Functional Fitness My Way
Functional Fitness My Way
Ok so anyone that knows me knows that I’m not a naturally competitive
person, or the “do or die” personality type. When I was a child my
brother would get so frustrated by my lack of drive when it came to
sports that he would pummel me with a tennis ball, or just give up and
play by himself. Don’t feel bad for me, I was perfectly happy staying
out of his way because he WAS competitive and fierce. And I admired
that. I just didn’t have any desire to be that way.
As an adult, yoga came naturally to me. I love the concept of letting
go of the ego, of minding your own mat and not worrying about your
neighbor, of forgiving yourself when your practice isn’t quite what
you want it to be that day. No scorecard, no points, no pressure.
So my approach to fitness, as you can imagine, was similar. I got my
gym membership, and became a fan of the elliptical, especially when I
could use it in the fancy schmancy movie theatre at the gym – what?!
How cool is that? Yeah, I burned a couple of hundred calories, lifted
a few weights on the machines, and called it a day. Then Japheth introduced
me to CrossFit. It was a whole new world. Functional varied movements
done at high intensity, a different workout everyday, some as short as
5 minutes! I thought the concept was amazing. And the research, and
not to mention testimonials, claiming its health benefits were
intriguing. Working out in that way felt great, better than an hour or
two at the gym, and in a month of doing these short, intense workouts
I was in better shape than after years of movie theatre gym workouts.
Intensity, competition, had whole new meanings to me. I realized that
I don’t have a desire to compete with others, but I do have a desire
to compete with myself. Like now, I’m competing with past me to get
below wedding weight (isn’t that where we all want to be, ladies?).
I’m competing each week to hit another PR (personal record) in number
of burpees or sumo deadlift weight. And there’s no one there to hit me
with tennis balls if I don’t do it. Just me. And maybe Japheth…just
kidding!
Functional fitness is what it sounds like: a functional way of working
out. You can do it at home or at work, you can do a workout in 40
minutes or in 5. You can do a workout with no equipment and still get
amazing results. You can even use your baby as a kettlebell. Now that
I’m a busy mom of two I workout daily, most often at home, doing 5-10
minute workouts. Sometimes with Quinn on my back and Xavi at my feet.
It’s Functional Fitness, my way. It works and I’m in the best shape
I’ve been in in years.
Try it, if you haven’t already, and let us know: What’s your way?
-Suzanne