Chelsea Fraley - Coach
CFL1: 2018
My story is a lot like everyone else’s. I played sports when I was younger. I spent my high school years thinking I was fat. After graduating I weighed about 132 pounds. About 2-3 years of living on Taco Bell and McDonalds I gained over 60 pounds.
As an effort to lose weight I signed up for a membership at Planet Fitness. I went in; walked on the treadmill, did the machines, and then ended my workout by either getting on the elliptical or the bike. I don’t think I ever even left sweaty. I never pushed myself. When it got hard, much like the sports I played when I was younger, I let myself quit. I never really seen myself as a quitter but as I write this I quit many things on myself. I quit numerous diets. I quit workouts. I quit caring about my health. I can’t remember the exact day but I weighed myself and the scale read 210lbs. I cried. I said this is it. I will NOT let this go any further.
My friends encouraged me to try Crossfit with them. I repeatedly told them no. I had a lot of excuses. I’m too fat, I need to lose weight first. Those workouts are way to hard for me, I can’t do them. Everyone there will be watching me and making fun of me. (Here comes my low self-esteem again). There’s not a box that’s not out of my way. Just anything. Any reason I could think of to not go. Luckily, my friends were consistent. I wasn’t making any progress at Planet Fitness. So, I went to a Crossfit work out. It was AWESOME. It was hard, but they didn’t let me quit. I loved it. I started thinking about which box I would join, wishing there was one closer to me.
I was driving into Fort Smith one day and seen the Crossfit Activate sign. I was so excited! It was in the perfect location. I seriously felt like God had answered my prayer at exactly the right time. I went in, signed up for my Activation Course and my first months membership in the same day. I couldn’t wait to get started.
My self-esteem issues came back at my first workout when I seen all these strong athletes killing the WOD. I was afraid they’d see me in the corner (cause that’s where I’d hide) and see how bad I was at all these new movements I was learning. I was afraid they’d see that I can only hold a plank for a good 15 seconds and that pushups were almost out of the question for me. My experience though was quite the opposite. As I struggled through the workouts, they cheered me on. They encouraged me to finish and not to quit.
But the very best thing Crossfit did for me was it made me believe in myself. At 24 years old I was more confident in myself than I had ever been. They found the best me I could be.
That’s why I wanted to be a coach.
I was hesitant because I have a fear of public speaking (but I’m working on it). I was hesitant because it was something new and I retreated back to not believing in myself. It was new, hard, and I didn’t think people would want ME coaching them. But the coaches of Activate and my friends and family all refused to let me retreat to the low-self esteem Chelsea I was before. They believed in me more than I ever could. I agreed to become a coach because I want to do for other people, what these coaches did for me.
I want to help you find the part of you that truly loves yourself.
