Here’s what I love about CrossFit.  And bear in mind, I’ve never stepped into a “box”, done “Elizabeth” or gotten to write my name and goal on a white board.

So what can I possibly love about a program that I’ve not yet done?  I love, love, LOVE that it encourages people (women) to embrace the weight room and own their strength and power.

#awesome!

We should not be afraid of the weight room.  While Zumba, walking and other aerobic endeavors are great for cardiovascular fitness and general health, you will miss out on a whole boatload of benefits if you don’t do strength training.

And while I know some of you are fighting me on this “oh no, I’ll get bulky, I’ll look like a man”.  Trust me.  You won’t.

You can (and should) build muscle because it fires up your metabolism like crazy and you burn calories even at rest.

Education time:  With cardio you burn what you burn when you exercise but when you stop, the calorie burning only goes on for a few more minutes (I don’t have the exact time memorized but it’s short).  Weight lifting and strength training burns fewer calories during the actual activity but the after-burn is greater.  More muscle means your body has to work harder just to sustain itself.

Think lean. Think defined.  Think strong.  See, what a great concept!  Strength, not squish.

Maybe I’m biased because I have a muscular build and without tooting my own horn, I’m strong.   However, body-shape wise, my brother hit the familial DNA jackpot and got the long, lean build of our ancestors whereas I  cornered the shorter, stockier genes.

So I work with what I was given and be the best I can be.  I’ll never be long and lean but, hand to god, I won’t be squishy!

Now go run!

Keli 🙂