"Annie"

Strength WOD:

Squat Clean
3/3/3/3/3
Work up to 3RM (rep max) in 5 Sets

“Annie”:

For time:

50/40/30/20/10 reps each of:
Double Unders
AbMat Sit-ups

Results

Nan and Don during “Annie” (Note Don’s correct range of motion on the sit-up by touching the toes):

Tonight’s post is an easy one. I get to have a guest writer! Lorri was so inspired by Curtis achieving his muscle-up last night that she sent this to me. Of course I had to share with everyone because her message is right on. Thanks Lorri for your eloquent way of writing about how your inspiration from that achievement caused you to not only get into the box today but to also reflect on what CrossFit has taught you and led you to BELIEVE!

Curtis’ Muscle-Up by Lorri L.

Yesterday, as most of you know, Curtis achieved a huge milestone in CrossFit….his FIRST MUSCLE-UP. Amazing! When I read about it online I felt so proud for him.

On my way home from the coffee shop this morning, I saw Tom and Curtis talking outside near the ELC, I stopped and said hello and gave a big congrats to Curtis. Tom asked if I was heading to the box and I sheepishly said no, because I was getting ready to go out of town. (For you moms, you know what that entails: laundry, cleaning, packing, completing projects, the list goes on and on. For me it also means making sure my house is ready for a showing while we are away.) I said good-bye, pulled away, and on my way home so a dialogue began in my head…..”No, I can’t go to the box BECAUSE…I have stuff to do….life stuff….getting ready for vacation stuff…important stuff…I need another(another?) rest day…” and then it hit me…

Curtis’ muscle-up represented so much more than just the move in itself….for me it represented consistency, persistence, strength, frustration, sweat, pain, and belief! There is no way that he could have achieved a muscle-up without persistence. I wonder how many times he had attempted a muscle-up and just couldn’t achieve it. Think on that…50 times?…100 times?….so many times he attempted to achieve and didn’t and then…suddenly…success! How many of us have attempted something so many times without success, but continued until we could achieve it. Persistence is defined as: Refusing to let up or let go. Persevering obstinately. Persevering obstinately!!! PERSISTENCE….I thought about that….I could get my behind to the box today.

But the core of my realization came when I realized this all materialized for him because he had BELIEF. He believed that he could achieve this monumental task. He believed in himself, even if at some times, he questioned if he could do it. (I am only guessing, I haven’t had a chance to ask.) He persisted in his drive to achieve the task that he BELIEVED in….WOW! What a simple concept….belief…but how many times has the little voice in my head questioned if I could achieve something. Or maybe even that voice said, “What are you thinking, you can’t do that!” I once overheard a wise man say (Pat S.) “We need to take CAN’T out of our vocabulary.” So true!

One reason I love CrossFit is because it quietly teaches us to believe: in ourselves, in others, and in that supportive community that we lean on when we aren’t sure if we can really finish that WOD or make it to the box. Through my interaction with everyone in the box, I have learned so much….to push harder, to ease off when my body is aching, to be proud, to be humble, to vocally support one another, and sometimes to quietly support someone who is struggling, questioning their own belief in themselves.

So thank you Curtis, for providing inspiration in all those around you, and especially me! Take the first step, BELIEVE, and then be persistent, until you reach those goals.