"If you would've told me 10 months ago that I was going to compete in weightlifting in a national championship, I would've laughed and called you a liar because I just never thought that I could do something like that," says Cassidy Duffield of Salt Lake City CrossFit.
A former gymnast, Duffield admits she was once self-conscious about having broad shoulders and a muscular figure. When her gymnastics career ended, she looked forward to being "skinny" because she no longer needed muscles.
Things have changed since then. When a friend introduced Duffield to CrossFit, she was hesitant. She was still plagued by self-confidence issues, and Olympic lifting intimidated her—a condition that was exasperated when her first workout was Grace. But after just a couple of months of CrossFit, her body image began to change.
"Everything about CrossFit has shown me that I can do amazing things by myself, and it's been a really crazy journey in finding myself and trying to believe in myself," she says.
Today, Duffield is focusing on coaching and Olympic-weightlifting meets. She has some advice for young women everywhere: "Believe in yourself and don't compare yourself to others at all. Focus on what you've accomplished and always believe that you're unstoppable."
Video by Mariah Moore and Jay Vera.
8min 17sec
Additional reading: "Beyond the Body" by Louis Hayes, published April 21, 2010.
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