Taking a Break From Crossfit

I’ve almost reached my 4 month anniversary of starting Crossfit. I began when I was home for vacation from school back in December, and continued it at the Crossfit back up here in Vermont. Looking through my workout book and noticing how much progress I’ve made has been incredible.

This past month membership just ran out and I’ve decided not to renew it for a couple of reasons. Getting to the gym itself has proven to be a bit of a stressor because I’ve been borrowing a friend’s car. Coordinating schedules etc. has been a little difficult (although I’m so thankful she allowed me to use it). In addition, I am going away next week and would miss out on a whole week out of a month of workouts, which is actually a lot of money lost when you break it down. And by the time I get back I have only about a month left here at school.

I just bought these Converse shoes last week and have worn them for a couple of workouts so far. The very low heel is said to be ideal for heavy lifting because there is nothing to compress down before driving up- (picture deadlifting on a mattress for an exaggerated example). It can happen a lot more efficiently with a low, hard heel. Lots of people like wearing vibram five fingers to crossfit for the same sort of reasons.

I won’t be hanging the shoes up for good though. Crossfit has changed the way I view working out, and I plan to keep up the workouts on my own. I’m excited to challenge myself on my own time, and in new and creative ways. I’m thinking of getting in some good playground workouts, climbing trees, doing hill sprints, bodyrocking from home, getting up to the gym for some heavy lifting, and keeping up walking and biking as exercise.

And this summer when I’m back home, I plan to get back to the gym for Crossfit classes several times a week. I think this time will be a nice mental break and set me up to be motivated and ready for a fun summer of tough workouts.

(source)

So I am a little bummed out about stopping Crossfit for the next 2 months, but you can always find a lesson in these situations. Working out is not everything. In fact, that’s exactly why I’ve loved cutting down the amount of time spent working out over the past year. I went from long durations of cardio and more hours spent in the gym and pounding pavement to short boughts of intense exercise often in my own room. This has left so much more time for living.

And with these next few precious months of college winding down I’d much rather be living than working out.

.

What are you currently into for workouts? Have you ever taken an extended period of time off, to come back stronger or learn a lesson from?

Happy Wednesday Folks, thanks for reading!