Jan Malec

Toward the end of 2008, I had reached my heaviest weight ever in my life. The weight had come on over the course of many years. There had been many weight loss efforts…from Weight Watchers to Jenny Craig to shakes and starvation. There had been some success, but slowly, over time the weight came back. The worst word in the dictionary to me was the E-word, exercise.

I realized as I faced the latter portion of my life that something must change. My mom had bilateral knee replacements in her early 60’s, primarily due to obesity. I was 50 at the time and decided that was not going to be me. I wanted to be healthy for my future self and, though it sounds a bit strange, my future grandchildren. I wasn’t sure what to do….

I googled personal trainers and I found one. Now, you all know him, Ryan. Ryan came to my house twice a week for 6 months. I’ll never forget the first session; he had me on my forearms in plank position within the first five minutes. I thought I would die. Well, Ryan stuck with me; I cried, I swore, I refused, I cried some more. Gradually, I got stronger. The weight started to come off. I tried to eat better, but always struggled.

I lost 20 pounds. Then, I when I could not continue to pay for in home sessions, I joined LA Fitness in May 2009. Ryan came with me and showed me different workouts I could do. We kept in touch via email and text. I went to the “gym,” but, as time went on, began my backsliding ways. Without having someone showing up on my doorstep, I had no accountability. Who knows whether I did enough weight or enough reps? I tried some group classes, even a hellish spinning session, but nothing clicked. I was bored too easily.

Three to four times/week became two, sometimes none. The weight did not come back, but no more was lost. As always, I could not commit to the discipline of eating well and exercising the right way.

In June 2010, after a year at LA, I was in no better shape and weighed the same. I began eating better and lost another 25 pounds. But, still the boredom with the same old routine.

Then Ryan told me about CrossFit. Of course, my response was, “Are you kidding me?” Well, in August 2010, I went in for a session with Merle at USA. It was very intimidating. Merle showed me around and worked me out like I had never worked before. It was awful.

I thought about it and decided to jump in and join. Merle, Dan and Doug will tell you that I was quite a challenge in Berlin. They pushed me and the members encouraged me. Something clicked.

Here we are in May 2011. I have lost another 10 pounds, but the number isn’t my focus anymore. What is the focus are the changes in my body. I am stronger; my knees don’t hurt when I climb stairs. I can climb the 4 flights of stairs at the parking garage at my work without stopping and breathing heavy. I have lost 2 pants sizes; my body has reshaped and tightened up. When I started, I couldn’t do one jumping pull-up, now, with bands, I can do 10 in a row. I had to do box jumps onto a 45# plate, now I can do a 12 inch box. I have a long way to go, but will keep going.

My nemesis? Squats and running. I still can’t squat to depth, but the coaches keep working with me. Running is difficult because I have calcium deposits in my knees. I can do 200m now, but not much more. I need to learn how to breathe.

In April, I competed in Festivus. I got two PRs and had a great time. The best moment was during the dead lift when I heard a familiar voice and looked over to see Ryan cheering me on. He gave me the biggest hug when I finished. Each and every coach told me how proud he/she was.

That’s why this exercise hater kept coming back. The people. Coaches Tony, Dan, Doug, Rick and Steve. Coach/Owners Merle and Glenn. Complete strangers congratulating me at the end of a WOD. The camaraderie of the 6:00 PM class. The shared pain during the WOD and the triumph when we finish. Having everyone gathered around my rower as I finished the 2000K, keeping me going. I could go on and on….That’s why I am no longer an exercise hater.