CrossFit to Figure: A Wild Ride
Competition, Surgery, Recovery… What do they all have in common?
A figure (bodybuilding) show was the last thing I thought I’d ever do. As a performance-based athlete, I always respected aesthetic-based sports, but always said: “oh, that’s not for me!” Until it was.
CrossFit was my sport of choice, dedicating my life to training. I moved across the country to train with the best coaches I knew of at the time. A couple of years in now, I was feeling unstoppable. My body was doing things I had dreamed of. Everything was going so smoothly… until it wasn’t.
I had a nagging hip injury I couldn’t seem to shake. I scaled back some training, but still had visions I was determined to turn into actions and memories. I worked with various PTs, chiros, massage therapists, dry needling therapists, etc… nothing seemed to help.
After 6 months of no progress, I needed a change but had one more competition on the calendar I had committed to. I competed in a team CrossFit competition and we qualified for the final event. The event wasn’t released until right before we started. Turns out, I had to do 3:00 of max deadlift reps. *GULP* The movement that aggravated my hip the most was hinging/bending over. I barely warmed up because the reps were excruciating.
The clock counted down: “10..9..8..” I took a deep breath and exited my body…
Competitive athletes will relate. We’ve trained ourselves to “dig deep” and can dip into the “flow and f^cking GO” mode when it’s go time. It WAS go time…
“…3…2…1…go!”
I deadlifted the bar for 3:00 straight. We got 2nd overall in the competition against some solid competition. I struggled to walk for the rest of the day. The next few months and weeks, regardless of how much I backed off, things weren’t improving. I decided to take a break from CrossFit type training and focus on Olympic Weightlifting only, which helped the pain calm down and I was still able to build strength (score!) At least, it was a temporary band-aid to a bigger problem.
Finally, I decided to jump through modern medical hoops. I went to a pain specialist hoping I’d get a cortisone injection or something similar to reduce inflammation and be good as new. The doctor ordered an MRI to cover all of the bases and the findings were (at the time) Earth-shattering in my world. The report came back with not 1 torn hip labrum, but multiple tears in both hips. The original pain specialist turned me away, recommending I seek out a surgeon ASAP.
Weeks later, I found myself sitting in a downtown LA office awaiting an appointment with a top west coast sports surgeon. After a very brief evaluation, the surgeon said I needed bilateral hip surgery, and there really were no other options. Without reattaching the labrums, things would only ever continue to get worse. I asked if I could do both hips at once to reduce overall recovery time and prevent any muscular imbalances. They told me nobody ever does two hips at once… but they would if I was serious. I was serious and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made.
With surgery on the brain and competition in the heart, I needed to come up with a game plan that felt GOOD. My training had already begun to shift into bodybuilding-type work (think isometric weight training and machines) because I could still train “hard” without aggravating my hips. In fact, systematically building strength with less compounding and dynamic movements allowed the hip pain to subside some and opened a whole new window of opportunity.
I decided to put the muscle I had been building over the past few years to good use before I had surgery. I knew my leg muscles going to atrophy post surgery… so I wanted a last “hoo-rahh!” and choose to sign up for a bodybuilding show. It was the closest show to where I lived, exactly 12 weeks out, and a national-qualifying show so there was bound to be some bigger competition.
12 weeks later I got 2nd, qualified for nationals, and had one hell of a good time flaunting around on stage (read: posing deliberately). The training leading up to the show was FUN. Everything felt right. Almost like everything I had ever done led me to this next chapter.
I prepared in a healthy and sustainable way, just like I would have done had it been a performance-based sport such as CrossFit or Olympic Weightlifting. I firmly believe this was why my prep went so smoothly! Countless competitors will say prep is one of the hardest things you can do — from being in a caloric deficit, training intensely, eating as cleanly as possible (for most), and sticking to the sleep schedule and recovery protocols like a religious practice.
I’m grateful I hadn’t done a bodybuilding show before finding CrossFit or Olympic Weightlifting. I don’t think I would have approached it with such a level-head and mindful attitude. I grew up dancing, and just about everyone I knew (including myself) had some sort of unhealthy relationship with food. Whether it was not eating to look a certain way or over-eating as a coping mechanism — it became easy to spot when someone was experiencing an unhealthy relationship with food. Sports have taught me to fuel for purpose. Food isn’t a punishment or a reward, rather, an incredible tool we have to create ourselves from the inside out.
Training for 12 weeks with torn hip labrums was almost like a game. Instead of getting angry or frustrated at what I “couldn’t” do, I showed compassion and empathy and focused on what I COULD do. Deadlifts were typically painful, but I could do above the knee rack pulls and still get quality hamstring and glute requirement without any impingement. While jumping and running was out of the question, I played with new modalities that I don’t typically use like the Stairmaster and the elliptical (a machine I admittedly scoffed at for years of my life.)
My intuition was my guide and damn was she a good one. I allowed myself to compartmentalize my priorities. I had 12 weeks to focus strictly on my show. While being compassionate and movement-conscious in training, I was still able to push myself, put on muscle, and eliminate fat. Once the competition was over, I would then allow myself to shift my focus and attention to preparing for my next big event: bilateral hip arthroscopy with femoral osteoplasty.
With surgery scheduled and the show finished… I was ready. Physically — I was at my peak. My muscles were balanced. My glutes and hamstrings were as built as they could be to prepare for the instability and lack of strength training to come. Physique competitors often get depleted leading up to the show and on show day, but I was rebounding and ready to go. Mentally — I was at my peak. The show reminded me just how strong I am when I give something my full attention and go all in. Surgery was just another stepping stone in my journey.
Just in like in sport, I gave myself goals for my next big surgical event.
- Have the surgeon say, “Wow, you’re the fastest healer we’ve ever seen!” at post-op appointment ✅
- Never have to use the wheelchair (opt to crutch instead) ✅
- Be crutch-free in under 3 weeks ✅
- Focus on what I can control ✅
- If anyone states, “poor thing, oh that must hurt, etc.” — provide clarity by communicating how I’m really doing (well!) ✅
- Think, eat, and perform my way to full health — in progress as I write this! ✅
This show will not be my last. I intend to recover fully from surgery within 2 more months and compete in a national show in 2020. My goals are big and I know it’s only a matter of time…
Stay tuned. This is just the beginning. The foundation has been set. Now it’s time to build the empire.
Onwards,
Rebecca
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