I joined CrossFit Central in August of 2020. I first heard of CrossFit back in 2012 from the "CrossFit Games," but never pursued it because I was convinced you needed to be an experienced athlete training for competition. I continued going to a retail gym until the beginning of 2020, until it was closed because of Covid restrictions. I tried working out at home, but I didn't have any equipment and got tired of doing the same workouts I found online. I began searching for gyms that were open during this time, which were few, and found one with good reviews and images that seemed like a place I could see myself in. That gym or "box" was CrossFit Central.

I called the number on their website and Carey picked up. I made it VERY clear that I wasn't an experienced athlete and had never done CrossFit before, but had always been interested in the workouts. After speaking with Carey for 5 minutes, I decided to stop in and give it a try.

Before joining CrossFit Central, I wasn't happy about my relationship, fitness, and personal goals. I dedicated most of my time to my career and although I felt good with the work I was doing, I found myself drinking coffee during the day to stay mentally alert and wine or beer at night to wind down and go to sleep. By the time the weekend rolled around, I just wanted to physically and mentally relax from what I felt was a "busy" week. Waking up early and going to bed late didn't help either. The routine of work, work, work, and isolation eventually took a toll on me emotionally, and to cope I began to drink more than I usually did. Little by little my relationships, goals, and responsibilities outside of work began to seem more and more like a hindrance rather than something necessary for a healthy life.

Since joining CrossFit Central, I've noticed a desire to push myself physically as I've never done before. Besides feeling in the best shape of my life, I also noticed that I have more energy during the day. I would say the difference between what I was doing before on my own and at CrossFit Central is the combination of the community, coaching, a record of progress, and new challenging workouts that kept my body guessing. This combination has helped push me further than I normally would, keep me focused on a specific goal, and measure progress so I can reach the goal. For the first time in a long time, I was excited about being active again. I found something other than work that I was passionate about. Fortunately, this passion helped me to grow physically and ultimately gives me the confidence to grow in other areas of my life.

The country being shut down due to Covid ended up being an opportunity for me to change my life. Had my job not recommended I work remotely I most likely would've continued my previous routine of work, work, work and may have never discovered CrossFit Central. Ever since joining the community, my mental and emotional state has changed for the better. I found myself slowly adopting the mindset of the community and I enjoyed the feeling it gave me. The mindset has given me the confidence to keep coming back despite the way I'm feeling and continue reaching my goals.

I have also started going to bed earlier, waking up earlier, eating a healthier diet, following a written-down routine for my day, and no longer consuming alcohol as of 5 months ago. Knowing I have a workout the next day forces me to get plenty of rest. This means I need to go to bed early so I can recover from the previous day. By going to bed earlier, I wake up earlier. When I wake up early I'm able to have my cup of coffee, take care of the difficult work tasks for the day, get my son ready for school, and have time to play with him before he leaves. By nature of this new routine, I'm mentally alert and in a far better mood. I'm also bonding more and more with my son. If I'm going to be addicted to something, I am grateful it's becoming a better person.

I can't speak for other communities, but I can say the commitment, dedication, competitiveness, resilience, and positivity that CrossFit Central brings keeps me coming back. The confidence, transformation, planning, goals, and mindset are beginning to translate into other areas of my life. One simple change in my life caused a butterfly effect. Lucky for me that change was CrossFit Central. I'm grateful for this community.