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Betsy Jaffee: CrossFit Women

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[vc_row][vc_column][text_output]Betsy’s Story

What brought me to CrossFit?  Well…a visit to the dentist’s office actually!  After commenting to my dental hygienist Carolyn how great she looked, she told me she did Crossfit and invited me to the next BAFD.  Now when I go to get my teeth cleaned all we talk about is Crossfit!!

What was your first impression of CrossFit? What changed once you started at CrossFit South Bend?  My first introduction to Crossfit was watching the 2011 Crossfit Championship.   I had never seen women that strong and it absolutely blew me away.  Sure, I’d seen women body builders – you know, with the high heels and the spray tans, but these Crossfit women were different.  They were tough and scrappy and FUNCTIONALLY strong.  I immediately had two thoughts – 1) OMG I WANT TO DO THAT! and 2) OMG my shoulder tendonitis would NEVER permit me to do that!   It took awhile for my mindset to change.  I went in with such a fear of injury, but almost immediately I felt everyone was watching over me and would not allow that to happen.  I was taught some mobility exercises.  Then I found myself gaining confidence and slowly getting stronger – my shoulder began to hurt less and less – then one day I woke up and realized it wasn’t hurting at all anymore.  This was kind of a milestone for me, especially after two cortisone shots and several rounds of traditional physical therapy had not helped me in the least.

My first accomplishment that I took pride in- when I first started On Ramp I could not hang on the bar at all – it hurt my shoulder too bad.  I started practicing in 3 second increments.  Now I can do a 1 minute dead hang.  I’m very proud of that.  Oh, and my first successful rope climb was pretty exciting too!

What accomplishment am I working towards now? I am currently working on getting my first strict pull up and my first strict toes to bar.  I also want to be able to overhead squat with something heavier than the pvc pipe!

I think my favorite Crossfit South Bend experience is the daily camaraderie and encouragement I experience from the coaches and my fellow Crossfitters.  One of my best memories was the first time a coach stopped in the middle of her workout to give me a pointer and encourage me.  When a coach is doing a workout I always feel that’s kind of their sacred time, and for someone to interrupt their own workout to help me…well that’s pretty special.

Photos courtesy of Bluekrishna Photography [/text_output][vc_row_inner padding_top=”150px” padding_bottom=”150px” border=”all” bg_pattern=”12499″ parallax=”true”][vc_column_inner width=”1/1″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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