Hang cleans...what?!?!?

So, with my whole 'trying new things attitude' I started a new gym about a month ago. This gym is unlike ANYTHING I've ever done before. I'm totally that girl who gets super into a workout for about 3-6 months and then is bored with it and never wants to do it again. That's actually how I roll with many things in life....hmmm, I'm seeing a trend! Over the Summer it was Birkram Yoga and then Core Power and now I've moved on to a gym that is a cardio Crossfit thing. 


I refuse to join a Crossfit gym due to my previous knowledge to the crew that rolls...Yes, it might sound judgmental, but whatever it ain't  my thing. I figured I needed to take my workout to the next level to get in shape for my Rica trip! This IS the next level. I've never really lifted weights in my life and things like; dead lifts, kettle bell swings, push press, and tabata curls meant nothing to me. But, now they do and the most awkward of them all is called 'hang clean' (wtf?) When I first saw this in action I thought to myself there is no way I could do that! If you don't know what it is here's a quick video. 

Yeah, weird, right? Anyways, I had my first experience a couple weeks ago and it was just that- AWKWARD! I joined this little strength challenge with the gym so track my improvements and challenge myself. It's called 'Beat The Soft' so we don't all get squishy during the holidays :-) I started with just the weight of the bar 35#'s.......tonight I did 65#'s....Yay- progress! I'm sure to most strong people this is nothing, but to me I'm proud! I'm looking forward to seeing how much stronger I get and results that come. Hopefully all this madness results in the Costa Rica figure I've always dreamed of ;-) I can't decide what's worse though....box jumps or hang cleans.....I'll keep you posted on that!