By Amy SullivanNo. 1 Bye bye baby…fatBabies do a number on our bodies, especially when it comes to storing fat. Yes, this was a biological necessity when our cave husband wasn’t able to bring home the bacon (literally). But, in today’s culture, it’s frustrating to leave the hospital and still look pregnant. And if we can get back to our pre-baby weight, it’s magically all directed to new spots (but why never the chest, I’ve wondered). CrossFit ramps up our fat-burning capabilities…fast. It uses those fat pockets for energy to get through met cons. And nevermind the muscles you’ll redevelop. Those increase fat-burning, too. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn – like stoking a fire.No. 2 You get comfortable with the unknown.When you have a kid, all your expectations of motherhood disintegrate. “My baby won’t cry all night long. My baby will take to a bottle. My baby won’t throw a fit in public. My baby will be on a strict eating schedule. My baby will…my baby won’t.” Then you meet the little stinker and you are on survival mode -- feeling your way blindly. However, the more you feel around, the more confident you are in your ability to navigate. You aren’t afraid of the curveballs thrown at you. Instead, you adjust.CrossFit prepares you for the unknown. From the weight to the workout, we walk in the door and go right to the WOD board. We anticipate what we’ll be doing and focus our thinking. We decide what weight we’ll use and picture ourselves working. We embrace change. We enjoy a challenge. Because we did it before, and before that and before that. As our confidence grows, so does our comfort level withthe unknown.Because you never know when your toddler will throw a tantrum in Target.No. 3. You’ll gain endurance.Raising children is no joke. You are chasing, cleaning, cooking, entertaining, wiping and disciplining all before 8 am. Your feet hit the floor before dawn and you are full-speed ahead all. day. long. Every day is a 15-hour WOD and we often get through it with a lot of prayer and coffee.Which is why CrossFit is the perfect training ground. WODs develop the endurance we need to put in those long hours at “the office.” We learn to develop strategies. We pace ourselves. We breathe through the pain. We discipline ourselves. We keep on keeping on until the “work” is done.No. 4. You get one hour completely to yourself.Baby needs more diapers. Brother needs a hole fixed in his jeans. Everyone needs dinner, clean laundry and a tidy home. But what do we need?CrossFit is a great way to sneak in self-care. You have time to think, to breathe, to work and relax. You have time to challenge yourself, to work out your frustrations, to overcome. You have time to socialize, to be an adult and talk about adult things. Then when you are all done, you have even more me-time in the shower and on the ride home. What mom wouldn’t want that?No. 5 You’ll get really good at doing the mundane for time.I remember the first year of mommyhood to be minimally rewarding. We change the baby, we feed the baby. The baby has a blow out. We bathe the baby. The baby spits up. The baby won’t stop crying. The baby needs to nap. The baby needs, needs, needs, needs so we work, work, work. But in practicing the same skills over and over and over, we tend to get better at doing them at record speed. Changing a diaper, cooking macaroni, cleaning up spilled cheerios… 3,2, 1 Go!Just like in CrossFit. We practice the fluidity of our lifts, increase our strength and decrease our Fran time. The more we work, the better we get. And we do it all against the clock.Which leaves more time for rest at the end…maybe.No. 6 You squash the “mom” stigma.When you become a mom, you are also expected to take on this whole new persona. We hand in our “sexy” card for mom jeans, our coupe for a minivan, our Cover Girl faces for moisturizer and mascara. Society gives us leeway to have birthing hips, an extra cup (or two) of coffee and grocery runs at 9pm because, after all, “we are moms.”And while some of those societal permissions are nice (minivans ARE practical when you have children), that doesn’ t have to be all you are.CrossFit gives us a way to maintain the health of our youth – to say, “hey I may be a mom, but I can deadlift all three of my kids…at one time.”