I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the awesome group of woman that make up our community here at CFN.  Every last one of you have inspired me in one way or another the past couple of short weeks since we opened our doors.  Inspirational moments came this week in watching Beth Ann persevere through pull-ups and PR a back squat, watching Jan do unbroken RX hang clean sets on every round throughout a workout, seeing Shelley run with more efficiency and power than ever before, and noticing that Rue came in on her own time to sweat her way through “Helen”.  Everyday on my way home from the gym I smile recalling the amazing things I’ve seen each and every one of you do the past few weeks.  Those moments have helped me through my own workouts with the mentality of, “if they can push through….I can too.”  One of the biggest reasons I love coaching CrossFit so much is watching woman become empowered and realize how beautiful and strong they are.  It’s that eye opening moment when a barbell is lifted over the head for the first time, or a squat max climbs higher and higher with each week.  It’s the sweat on your brows, the trembling in your legs and the shear joy on your faces when you think to yourself, “wow…my body just did that.”  Strength to me is also the amazing feeling of being able to toss my kids around, have lasting energy throughout the day and lug heavy things around the house without having to ask for help.  It’s watching my body change and get stronger, and realizing that my own hard work and effort is paying off.  Our society (for the most part) has such a skewed image of beauty.  Open magazines or flip channels on the television and we are immersed with pictures of stick thin models and figures who have been photo shopped and probably couldn’t lift a PVC pipe over their heads if they tried.  It has led us to be a people who are overly critical of ourselves and have a hard time taking pride in the small things.  I see it every day in the classroom where young girls who shouldn’t have a concern in the world yet, are critical of themselves and berate themselves for not living up to society’s standard of what they should look like.  Be proud of yourselves for shaping your bodies and getting stronger everyday.  Smile at the fact that you are lifting more than many of the men you come in contact with throughout your day. Next time you want to give yourself a hard time think of the workout you just pushed yourself through, or the new muscle tone peaking through your skin. Through your own personal CrossFit journey, your self-confidence will soar and you will realize being strong will give you way more beauty and joy than squeezing into a small pants size or trying to mimic the look of society.  I am proud of each one of you and can’t wait to see what months of CrossFit and a Paleo challenge will bring!  Thank you for being strong, beautiful woman and for inspiring those around you on a daily basis (:

AMY!