With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down CrossFit Undeniable for close to three months, all of our athletes were forced to adapt to new challenges and circumstances. They had limited equipment on-hand and tons of new distractions standing in their way.
Throughout it all, we were blown away by the dedication we saw from our community. Facing new challenges, they absolutely rose to the occasion. We wanted to share some stories from our athletes on how they thrived during the shutdown and lessons they learned moving forward.
I’ve worked way too hard this last year to backtrack during these couple of months!
That’s the mindset Sarah took into the quarantine period. She’s been a part of the CrossFit Undeniable community for over a year, and she’s made progress in so many areas. She didn’t want to start over from square one again!
As an EMT, photographer, and full-time student studying nursing, she also has a lot on her plate. Here’s how Sarah stayed motivated during the pandemic even involving her family, nailing her first handstand push-up, and PRing two lifts!
What has continued to motivate you to keep moving and exercising during this whole pandemic?
When the gym closed, I knew that those first couple of weeks would be vital in creating new habits for myself. Having no idea when quarantine would finish made me think about how much ground I would have to re-gain if I slacked off on training during this time. I’ve worked way too hard this last year to backtrack during these couple of months!
I also know that getting a good sweat session in helps me cope with uncertainty and difficult life situations, so for the good of me and those around me I have to keep moving.
What was your workout routine during quarantine? How do you balance it with other commitments?
I don’t have a super set-in-stone routine because of my sporadic shifts at the hospital and school days. Work days usually end up being off days (I won’t call them rest days because running around for 12 hours isn’t rest!), plus I take another true rest day during the week. The other 4-6 days, I finish up my school, and plan an afternoon WOD for me and my sister, which will either be the posted At-Home WOD, something I made up based on movements I need to work on, or a challenge from a friend!
I think balancing my workout routine with the other commitments in my life simply comes down to choosing it as a priority. Before school started, I decided that working out would be one of my non-negotiable commitments to myself, and so I try to keep it pretty high on my priority list! If other life things run into that, I will wait until evening, or just chalk it up for a needed rest day and get back after it tomorrow. If absolutely necessary I will wake up early to get it done before the day starts.
What was your biggest fitness-related obstacle during quarantine? How did you overcome that obstacle?
I think what’s been hardest for me is to push myself to my limit on the longer AMRAPs and For Time WODs. I realized that conditioning is NOT my strong point, and so I’m overcoming this obstacle by doing sprint interval training 3x week and am already noticing a huge difference in my lung capacity and endurance for those longer workouts! Seeing progress in this area helps me stay motivated. I’ve also created some WODs for my brother and then I try to beat his score after he completes them. That’s great motivation to push hard!
What’s one thing you’re super proud of achieving during quarantine?
I think my proudest achievement is my first HSPU! I also got my first TTB and PR’d my power snatch and my split jerk! Seeing the results of consistency in working out only makes me want to be more consistent.
Congrats Sarah on the amazing consistency and for PRing those lifts/getting the “firsts” on some difficult gymnastics movements. Amazing to see!!
Leave a Reply