Virtual CrossFit Viroqua

When the gym closed due to the Covid-19 outbreak I was pretty bummed.

At first I was all ready to work out at home. I even went around and found things like post drivers, an anchor, and a carriage horse weight as substitute weights and a stall mat.
Then I hit a wall. I couldn't get motivated. I'd walk past my jump rope and think, "Gosh I should work out."
Then I'd move on to something else.
Always something else.

My CrossFit shoes gave me a sad look the other day. Can shoes do that? No, I don't suppose they can. But there they were  ~~ sad shoes and a lonely jump rope.

70 days had passed since I'd been in a gym. For the first week I was frantic. How was I going to maintain everything I'd gained for the past year and a half? Gradually I stopped feeling guilty about it and tried to put it out of my mind.

I grew even more miserable as I noted my gym mates posting photos of their workouts. They were motivated, I wasn't. I.
Just.
Wasn't.

Then I got an email notice from Josh Brown of CrossFit Viroqua. He was reaching out to see how I was doing. Our State was opening up yet I wasn't sure I could deal with being in a gym setting quite yet.

We met on Tuesday via Zoom [I'm pretty sure I stink at some of the tech stuff, Josh could only hear me.]

We talked about my goals and expectations. He asked what I had around the farm that we could make into substitute items for weights.
Post drivers
Tire Rims
Hay bale spears
Anchors

You get the idea.

This morning I got a message:
Beyond the Whiteboard
It was Josh explaining the WOD [workout of the day] and how I could modify it to work for my situation at home.

The first thing I did was sit there and hold onto my cup of coffee and do nothing.Then I reminded myself that I was the only person who could take myself to the Virtual Gym or in my case, my side yard.
And besides that, I heard Josh's voice telling me quietly, "You can do this Val."

Charlie was curious as I dragged out the mat and set a timer for a 5 minute jump rope warm up.

I started the clock and did the 15-12-9-6-3 reps for time:
Kettle Bell Goblet Squat
Kettle Bell Swing
400 meter run

I admit it felt weird and during the first 400 meters of running I had to chase the dog down and call him back after he took after a squirrel. But it all felt good.
I could have gone with a heavier weight, like the anchor, however I wasn't sure how my body would do after such a long leave.

[From the mat to mid hill on the driveway is about 100 meters I think. I will actually measure it out today but I didn't want to put off my first workout any longer.]

Josh's message this morning asked me to let him know how it went.

It went well. In fact doing it in an open air atmosphere was rather nice. Being held accountable was even better.

I feel invigorated, hopeful, and encouraged. I have some things to sort out. Like how to work out when it rains but I'll get there.

Most of all?
I feel inspired again. My shoes were happy. My jump rope was no longer lonely.

And I am back to working out with CrossFit thanks to a great coach.