Crush the Former You


What people are saying about Crossfit " "

Todd is a former Marine Infantry Scout Sniper that I had the pleasure of serving with in the early 90's. We reconnected through Facebook and the rest is history. Each time I hear a story like Todd's it reminds me of why I love CrossFit so much...Way to go Todd & Sallie!

In order to describe my CrossFit journey, which began in January 2009, I feel like I need to explain how I took my first steps. In early 2009, my father was diagnosed with a slow growing tumor at the base of his brain stem. Although the tumor itself was benign, the doctors determined that it had probably been growing for a couple of years and by the time it was discovered and removed, Dad was left with irreversible nerve damage.

My father was always a tremendously strong and kind man, emotionally, spiritually and physically. He loved the old “Frank Zane” style of working out and we always had lots of dumbbells and barbells in the house. Even when I was a young Marine in my “prime,” I never felt like I was strong enough to work at his level.

Up until the week he went into the hospital, he was still going to a local gym three or four times a week, but that all changed after his operation. The removal of the tumor left Dad unable to eat or drink on his own. He depended on a feeding tube for the last ten months of his life, and in that time, the monument of a man I knew went from 230 pounds down to 160.

I work on the North Slope of Alaska on a two week on, two week off schedule. When I am on the Slope, I work 12 hour days, am provided with very good food, and live in a comfortable but extremely small room. It is easy to fall into a trap of inactivity and overindulgence, and as happens to a lot of folks who take jobs up here, I gained quite a bit of weight. One of my Christmas gifts from my wife in 2008 was a pair of size 38 jeans, and I was tipping the scales at 227. I wasn’t happy with where I was, but didn’t care enough to make a change.

About the same time Dad went into the hospital I re-connected with an old Marine friend on Facebook, Jay Roughton. The conversation was casual and light. We talked about our past, caught up on a few friends and Jay briefly mentioned his passion for CrossFit. I remember being mildly intrigued and was curious enough to visit the CrossFit main site, but I didn’t get past the front page and didn’t understand how the WOD I saw could actually get anyone in shape.  I wouldn’t visit CrossFit again for a few more weeks but the seed had very much been planted.

Seeing the dramatic and sudden changes in my father, even early on in the year, inevitably prompted me to look at my own life. Had I done what I wanted to do in my life? Was I truly being the father I wanted to be to my children?  Was I happy with myself? Was I physically fit enough to be around when my children had children of their own?

I realized there were a lot of “no” answers to those questions and that I needed not only to make a change but to find a personal outlet that would allow me some release from what life was throwing my way. I found that working out was the best outlet I could come up with. I started with familiar, simple routines I had seen my dad do hundreds of times – bench presses, squats, curls. I bought a few Muscle & Fitness magazines to get some ideas and started working out 4-5 times a week. I noticed some changes, but they were few and limited – I was getting stronger but not fitter, and was still carrying a gut.

The more I got into my fitness routine, the more I found myself going back to the CrossFit site and spending more time talking with Jay and realizing the difference a CrossFit philosophy would bring to my journey. I started incorporating CrossFit workouts into my daily routine – for the two weeks at work, I concentrated on bodyweight exercises in my room, followed a rather strict paleo diet, and beat on an old tractor tire with a sledgehammer in a storage facility by my office during work breaks. When I was at home, I could spend two weeks concentrating on actual lifts, better diet and focusing on the daily WODs.

Following that pattern, I lost a total of 32 pounds since January 2009. I still have a few more to go but I am very happy with my progress. To quote Jay, “I would crush the former me.” But really, I’ve only just begun.

Two weeks ago, I took the first vacation I’ve taken only for myself in the last 20 years. I went to Colorado to decompress, visit family, and train at Highlands Ranch CrossFit. I wanted to get a better grasp on all of the Olympic lifts that I was unable to learn by myself.

I had planned this trip for a while, but not long before I was scheduled to leave, my father fought through pneumonia. It wasn’t the first time he’d contracted pneumonia in the last year, and in fact it had become a monthly ordeal. He would get it, leave his care facility to go to the hospital for active treatment, and then return to his nursing home until the next round. Only once in that time had he actually been able to come back to his own home, sit in his favorite chair and watch his grandkids play.

When it came time for me to head to Colorado, Dad was recovering from his most recent bout of pneumonia and starting to improve, so I decided to go forward with my plans.

I arrived in Colorado on November 9th and met with Nate Whitman at Highlands Ranch CrossFit a few hours after arriving. His training was extremely positive and he emphasized everything I was doing right and could do to improve vs. what I was doing wrong. I quickly realized that even though I had come a long way, my CrossFit journey was just beginning. I had a lot of work to do both to improve my techniques and my stamina.

On Nov. 10th I was scheduled to meet with Nate, but got word from home that Dad had suddenly slipped into a coma at 6:00 AM and passed away at noon. I was shattered. I didn’t know whether to stay in Colorado or go back home. After talking with my wife and Mom I decided to stay in Denver.

My saving grace last week was Nate and the Highlands Ranch CrossFit group. I was there between two and four hours a day, watching, training and just being. It was the only place I could clear my head and not be surrounded by the finality of Dad’s passing. Nate was a tremendous support and I can’t begin to stress what a help he was for me in my darkest of times. I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping, and was emotionally drained. I sure wanted to train though, and although I knew I wasn’t physically where I wanted to be, I also realized I was at least finding the path to get me there. In January 2009, CrossFit was a seed planted right around the same time Dad was diagnosed with his tumor, and 10 months later I found myself in a CrossFit Gym 3500 miles from home when he passed. Not only did CrossFit offer me training but it offered me friendship and support when I needed it the most.

I have to thank Jay Roughton for planting the seed and for his continued motivation, friendship and conversation, which has kept me on my path. I want to thank Nate Whitman for his incredible training, positive attitude and his friendship at a pretty dark time. To Ryan Stills, I give thanks for having me in his class and spending extra time with me afterwards and for his incredible display of athleticism completing Murphy in full fire gear and Oxygen in less than an hour. I have a long way to go, but I am very excited for the journey to get there and I have now seen what a real CrossFit athlete can do.

My life has now changed forever. My garage is a CrossFit gym. I recently made a local friend who has an incredible CrossFit gym at his house. My wife is working on her fitness and is very supportive. My kids work out with me and when I am in the garage, they are right there with me having a blast.

The CrossFit community is one of the most welcoming I have ever come across, going well above and beyond personal fitness and helping me with a positive lifestyle that everyone within the community is eager to share.

Jay, I am so grateful you planted the seed last January. You changed my life.