Happy 1st CF Birthday to Me!

So it's been 1 year since I began my CrossFit journey and what a year it's been. Although there have been a couple of setbacks (surgery, sickness) but overall it was a great year filled with many victories.

However, when you grind through the daily WOD and it seems like it's never going to end it's very easy to lose sight of personal progress. So that's what I'm here to do today: reflect on my accomplishments. Some may be new PR's in lifts or maybe an improvement in a WOD time and body composition change. These were things that I expected. What I did not expect was the mountain of knowledge in health and fitness that I've acquired.

1. CrossFit is NOT an exercise program. It is a lifestyle/philosophy that goes way beyond mere exercise.
2. I value the importance of flexibility and mobility (thanks KStar.)
3. Scaling is critical to success (thanks BrandX.)
4. I've learned how nutrition effects the human body and in particular how my body adapts to certain foods (thanks MDA.)
5. Diets don't work. Lifestyle changes do.
6. Embrace the suck.
7. I've cleaned up my nutrition. I try to abide by the principles of the Paleo diet but I just don't think going whole hog would work for me (at least in the long term.) I still like my bowl of oatmeal every other morning, the occasional Oreo, and shots of Patron Silver on Friday nights. And I will always drink milk.
8. I love olympic lifting.
9. My WIFE loves olympic lifting!
10. Good nutrition is easy if you like to cook, have some decent recipes and it's a family effort.
11. I can bench press my bodyweight.
12. I can squat my bodyweight.
13. I can deadlift 1.5x my bodyweight.
14. I can do a handstand push up.
15. I can climb a rope (for multiple reps.)
16. I can string together multiple double unders.
17. After a year I still look forward to the daily WOD.
18. I've been able to stick with a training program for a longer period of time than I ever have.
19. I'm 40 and in the best shape of my life.
20. I will not quit.
21. A $25 subscription to the CF Journal is the BEST $25 a Crossfitter can spend.
22. You MUST take care of your calluses.
23. Once you begin deadlifting you will always have scabs on your shins.

So there it is. Hopefully year 2 has just as much growth.

Now 3, 2, 1...GO!