Vitality Ladies
I wanted to post this video that Amber Herlocker made of our women here at Vitality. As always, I stepped up on my soapbox and it took me a bit to get back down, sorry. As everyone knows, I am fairly passionate about the results that can be acquired through CrossFit and its training principles….if used correctly and with the right intensity. I also feel strongly about what CrossFit can do to help females break away from the social restrictions that have been placed on them regarding fitness. In our generation, women are told that skinny is better and because of this, we see a large percentage of women that are into fitness, spend hours using the treadmill and other cardio equipment with little to no emphasis placed on strength training. The number one fear that women have when I talk with them about CrossFit is the probability of becoming “bulky”. It is pretty disturbing when you sit back and think about the ramifications of these types of myths. The women that are told they will get bulky by lifting will have kids and pass this misinformation onto them and the cycle will continue to manifest and less and less women will have the freeing realization that everything they have learned and heard about fitness growing up has been wrong. This is why CrossFit can be so amazing for our females.
CrossFit shows them that not only is it O.K. to deadlift, squat, clean, and snatch, but it can be fun doing it and they can get better results than running on the treadmill and eliptical for 2 hours a day. Women don't have to spend 30 minutes “getting ready” to go to the gym so that they can look “cute”. They can throw on an old pair of shorts, maybe some that haven't even been washed yet, and can throw their hair back in a ponytail and head to Vitality, knowing they won't get judged on their appearance but rather by how hard they work that day. Its ok to sweat and its ok to have a couple calluses on your hands. Your husband will get over it and if he doesn't understand it, send him my way and I will put him through an intro course and make sure he understands what it is you do and how hard you work everyday. It is healthy to look forward to lifting heavy things at the gym and it is healthy to get excited about your first pullup. You don't always have to “act” like a girl, whatever the hell that means anyway. I know that my girls at Vitality are awesome and they support each other. Do they probably spend a little too much time talking instead of lifting at times…..sure….do they maybe spend a little too much time on the abmats after class…..sure, but that's ok. I embrace that because of the environment they have created here. They are forging a new breed of women, one that wants to deadlift more than their husbands and do more pullups than their kids. I LOVE hearing stories about how Ashley Rohats stopped and moved a fallen tree out of the road while guys twice her size and 1/2 her age were waiting in the cars for someone else to do it. I would probably drive my truck off the nearest bridge if I was the dude sitting in the car that was too lazy to put his phone and breakfast bagel down to get out and help her move that tree. Ashley's girls get to grow up seeing these things and it will change their views and expectations that others place on our women. Our kids get to grow up in this environment and that is awesome.
I want it to be the norm to have women in their 60s like Kathi McManus in here working out with people half her age. She should feel amazing everyday she leaves because very few people her age have the ability to do what she does here at Vitality. It is time that we place our health at the forefront of the priority list. Stop waiting until something is wrong before you start exercising. Let's start being proactive instead of reactive. Doctors shouldn't be surprised when you get your yearly physical and your healthy! What does that say about our society?? Doctors should be surprised when something is wrong, not vice versa! Take a look in the mirror and make a decision, do you want to be the person in their 70s on the motorized cart going shopping? Alright, that is a bad example because that would actually be pretty cool…..but you get my point. You want to be the grandma or grandpa that can still pick up your grandkids and great grandkids and the one they grow up seeing so that they understand how important it is to stay active as they get older. Bottom line if you forget everything above in this post…..our girls at Vitality are awesome! Keep doing what your doing!