Jacksie Galloway
I used to pass a CrossFit gym on the way home from work every day. I’d see all these super fit people move heavy weights around and thought “I want to be on that level.” You see I train dogs and did back then too. I needed to be stronger to handle them. That’s where it all began for me. CrossFit is a lot like dog training if you’re doing it right.
I got my first taste of CrossFit at CrossFit Brevard the handful of times that I went. I loved it.
Fast forward a couple years later I joined ReUnited CrossFit. Over these last 4-5 years I have learned that rest days are so important. I went from working out 7 days a week to slowing down and understanding that your muscles need an opportunity to grow. When you work your muscles they tear and when they tear they need to be given an opportunity to heal, hence muscle growth. Mind blowing moment for me. Rest was not in my vocabulary before.
ReUnited CrossFit gave me another family and another place to call home. We crack jokes, encourage, and challenge each other. It’s the place that at the end of the day you walk in the gym and breathe easy as you walk through the door because you’re “at home.”
Fast forward a few more years I was starting to realize just how important nutrition is to an active lifestyle. Everything in me knew the only thing holding my fitness back was my nutrition. I remember being told growing up to eat a biscuit any chance I got. So I just started eating all the things because I thought that was the answer. I knew my body needed to be fueled but I started getting fatigued in my workouts because I was eating anything and everything I wanted-even if I was trying to eat healthy. I genuinely thought I just was just being lazy. Nope! It was my nutrition which I knew deep down. So I started watching other CrossFit athletes and what they eat and when they eat it. I looked into Humble Hungry Athlete owned and operated by the one and only CrossFit Athlete Danielle Dunlap. It was no crazy “diet” it was eating healthy whole foods that fueled my body for workouts and lifestyle. Boom. Once again my mind was blown.
CrossFit has taught me so much about fitness. It’s not a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. It’s not necessarily about reaching your goals, it’s about the journey to reaching them and the sustainable healthy habits you create along the way. It takes TIME!! Everyone starts somewhere and if you’re anything like me you were 100lbs having life constantly remind you of how little you were. That is what CrossFit is about- you learn and are given the tools to grow in whatever direction your goals take you! One day you’ll look back and think “I wish I was given these tools sooner.”
So thank you CrossFit. Thank you coaches and athletes who share the knowledge of creating a better lifestyle. Thank you for teaching me how to love the journey.