Welcome CFRR’s Apprentice – Melissa Harjehausen

Hello! The words I am about to type are immensely meaningful and surreal to me…

My name is Melissa Harjehausen and I am a very very soon to be (like 1 week away) Level 1 Certified Crossfit Trainer.

I grew up in love with all things athletic, and for most of my life could be found spending hours upon hours on the court as a competitive tennis player and gained some experience competing at the college level. Owning the role of team captain planted the first seeds of a desire to coach and lead others. When my formal tennis days had passed I pursued long distance running. I signed up for a training program, registered for and completed a full marathon – running 26.2 miles without stopping.

The above paragraph describes a person who has embodied and owned a top level of health and fitness for essentially their entire life – someone who grew up as a naturally talented athlete who earned a collegiate athletic scholarship, and then went on to maintain a life full of health, fitness, and happiness. I wish this were all true and where I told you “and now I’m a coach and personal trainer who would like to help you pursue a life of health, fitness and happiness too.”

This is not the case, however…and while my natural coordination and innate love for sports carried me through to some cool accomplishments, that although cool – I’m not necessarily proud of them, as I never exuded overall health in the sense that I never took care of or valued my mind and body the way it deserved. I had deep rooted struggles with nutrition and due to illness I had to drop out of college. I forfeited a tennis scholarship due to lack of enough physical health to continue. I was in and out of attempts at health and proceeding steps in the right direction were often short lived. I experienced years and years of ups and downs – many well intended steps toward health, but many relapses, failures and hard face plants.

In 2013 I was desperate for some sort of change from my most recent face plant. I entered “crossfit in round rock tx” into my google search bar, and this is the moment that the magic began and I where I eventually discovered that unicorns are real.

It’s no secret that I like unicorns – and if we’ve ever texted chances are high that I have included a unicorn emoji at some point in our conversation. It’s also no secret that unicorns are just an idea – an idea of a mythical, horse-like creature that can fly – something surreal. Sometimes, trying to make big lasting changes in our lives seems just as far off and impossible as the thought of a unicorn.

My initial attraction to Crossfit stems from it’s embodiment of 10 general physical skills: endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. I thought it looked fun and at a time when I was desperate for an element of fun in my life, I gave it a shot. When I “tested pullups” I couldn’t dead hang from the pull up bar for more than 2 seconds. As a prior “athlete” this was slightly embarrassing. My first workout included an empty bar and the lightest medicine ball you can find in the gym. I was hooked and returned day in and day out.

If I spend time flipping back through my workout journals – the physical strength changes and developments are astounding and surreal to me. (Insert lack of ability to hang from pull up bar to performing a bar muscle up during this year’s Crossfit Open.

Crossfit fosters multifaceted physical strength. Seeing physical strength developments overflows into mental and emotional strength (if you let it) – and this my friends, is where I discovered that desires so big that it seems silly to even entertain the belief that they could ever be real (unicorns) can become your reality.

I challenge you to let the physical grit that you muster up overflow into your mindset. The mental developments and changes I have experienced through this sport have impacted the way I value my mind, body and life to a higher degree than I ever could have imagined. (Oh, I returned to school to complete an Associate’s degree in Spanish, a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Psychology, and started a Master’s degree in nutrition; pursuing that to completion is not a totally dismissed idea, especially now.) I never dreamed that I would be where I am today because it was too far off to even be dreamed about. It IS utterly and consistently surreal to me.

Set a goal for yourself – something real and attainable, but then use that grit you’ve learned and go beyond your idea – and catch your unicorn. I promise it’s possible.

I am thrilled, humbled and honored to be a future CFRR coach. I need you to know that I am dedicated to each and every one of you, and will give nothing less than my absolute all to help you accomplish whatever it is you decide you want to achieve. With a community like this, the possibilities are endless.

Peace, love, and unicorns,

-Melissa