I just finished my first week of training with Intrepid Athletics.

I walked into the gym Monday morning, thinking it would be just another box providing challenging workouts to build on everything I already knew. I definitely understood that I didn’t know everything about crossfit. I knew there were things I needed to work on, but there were also areas in which I was fairly confident.

Well, within five minutes of our first workout, I realized I was in for a wake-up call. During the first hour of the first day, I learned more about the Clean than I ever did in my previous three years of training. It felt like everything I thought I knew was wrong. Okay, maybe not wrong. My coach was nice enough to change that language from “wrong” to “less efficient.”  We were getting REAL technical here, a luxury afforded by small group training.

This process continued each day… I got this! I don’t got this… I’m getting this?

Friday we focused on the deadlift. My favorite lift. The one that makes me feel like a total badass. When I was asked just to add 10# weights to my 33# bar, my nose wrinkled, and I looked to my training partner, Loren, and shot a “what is happening to us” look.

I moved up slowly from there, landing at 113# . “That’s good for today,” Sean said.

I did my best not to argue with my new coach. He is kind, very smart and frankly a total badass, and I am thrilled to be training with him. Truthfully, I wasn’t feeling feisty or cocky, I know I have a lot to learn, but admittedly the little voice inside me started screaming, “Wait. What? I’m only lifting 113 pounds…. DID YOU KNOW I CAN DEADLIFT 305 POUNDS?! WHY CAN’T I DO THAT RIGHT NOW!? C’mon, let me at least put a couple 45#s on!”

Loren could clearly sense what I was thinking, laughed and said “We gotta break it all down, before we can build it back up and get stronger!” Thank god he’s going through this process too.

It was frustrating, it was humbling, it was exciting, it was a lot.

But I’m excited to move forward.

It dawned on me, that I ask something very similar of those going through my RESTART nutrition class.

People walk into this five-week class, expecting to maybe learn a little more about nutrition, learn a little bit more about their bodies and themselves, but for the most part they are confident they have a good handle about what is going on.

And some do!

But for some, this experience is just as rattling. I ask them to totally shift their routine, overhaul their pantry and accept that just maybe everything we thought we knew about food isn’t 100% true.

Suddenly deciding what to eat for breakfast becomes the most difficult task of the day. I’m sure there are some internal monologues screaming “WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME NOT TO EAT MY BAGEL AND ORANGE JUICE!? I know, I JUST ABSOLUTELY KNOW, this is healthy and good for me and makes me feel awesome.”

But it may not actually be making them feel awesome. So we go back to basics, rebuild the foundation and find out what truly makes them feel awesome.

This process is surely frustrating and exciting and I know some are thinking that this is a lot to absorb.

But I hope they are also excited and motivated to move forward by making choices that serve their body best and lead them towards better health.

By taking a step back, we allow ourselves the opportunity to shed bad habits, develop a better physical and mental awareness, and lay a stronger foundation to build upon.

It’s a process.

And we have to trust in the process.

I’d like to note this process isn’t about making people feel ignorant or shamed for how they’ve approached things. Its about meeting people where they are at to propel them forward towards better health. We won’t magically become stronger or better athletes overnight. Our digestive health issues or struggles with weight won’t instantly resolve themselves by continuing the same habits.

We have to start fresh, build a new foundation, develop a better awareness. Only then will we get little stronger, get a little fitter, get a little healthier.

It’s all about trusting in the process.