Swollen Arms...

For as long as I can remember, 

I have always been very active.

Whether it was ballet, tennis, tumbling, jazz;

working out has been a huge part of my life

(whether I liked it or not.)

A couple of weeks ago, my friend, Erin

called and asked me to go to a work out class with her.

This didn't seem like a problem, because 

I can't even count the amount of work out classes 

I have been to in my life...

The thing I DIDN'T think about 

was I haven't gone to a weight lifting class

in a LONG time...

Don't get me wrong, I still exercise,

but I don't remember the last time

I lifted weights seriously.

I went to the class, and it was HARD!
It reminded me a lot of CrossFit
which I don't really agree with.

There were different stations where 

we did different work-outs and it was a competition

to see who could do the most reps.

Besides the fact that I am overly competitive,

the teacher was in my group
and pushed me even harder than I imagined.

I about threw up after we were done.

The next day I couldn't straighten my arms.

That continued for the next 3 days. 

I couldn't sleep some nights because 
my arms were in so much pain.

Then something happened I had never experienced before.

My arms SWELLED UP so fat that my shirts wouldn't fit!
I know it is normal for swelling to occur after a workout,

but they swelled up so big and there was 

so much pressure in my arms that I started to get worried.

My brothers made fun of me for a couple of hours

and said I looked like an elephant ha ha.

They started throbbing, so Richard gave me a bag of ice.

But we had to drive to California, so we used 

a cup from a gas station, filled it with ice, and drove for hours.

As you can see, I am very happy about it.

Luckily the swelling went down after a couple of days

and I could laugh about it after.

Haha I am literally laughing right now at how fat my arm looks in this picture.

I told my sister, Kelli and she told me that

this is common and actually happens to people

who do a lot of CrossFit.

It is a condition called Rhabdomyolysis.

It is where your muscle cells explode.  

They leach protein out into the blood stream

and your kidneys take up the job of clearing the

dangerous proteins from the blood.

There are a lot of cases where people 

can actually die from this!

I watched my side effects and 

it didn't lead to anything horrible... LUCKILY.

After this experience, I realized a couple of things..

1. I need to lift weights more.

2. I need to listen to my body and

not work harder than I should.

3. I don't like CrossFit even more 

now than I did before.

4. Most instructors in CrossFit KNOW

this can happen and still let people continue.

5. It is crazy what people will sacrifice

to look good.

I am so grateful for my body. 

There are so many things I don't even think about

that my body does to keep me safe.

I have started to lift weights 

along with my aerobic exercise

to make sure this doesn't happen again

and to keep my body healthy and safe.