My First Drop In!! CrossFit 757

Last week I was on travel to Virginia for a couple days. It was the first time that I was going to be away from my local box since being bitten by the CrossFit bug. I knew that I wanted to do a drop in and figured that my schedule would allow it.

You must understand that the thought of doing a drop in terrified me. First, I have a horrid sense of direction and I hate driving very far in new places, so I had to find someplace close (within a half hour drive). Second, I have an innate fear of going to new gyms and boxes. I'm always intimidated by everyone else and even though I consider myself moderately fit, I've only been CFing for about a month and haven't quite got everything down yet.

I emailed a friend who CrossFits out in the area and she suggested a take a look at CrossFit 757 in Norfolk. I stalked their website, facebook, yelp accounts for everything I could find out and they seemed like a good box to try out. I emailed the owner about my intention to stop by for a WOD and to my surprise he emailed back. He was very encouraging and even knew a trainer at my box in SD! That was a relief. I drove out there and only managed to get minimally lost. The entrance was actually around the block from where the directions took me, but I figured it out and got ready. Once again, everyone was super friendly. Charlie got me all set up and even introduced me and another drop in from Colorado to the class before we got started.

This box was huge. I'd say about double the size of CFEV and it's all wide open. They have a lot of equipment and a small lounge area that a lot of people took advantage of. They even do CF Kids, it was really awesome to see kids around and having fun getting into fitness.

We got started with our WOD.

10 min AMRAP:
10 sumo deadlift high pull (53#)
10 pullups

rest 2 min

5 min AMRAP:
Box jumps (ugh... I despise box jumps)

I was on the floor after it was all over. The best part was that because I took the 6 pm class, there were people from the class before and the class after that were cheering us on the whole time. I know at least for me, I work a lot harder when people are encouraging and watching.

Overall, it was a great experience and I'm so glad that I went. I met a lot of great people and I can't wait until my next visit!



Charlie and the guys with me after the WOD


CrossFit 757


License anyone?

the travel dilemma

I'm traveling for few days for work and while being away from my box is scary enough... how am I supposed to follow a primal lifestyle without kitchen access or spending tons on eating out? Luckily, it's only for a couple days. I packed what I thought would be helpful. Here's what went
into my bag:

Shaker bottle and four servings of protein powder
Lara bars (yes, it's processed but I figure better than grabbing a Snickers bar)
Small ziploc of almonds mixed with pistachios

Once I checked into my room and found that I had a fridge and a microwave, I stopped by the store and picked up some other things. And I know it's still not strict paleo or even primal, it's still better for my body and my wallet. You can't be perfect all the time, but doing what you can is better than doing nothing at all.

My travel paleo dinner:




Tomorrow it's another body weight WOD. Gotta keep it up!