"CrossFit is merely a conduit; the culture here is to equip and train athletes of any skill set."
I find that I am pretty critical of myself. I am consistently in awe of the amazing athletes and instructors here, and often, it’s easy to start to feel discouraged among such greatness. But at the 2020 Open, I got to achieve something that I am sincerely proud of; I completed my first scaled workout in 20.3! I am not saying it was pretty–but I did it, and now my scorecard hangs on my fridge, because, why not? It serves as a reminder to me on the days when I start to feel disheartened.
BangBANG came into my life through a good friend at church, a back injury, and a difficult time in life. I had never heard of CrossFit before 2016, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that it took somewhere around 22 minutes for me to work up the courage to walk in the doors. But I am so glad I did! I have met people and been a part of things that I would never trade.
Due to a very premature birth, I have mild Cerebral Palsy. I spent my childhood in physical therapy, braces, casts, wheelchairs, walkers, and recovering from surgery. As a result, balance will always be elusive, and is more of a challenge than ever before due to Rheumatoid Arthritis. Now that I’m in my thirties, I find that my own fear can be more of my personal disability than CP or RA.
My secret confession is that I am afraid of falling down all the time. My spacial awareness is most likely different from yours. I have to scream at my legs to make them do what I need them to do, and being perpetually off-balance makes the world feel unsafe. It would be easy to box myself into a diagnosis and say that certain physical feats were forever off-limits. But BangBANG doesn’t accept that. Because of BangBANG, I get to try new things all the time, such as box jumping. Because of the intentional care and personalized efforts of this box, I get to be around people who understand how my body moves and works. Because of the genuine kindness of fellow members, I get to experience encouragement, no matter how small the accomplishment appears.
I sincerely thank God every single day for giving me the blessing of BangBANG. CrossFit is merely a conduit; the culture here is to equip and train athletes of any skill set. BangBANG goes the extra mile and says that good workouts and heavy lifts are not the main goal. Looking ripped is not the main goal; the ultimate goal is to empower people and help everyone live a life of guts over fear. Health and fitness can be achieved by any person, in any season and with all abilities.
I am grateful that BangBANG took a chance on me, and I hope that when I do achieve things–big or small–y’all know that it’s a group effort. I am inspired by this box and its wonderful people. Without my adaptive abilities, I doubt I’d be here; therefore, I am 100 percent certain that CP is worth it, even on the bad days, simply because it led me to BangBANG.