My 2017 Experience and Preparing for 2018 – Mallory Berger

The 2017 Crossfit season has officially come to an end and there is so much to reflect on and even more to look forward to heading into 2018!

This year had such a huge impact on me. I don’t even know where to begin. I was able to surprise myself and do things I didn’t think possible and stepped my commitment to training up to a whole new level.

One of the biggest things I changed this year was dialing in nutrition. I know people say this all the time, but I can’t stress enough how much getting a nutrition coach (woohoo #teamWAG) changed my life. Going into the season I had planned on going team as I had never qualified as an individual before, and honestly it wasn’t even really a goal of mine. I always enjoyed competing on a team and was really content with that so making the switch to individual was really huge for me.

One of my personal struggles since I have been doing CrossFit was always feeling my appearance didn’t reflect my level of fitness, which looking back now I think is a reason going individual wasn’t a goal of mine. I guess I felt like I didn’t belong with these amazing flawless looking super bad-ass girls. In December of last year though I finally had enough and stopped feeling sorry for myself and signed up with a nutrition coach. By the time the open came around I was doing things I never thought possible in training and pretty much looked like a completely different person. The holes I had were slowly starting to fill in and I found a new confidence I had never experienced before. When I did end up qualifying individually I was so petrified of accepting the invitation because I thought I would completely embarrass myself out there.  I talked about it with a lot of people, but eventually made the decision to accept it because I didn’t want fear to be the thing holding me back.

I AM SO GLAD I DID! Competing as an individual this year was one of the coolest thing I have ever done. Training was so intense, but I loved it. Knowing that come game day there would be no team to save me out there and everything that happened would be a reflection of my decisions and commitment made me work harder then ever before. I wanted to know what I would be capable of and have no regrets. Regional weekend came and went so quickly but it was amazing. Like many people, I was really bummed about not having a barbell since that was always my “thing” but I was so proud of myself for being able to become enough of a well-rounded athlete to not need one and still hold my own out there. The personal growth I experienced throughout the season is really hard to even put into words. Not to sound like a complete cliched crossfitter, but I just love how this sport pushes us to never stop trying to discover the best version of ourselves. I am so beyond fired up to do it again next year and improve upon my performance.

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster of emotions (and actions) in the past 2 months since regionals. It’s nice to take a break from such high training intensity and relax on my diet, but I also know that’s not going to help me place any higher next year. Not every day is perfect and it can be hard to stay motivated when the start of next season is so far away and I am in the miserable Melbourne winter—(What?? You didn’t think I could write a whole blog post without complaining about the weather, did you?!?! lol) but I am definitely pumped to go back to battle out there. I still have plenty of self doubt and just turning 33 made me feel ridiculously old compared to a lot of the girls out there, but as long as I continue to trust the process I still seem to keep getting better every day, not to mention I have the most amazing fiance, coach and sponsor who believe in me so much. I can’t wait to see what I am capable of and make them proud in 2018!

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Mallory Berger

TBC Ambassador

Live Right CrossFit Owner

2017 18th Fittest Woman in the Pacific Region