The other day I was talking with my weightlifting coach and we were discussing the talent of young CJ Cummings. If you don’t know who he is, he is a 13-year-old bad ass 69 kg weightlifter from Savannah, GA who recently set a record of 118kg (261lbs) in the Snatch and 146kg (322lbs) in the Clean & Jerk. I got tears in my eyes when I thought about how lucky CJ is that he found the sport FOR HIM. He was built for weightlifting and what if he had never found it??? The thought of this made me sad and made me wonder how many people never find what they were truly meant to do??? So I thought I would compose this lovely article to inspire you to try something new…
The sun is shining, we live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet and CrossFit encourages us to try new sports so why are we doing the same thing day in and day out? Lets explore new and different sports! Yes, we all love CrossFitting and lifting heavy shit but lets take a day (or perhaps 2) to get out and try something new. Running up Mt Tam, riding through China Camp with all the bunnies hoping too and fro, trying the CF Swim WODs or Competition Training class… do any of these things sound good to you? Sometimes I check out peoples legs and buns and I say to myself, “Wow, the weights I could squat with those buns…” don’t let your God given tushie go to waste, try the Strength Class and look into Power Lifting. You can also take a lesson from CJ and see if Olympic Lifting is for you, perhaps you should try a class or 2 to see if you are an older version of him. Just remember, if CJ never met the barbell, both he (and the rest of the world) would be deprived of his lifting.
Perhaps the sport you were built for is calling your name but your ears are full of bunny fur… well, its time to remove the fur! I challenge you to try something new, just once a week for a month, see if you are inspired, if you can expand your world, meet new people, learn something new and take a chance on different. Different may be more familiar then you think…
-Barbells & Bunnies
Meshelle
PS, please note that by the time I finish this article, I am sure that CJ has all ready exceeded the above lifts so do not quote me!
