little did we know that reading this article would change the trajectory of our lives forever…. It was a humbling experience for both of us. Who would have thought defining FITNESS could have such an effect? We had to take a step back and relearn everything we thought we knew about fitness. And this was just the start of our journey…The urge to help others and share ‘the secret’ saw us start Coastal CrossFit in March 2009. We asked our Bootcamp clients to take a leap of faith and train CrossFit with us for a month and if they liked it – stay, and if they didn’t, no hard feelings. We are eternally grateful to have our very first Bootcamp clients (who have become family) still train with us today. It is on reflection that I realize the things that drew us to CrossFit originally are the same things that have kept us in business and loving the journey. Why do I train?I hadn’t really given thought to why I trained, but it was to improve the quality of my day to day life. To have confidence in my ability to turn my hand to any given task I chose. So why was my (and most peoples) training so far from this – Specific strength days, cardio days, isolation movements, etc. This was not in line with what I was needing and yet I didn’t question it. “What is Fitness” created my new perspective. Functional movement- Amazing things happen when you start using your body as a whole and learning to move properly. Starting with bodyweight movements then adding more complex movements and weight as movement quality allows. My body responded – improvements in all aspects of fitness, my run times, strength, flexibility, stamina. I felt and looked the best I ever did. Simplicity-The no gimmick approach of CrossFit “Give me a barbell and somewhere to hang and we can create some of the fittest humans”. We sold off all of our fancy equipment, bought olympic barbells and Chris built pull-up bars and squat racks. I love the old school feel of CrossFit gyms – everything you need to get fit, no lace and frills. No ego-I thought I was fit, until I didn’t. If you asked me I would have said with confidence I had 10 strict pull-ups, until Chris held me to CrossFit standard of movement (not half reps) which left me with a total of ZERO.Many athletes are humbled and are then faced with the choice – work hard to improve or walk away and pretend it doesn’t matter (don’t train CrossFit). Realizing there are things you are good at and a list of things you need to work at – there are no shortcuts and moving with standards takes effort.I am proud that many of our athletes can do many things that most people can’t, simply because they are prepared to work hard. Achievement/Time horizon –Realizing I am training for me and my quality of life (now and into the future)I have achieved more in CrossFit than I ever thought possible and the best part is that it doesn’t end. The reward of challenging yourself and achieving your goals one step at a time, putting in the work now and for 50 years in the future.I want to lead an active life right to my end and I know this is the preparation time. Community-Through CrossFit I have met my best friends. There is unspoken understanding in our achievements and unwavering support for one another. Despite our individual abilities I have the best cheer squad a girl could ask for, and will cheer as loud as anyone for my crew. Many of our crew have watched my children grow from babies and vice versa. It takes a village to raise children and our village is strong. Family –What I am most proud of is the legacy we are creating for our children. Growing up in a positive environment, challenging themselves physically and mentally, leading quality healthy lives, surrounded by a loving community.My kids have learnt that they can achieve anything through hard work, discipline and dedication. I…
