AND ALI’S OWN WORDS:
Hello Cross Fitters! Im Ali Trovato. If you’re not a 9:30 regular, we probably have’nt met yet.
I fell this morning doing box jumps. Did’nt pull my legs up high enough and WHAMO, ripped the skin off my shin which then proceeded to blow up like a golf ball. No to worry, I’m fine. It almost felt like a rite of passage. Of course, I kept going and finished Mondays WOD (which I had missed because I had to teach a spin class). Now I know why Chris keeps that big bottle of vodka under the desk. Definitely better than a first aid kit. ( I did’nt drink it, just poured it on the cut..YIKES!)
I am an exercise/ cardio junkie, addict, crackhead etc… You get the point. I started exercising at a gym in high school. Mostly to look good, but also as an outlet for all the energy that my teenage hormones were producing. It evened me out. My dad is like me so we went together sometimes and he paid for my new obsession. He’s a good daddy! At the gym I found my first love…..STAIRMASTER was his name. Me and SM (for short) were madly in love for many years. I dreamed of owning my very own. SM got me through countless hours of studyling for college exams (I can read while stepping, no prob!), tons of novels and millions of trashy magazines. While studying exercise science in college, I began to really understand how my body worked and the importance of lifting weights and switching it up so as not to let my muscles know what was next. So, I did 2 body parts a day. 12 sets for each body part, 12-15 reps each time. I thought I pushed myself. Still in love with SM. I looked good. ( I was only 24 yrs old. They all look good!) I became a personal trainer so I could help others feel as good as I felt. Graduated, got married, became addicted to step classes and cardio kickboxing classes with a little SM on the side. It got to the point where I felt like I could read the instructors mind. I knew what move would be next. Still doing at least an hour of cardio every day. My body NEVER changed. I felt like my heart was in great shape, but I absolutely could not do a pull up or a push up in my toes. (forget about climbing a rope!)
I gave birth to my son, lost all the weight in 10 days. Back to the gym in 2 weeks. Woo Hoo! My step instructor needed a sub one day and asked me to fill in. I did it, sucked at it and that was the beginning… I proceeded to get certified by AFAA, NASCM, Spinning, Yogafit etc… and began my career as a group exercise instructor. I lived the 32 count. I made step combos in my sleep, used kitchen tiles as pretend steps, had FIT TV on at all times! I jabbed, crossed, hooked and uppercut as I changed diapers. I LOVED IT! I still love it. Had another baby. (Taught kickboxing 4 hours before she was born) Got hired by more clubs. Developed a good size following. Still, Im not overweight, but I can’t do a freakin pull up or push up. Now my body is changing a bit because of 2 pregnancies and getting older. Things are headed south. Literally! So, I do MORE cardio on top of teaching my classes. Im exhausted all the time. Definitely overtraining, but I don’t want to break up with my other man, Ben. Him and his friend Jerry make me feel so good! Especially after the kids are finally sleeping and I have a few minutes to myself. Had another baby. (yes, it was a busy few years) A cranky, whiny, non sleeping but adorable baby boy. Going to the gym became like going to Club Med for an hour. He was now in the hands of a babysitter and I was alone. Teaching classes allowed me to be an adult in my world of poopie diapers. It was the only place I could give orders and people would follow them! The music, the sweat, is such a high. I should have been Super Woman yet I would struggle to help my husband move a small piece of furniture. I can’t seem to get stronger. I considered doing yoga, pilates, yogalates, but realized I would have to run 5 miles before I would be able to calm myself enough to walk into one of those dimly lit rooms. Now Im starting to get injuries. Tendonitis, sprained ankle, shoulder issues, headaches. I considered getting a trainer to help me, but being in the gym business, I had seen so many bad trainers and I felt that I knew what to do better than they did. I just was’nt doing it.
While sitting in the stands watching my boys play hockey at skate safe, I saw a bunch of crazy people lifting big heavy weights over their heads and I heard lots of grunting. I did a double take, because it looked like a 60 something year old woman doing it! I am intrigued and intimidated. These people looked scary and very serious about what they were doing. Months go by and my friend from FLA boasts about these WOD’s she’s doing. She told my it was called Cross Fit and I looked up LI locations only to realize that those were the crazy people I’d seen and I lived right around the corner from it. I could’nt imagine that it would really be anything so different than I was used to. Silly me.
I met with Chris for a trial workout with my head held high. As only all of you can understand, I left with my tail between my legs (very sore legs). I’ve been there 5 days a week ever since. About 5 weeks in total now. I am sore every day in places I did’nt know existed. I love that. My HR monitor says that I burn as many or more calories at cross fit than i do in one hour of teaching kickboxing. That blew my mind!. I keep thinking that I am going to hurt my back, yet, I continue to lift a little heavier and I’m fine. My knees, my shoulder are all fine. Really fine. No pain anymore. No Motrin every day. Im standing taller and feeling more confident with every workout. I climbed the rope (with knots) week one and struggled. Week 5 I did it no problem. I left, smiling and proud. I like being told what to do every morning since Im so used to being the one telling. I love that there are no mirrors on every wall, so you need to focus on how you feel and not how you look. I am humiliated every day, but it motivates me to come back and do it again. I look forward to it every morning even though I know it’s gonna be hell. I have been able to bring my new enthusiasm to my classes, pushing my students beyond what they thought they could do that day. Im sure that my husband is feeling the HAPPY WIFE, HAPPY LIFE thing these days. I am going to be 40 in september, and I am sick and tired of being disappointed with my body and what it can do. I take it day by day and give it my all with the hopes of one day walking in there and throwing that blue rubber band out the window.
So, lets get back to the injury this morning. I went to a business function with my husband last night and ate french fries, and drank wine. Oh, did I forget to mention the leftover chinese that I dug into when we got home. You CANNOT do Cross Fit and eat badly. This has been my biggest and best lesson yet. There is no faking it. If I eat shitty , I am going to perform shitty and possibly get hurt. It’s not a spin class where I can lesson the tension and no one knows. I have to be on top of my game every morning that I go. I have since broken up with my lover Ben and his friend Jerry. It was difficult, but needed to be done.
So, I am eating better and feeling excited about my workouts. For me, that is HUGE! My one regret is that I did not act sooner. It’s been right in front of my face for years. Im here now, and that’s all that matters!
