Adapt and Overcome: Nicholas Thom

“The first thing I thought was, ‘How’s my face doing?’ because this is how I make my money.”

Nicholas Thom of CrossFit Rubicon has the courage to make light of injuries suffered when he was the victim of an IED in Afghanistan. Thom lost three fingers and both legs above the knee, and he sustained severe damage to his arms. It took six months for Thom to learn how to walk with prosthetics, and it was a year before he was able to walk for four hours a day.

When he found that physical therapy wasn’t quite enough, Thom tried CrossFit. And he’s still doing it.

“We all have to be real creative about what we do with him and how we do it and how we make it work for him,” trainer Rick Johnson says. “And he’s strong as an ox. He doesn’t know the word ‘quit’ at all.”

While wounded warriors need some adaptations, trainer David (Chef) Wallach says CrossFit doesn’t really change all that much for Thom: “He’s still working on explosive force from core to extremity like every other CrossFitter.”

7min 21sec

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Additional reading: Athletes—Always by Russell Berger, published Nov. 4, 2010.