Before and After Photos:
Wendy Iris aka “Hemi” … In her own words:
As I sit at my desk with onset CrossFit pneumonia, I decided to write my success story. Everybody has their own idea of what “success” is and I think that most that start a diet and exercise plan will relate success to weight loss. I used to be one of those people.
When I started CrossFit 1½ years ago I was obese, overweight, fat, huge, out of shape, unhealthy, unsuccessful, spiraling out of control, depressed…you name it, I was it. At that time, the number on the scale was the only thing determining my success and/or lack of success. Dan & Kenton came into my life (or I forced my way into theirs…but it is my story) and introduced me to Zone & Crossfit. Still driven by the scale, my success story was falling flat. I am one of the lucky women that put on lean mass rapidly. Kenton (aka CrossFit Psychiatrist) and I had several discussions about goals and weight. Needless to say, my scale still sits in their office. My weight loss, measurements, and those dreaded body numbers won’t be discussed. For me, those numbers are not the only degree with which to measure success (especially that dreaded number on the scale). So that I can move on to the good part of my success story I will simply say that the scale is a liar.
Success is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary as a) degree of measure of succeeding b) favorable or desired outcome; the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence and c) one that succeeds. Looking at this definition I could honestly say I have a success story.
a)degree of measure of succeeding Those that have been in the CrossFit culture know that everyday there is a measurement of succeeding…that damn watch. For those that are reading this that just started CrossFit or are thinking about starting…a majority of the workouts are timed. On this day, my success story is a 2:36 Grace (30 reps of 95# clean & jerks), the reason for the continuous coughing in my office. That is not only a personal record (PR) but it is a PR by 1:11. This month alone I have seen a lot of “PR”s next to names on the whiteboard…that is SUCCESS!
b)favorable or desired outcome; the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence Tough one…some people might go right to those body measurements to get their desired outcome. Think about this, if the “desired outcome fairy” came to your house, you woke up and every desired outcome were true, would you quit doing what you were doing to get those outcomes? Simply stated (thanks Kenton)…if you woke up tomorrow and were at your goal weight would you quit doing the things that got you to your goal weight? One of my desired outcomes was performing pull-ups without a band…last month I did my first pull-up without assistance. Long journey but success none the less.
The second part of this definition I could write about for days. Wealth is another one of those words that people immediately go to $$$$$…I am still holding out for the lottery. I am thinking more along the lines of the relationships I have built. PRICELESS!!! There is definitely something to be said about the CrossFit community…just not enough space to write it all down. It is a community like no other I have been around. It is a community that makes you feel successful.
c)one that succeeds Can you say that success is in the eye of the beholder? My example would be the recent CrossFit competition in Portland (NW Sectionals). I signed up…in my eyes I did not belong because to be a “success” you would have to win it. This decision was tough for me as I am one of the most competitive people you will ever meet. The workouts were drawn and there were movements that I could not do. “So I was going all the way to Portland to “scale” workouts, boy I really don’t belong.” People from our gym were there cheering and continually telling me how proud they were (thank you…you know who you are). But it wasn’t until I met another athlete that struggled through every workout. I don’t think she completed one workout, it was then I realized that just competing makes it a success.
When Dan asked me to write my success story (about 6 months ago) I wasn’t feeling successful enough because I haven’t seen a big number drop on the scale. Ultimately, we need to quit being so damn hard on ourselves and find little successes in all we do.
