CROSSFIT SUFFOLK   ***  Forging Elite Fitness

Five rounds for time of:
Row 500 meters
135 pound Thruster, 7 reps

There is absolutely nothing wrong with scaling a workout and the athletes who do scale are not considered to be lesser athletes. 

The athletes who do not scale, or rarely scale and consistently perform well are special athletes.  Of the three athletes who completed "Thompson" in heroic fashion, two, amazingly enough, have disabilities.  The third is simply a beast among men.

Lisa has a condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome to her right foot from fractures she received in the line of duty.  The foot has been operated on seven times in the last 10 years.  There is no muscle or "fat pad" at the bottom of the foot.  That's the muscle and tissue at the bottom of your feet that help protect the foot.  Lisa is unable to stand or be mobile on bare feet.  Lisa's first and fifth toes do not make contact with the ground…they are "stuck"in an "upward" position.  The right foot and right leg are atrophied.  Lisa broke her right leg (tibia and fibula) 11 years ago.  She was diagnosed with a shredded meniscus (of the right knee) roughly a year ago.  She has at least one more, hopefully the last, foot surgery in the near future.  There is currently no set date to repair the meniscus.  Her previous surgeries were "structural" and nerve surgeries.  Lisa has a small window of opportunity each day where she can put her pain and the affects of medication aside.  She uses that window to train.  To see her is not to realize what is going on with her or within her.  If you have not seen her atrophied and twisted foot you would have no idea that the right foot is in such a state.  If you aren't aware you probably could not tell that her body is constantly out of alignment or that propulsion from the right foot is non existent.  Lisa also suffers the affects of being down at Ground Zero for two months helping with the recovery operation after the September 11th 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.  Her lung capacity, according to her pulmonologist, has been reduced by 30-40% and she was diagnosed with something called RADS (Reactive Airway Dysfunction Syndrome).  As time passes she shows symptoms that are shared by many of the others down at the World Trade Center.  Symptoms like Acid Reflux.  Training is painful, but not training will only lead to other complications and further atrophy.

Lisa did "Thompson" for 10 rounds with 65lbs. for the back squats, 95 lbs. for the farmer walks and 15' rope climb ascents.  Lisa completed "Thompson" in 32:14.  According to CrossFit HQ's website, Kristan Clever, the woman CrossFit Games 2010 winner, performed the same workout with the same weight in 33:34!  Getting anywhere near Kristan's time is an extraordinary accomplishment as she is a great athlete.  So is Lisa.

Hector has a crushed pelvis.  Seems when 8,000 lbs. of steel falls on your pelvis the pelvis loses the battle!  Hector gets around in a wheelchair.  To say he's made tremendous strides from CrossFitting is an understatement.  Still, he's in pain on a regular basis.  He's had numerous surgeries..one just recently.  His right leg is so atrophied a Wounded Warrior brother, upon observing Hector's right leg said, "what are doing with that thing….why don't you just cut it off?"  The leg is also four inches shorter than his other leg.  Hector was stuck under the oil tanker that fell on top of him, and two other Marines, for an hour while his body was smashed into a horrible position and the Marine to his left instantly lost his life.

Hector performed "Thompson" by climbing the rope like anyone else, perhaps a bit faster than anyone else, front squatting a 53 lb. kettlebell in one hand while holding onto a stationary object with the other.  For the Farmer's Walk Hector put his braces on and walked holding a 26 lb. kettlebell in each hand.  Please consider the fact that Hector could not walk more than a step or two a couple of years ago and couldn't do a sit-up or a pull-up.  Hector's 10 round "Thompson" time was 41:58!

Rich S. is our resident "Beast".  Sorry, we can't seem to find a weakness for Rich.  Rich has a "six pack" visible in his abdomen and his lower back!  As a law enforcement officer he works a rotating schedule and gets overtime so sleep is often a challenge.  Rich often walks through the door like a zombie, but transforms into a champion upon hearing the magical words, "Three, Two, One, Go".  It is not uncommon for Rich to wait 5 or 10 minutes after a prescribed workout to do another prescribed workout after being awake for more hours in a row than a human should be.

Rich did "Thompson" as prescribed, 10 rounds for time of: 1, 15' rope climb ascent, 29 reps of 95 lb. back squats and 10 meters of 135 lb. (in each hand) Farmer's Walk, in 40:43.

We're proud of these athletes and what they accomplish on a regular basis.  They are truly special and we are fortunate to train amongst them.

One of Hector's strengths is rope climbs, but that wasn't always the case.

Squatting is never easily performed nor is it ever balanced.
 
Walking is a monumental task.