Skip to main content

I Used to Want Collar Bones

I was looking in the mirror the other day and noticing my developing traps.  My shoulders are also growing, and if I flex just right I can see some baby traps.  I remember thinking back to when I was losing weight for my wedding.  Just typing that sentence proves this blogs point; it's not about losing weight for an event or seeing a particular bone.  I wanted so desperately to be able to see my collar bones.  That somehow if I could see them I had lost enough weight to be satisfied.  Kinda like the thigh gap.  Lord knows that's never happening with these tree trunks, but eww anyways.  Yet so many people strive for it.  I saw it just the other day on my pinterest.  It makes me sad.  Why do our bodies need to look a certain way to be satisfied??

As I stood in the mirror, I had to laugh at myself and give thanks to the Lofquists.  Here's what they've taught me so far about my body.  It's not about what bones I can see or how big the gap between my thighs is, it's about what my body can do.  It's about being able to deadlift 315 pounds.  Which translates into being able to help others when they need a moving crew, or to pick up my sons 50 million toys off the floor.  It's about what my body can do.  I remember griping about being the last athlete introduced at a weight lifting competition I did.  I'm always last because I'm the heaviest.  My coach said, who cares - you'll always be a 75k+ athlete - who cares.  You're going to go out there and put 100+ pounds over your head.  That's what matters.  Lock your elbows out, armpits forward, active shoulders.  That's what I should care about.  That's what we all should care about.  What are bodies can do.   They showed me videos of Tatyana Kashirina and told me to stop focusing on my weight class and on what my body can do.



This is what CrossFit means to me.  I'm not a firebreathing "crossfit" athlete.  I'm a 75K+ mom, doing some awesome things with my body.  Maybe one day I'll get to that 419pound clean and jerk.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Do You Identify?

I've been going to my CrossFit gym for five years now.  Yes, I've dropped a few pound; yes, I'm stronger; but could you tell I crossfit by looking at me?  Probably not.  My transformation thus far has all been mental.  I have and continue to find encouragement in what my body can do rather than what the scale says.  I've learned functional ways to move my body to support my reconstructed knee.  I've learned to shut my mind up and just move.  Just recently I've been able to push myself when my legs are shaking and I can't hardly take a deep breath to finish the workout rather than stop and lay on the floor.  "Keep moving!"  I can hear Coach Rachel encouraging me.  "One rep at a time! Vamos!"  I can hear Zulma tell me. I've also recently begun to allow myself to move at a slower pace and complete the entire workout instead of scaling reps to keep up with everyone else.  I am no longer concerned about what anyone else is thinkin...

Cousin Meredith Finally Showed Up

So I went ahead and took several weeks off from the gym.  The gains I made during my 8 week 4x/week run have disappeared.  Replaced with new stretch marks, horrible self-talk, depression, lethargy and an overwhelming desire to sleep all the time. I sporadically heard from fellow gym goers during my time off and as of recently have heard from several in a more urgent manner.  Like, get your ass to the gym already.  So I went this past week.  My inital goal was 5x/week, but as I'm learning, goals for me are constantly being revised. Read, I went Wednesday.  One morning.  I was even up on time this morning and yesterday morning.  That's how loud these ugly voices are inside my head.  I once again chose to sleep.  I went to my son's room and had that whole tiny bed to myself (he snuck into our bed during the night) and it was dark; I turned that box fan on and was out.  One and a half, can be stretched to 2 more hours if I cut out doi...

Here's an Interesting Thought

I recently got my 4 year tag from CrossFit I-35.  I've been a member for 4 years and weigh 40 pounds less than when I started.  Most, if not all, of that was baby weight as I began shortly after I had delivered my son. I've lost the same 10-15 pounds since the initial loss and I had an interesting thought about that tonight. What if I'm afraid of fit healthy crossfitter Meredith??  See, I take progress photos.  I've seen the awesome gains I make and then I FREAK.  And avoid the gym for days, weeks, months.  It's like I see how hot I could be and I start eating.  As I'm eating I'm fantasizing about seeing my muscles and wearing jeans and a bikini.  Longing for comfort in my own skin.  Yet the moment I start to get a glimpse towards that, I go backwards.   What is up with that??  Afraid of my own success?