A Few Words From A Fan Favourite : Dawny

Everyone knows Dawny! She didn’t take long to dive right into our community and become an important member of Sublime. She is incredibly supportive of fellow members, even taking it so far that when the “Sublime Power Couple” were without water for months, she made a home cooked meal and brought it to them at the gym. Who does that!?! Here is her story:

Dawny

My baby girl had just turned 10 months old and my older son was about to turn three. This past winter was so cold it was tough to take my kids out and enjoy the season so we just simply stayed in making my maternity leave pretty uneventful. I needed to get out of my lethargic routine of eating for leisure followed by a much needed nap to pass the time while worrying about whether or not my kiddies’ cute little brains were being engaged during countless of hours watching Sesame Street! I needed time for myself, I needed to have regular conversations with people older than three, even if it was just for an hour. My husband, who is into powerlifting, suggested I try CrossFit since he thinks I’m a pretty competitive person, the workouts are already set for me to follow, and there’s a coach to help me out at every session.  It sounded pretty easy, but when I did some online research it looked really intense – but in an intriguing and challenging way. Well I hadn’t done anything fitness related in probably two years prior but I was ready to break out of my funk! Conveniently, my cousin Gail coaches at Sublime which also happens to be in my neighborhood. So about a week before Christmas when the gym was closed (thankfully) Gail got me to do some split squats, push the sled and do some burpees. We were there for probably all of 10 minutes.  I nearly died, in fact I was so dizzy after, I sat in my car for almost 20 minutes to collect myself before I drove home. A few days later on a fully booked Saturday, while it was the calmest it’s ever been and while everyone was in mid downward dog, I was doing the baseline and all I can obsess about, in the longest five minutes ever, was how to keep my heavy, uncontrolled breathing and grunting to myself! A few days later, on Christmas Eve, I showed up for my first class ever: ‘The Grinch’!  I wanted to puke right after and boy was I ever in pain, good pain, the pain I forgot I used to crave.  I was hooked.

When I signed up I was told I should try to go four days a week, no less than three or it just wouldn’t be beneficial.  I’m almost seven months in and I’m proud to say that I have yet to miss my fourth day in a week! It would stress me out when I’d think I can’t make it in because of an appointment or a birthday or because I promised my son I’d take him to the movies after work so I’d find myself stumbling in, with my whine on, at a super early class or a super late class and have Kyle check his watch with a perplexed, but welcoming look on his face. Had it been any other sport or gym I would have gladly cancelled.

As I became more comfortable, I set a few goals for myself: to do proper ‘man’ push ups, to get on the ‘Chicks Who Chin’ board, to get fitter and shed some post pregnancy weight. I didn’t know how long it was going to take me, but I was determined to do it.  I remember walking in everyday staring at the WOD on the white board thinking ‘OMG as if that’s what we gotta do today, I think I’m gonna die’. But having such amazing and encouraging coaches and peers who push you and cheer you on from across the gym makes it a little bit easier and perhaps enjoyable! Soon enough I began to walk in, stare at the white board and think ‘bring it on!’

At some point I managed to surpass the goals I set for myself, I also realized the strength I had in my legs as my squat PRs went up every week.  After almost six months in Foundations I decided I wanted to try something even more challenging and to get stronger and faster. With some convincing from my husband and a few advanced peers at Sublime, I gave the Building program a try.  Since day one, I have always watched the Builders in awe thinking how amazing, inspiring and strong they are. I never once dreamed of ever doing any kind of Olympic lifting or exercises with the chin up bar, and thankful I didn’t really have to do any double unders, but here I am. It was tough to get started, I was even discouraged for a while thinking I had made a mistake switching. But after talking to some coaches and a few advanced peers, I was reassured that it is a slow and steady progression and that it had taken some of them quite a few months to get the techniques right before they saw significant gains.

I still have so much to learn, and new goals to attain but I know it’s a work in progress. I’m excited to see how far this will take me. I can’t thank the coaches enough for helping me push myself to the limit everyday both mentally and physically. I’ve played so many different sports throughout the years, but I’ve never been stronger, fitter or leaner in all my life!!  Because there are no mirrors in the gym, I don’t see the physical changes my body has endured. I have to do a double take when I see a muscle bulge out of my thigh, my arm or my back…  MY BACK?!!  CrossFit started out as a way for me to take a break from being a mom, but it has become the sport I love!! To everyone in our community, I could not have gotten this far without you, I can now carry my kids and all my groceries from the car to house in one trip, thank you 🙂

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