Most of the pleasures I have experienced in my life seem to have thrusted in it out of practically nowhere.

Same as CrossFit.

Fast forward from December 2012, when I first tried CF, I can confidently say that it has become not only a lifestyle, but also my family and a priceless source of mental and physical strength and unlimited possibilities. It has given me the courage to believe in myself, change the things I always thought would never change, stand on my own feet and chase my dreams. For some this may sound familiar, for others too much. This is about my story, the story of a woman who managed at 35 to take her life in her own hands and go for it!

I was introduced to CrossFit by one of the trainers at a globo gym in my neighborhood in Utrecht, the Netherlands. I used to be one of the people that go to the gym, try out all the equipment just a bit, then scroll through their FB page for 10′ and then train again for 5′. So much time wasted!

My first ever Wod was :

10 minutes AMRAP

– 12 air squats

– 10 sit ups

– 8 push ups

…and I was so proud to have managed to do 10 full rounds (pushups scaled to knees).

In no time I was a CF junkie, registered with my first box (CrossFit Newstyle) and started working out 2x per week. This soon went to 3x per week and then at some point 0x per week. Yes, at some point it was too much. The fact that I had to bike 35′ to the Box and God knows how long it took me to get back home after the WoD, was like doing double WoDs and I ended up feeling wasted for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, there was no other Box closer to home, so I was flirting with the idea of quitting. As the sport begun to pick up in The Netherlands, a new Box opened up in Utrecht (CrossFit U1) which was already a good deal closer to home. Of course I would give it a try! It was such a different experience from my first Box. That was when I started grasping that not all Boxes are the same, but also that I hadn’t ‘clicked’ with the ones I had been training at.

Until I heard that a new Box would soon open! UnScared CrossFit, an 800 sq. Box even closer to home that was due to open in March 2015. I had to go and check it out! I contacted the owners Jochem and Willem and was welcomed to go and meet them and have a peek at the progress of the works. I ended up going there even if just for a chat and a coffee, or help with anything I could. It felt like home. I was embraced, welcomed and was at last I was sharing with the UnScared people the same views about the CF community. This community has helped me, supported me and uplifted me more than I could have ever expected and wished.

I guess when it ‘clicks’ you just know it. It’s sort of like falling in love. And I fell hard.

There was no hesitation in signing a lifetime contract. I was not only getting a ridiculous offer for unlimited training, I was given the right to feel I belong. But it wasn’t until after I started training that I realized how much the name of the Box meant to me. I needed to feel and be UnScared, in every way.

Living on my own in a foreign country with no family around, I found in CrossFit my home away from home. As it seems now, I may have found even more than that. It is becoming a worldwide home!

This is the start of my journey. A journey I could have never embarked on had it not been for the strength I found in CF and my Home Box (love you guys)!