Special Populations

At Reebok World Headquarters in Canton, Mass., sports marketing executive Don Hasselbeck shares his experiences with CrossFit and how it has changed his life.

Hasselbeck was at first skeptical of CrossFit. He has knee issues and other injuries resulting from the years he spent as an NFL tight end with the New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants, and he didn’t think he could ever do the workouts.

“I… Continue Reading

“I came here the first day as an ex-military guy ... and the first week just kicked my butt,” Kosta Xigagos says of his first CrossFit experience.

A CrossFit Pleasanton athlete, Xigagos is an amputee who recently competed in the Southern Powerlifting Federation’s 4-in-1 Powerlifting Event, which included divisions for CrossFit, raw, and single-ply and double-ply suits. He is the first amputee to complete a powerlifting meet.

“I wanted something to push… Continue Reading

After a sedentary lifestyle, a badly injured back and other health complications, J. Rich Wilson dives into CrossFit in an attempt to better his quality of life before turning 40.

As a kid, I did all the typical suburban WASP stuff—tennis, soccer, the summer swim league. In high school, a pair of defective knees took me off the pitch and into the pool full time. I swam year-round for a… Continue Reading

At the Rogue Vs. Again Faster Throwdown in Lake Tahoe, Calif., 2009 Games champion Tanya Wagner talked about her pregnancy and how it has changed her CrossFitting.

In this installment, Wagner, who runs CrossFit Apex with her husband Josh, talks about her first visit to the doctor. The doctor couldn’t understand why Wagner would want to do CrossFit movements—pregnant or not—and cautioned her against exercising strenuously during her pregnancy.

“But I… Continue Reading

On Episode 154 of CrossFit Radio, host Justin Judkins interviewed United Kingdom CrossFitter Michael Bale, as well as Peter Ricciardi, who converted to CrossFit after years of fitness excuses. This episode was webcast live at 6 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011.

3:30 Michael Bale recently completed a 365-day burpee challenge where he completed over 66,000 burpees in the year. He talked about how and why he decided… Continue Reading

At the Rogue Vs. Again Faster Throwdown in Lake Tahoe, Calif., 2009 Games champion Tanya Wagner talked about her pregnancy and how it has changed her CrossFitting.

For Wagner, pregnancy came as a pleasant surprise right before the 2010 Games. In fact, she found out the good news three days before she got to the Home Depot Center, and she admits she was happy she had signed on to compete for her affiliate rather than as… Continue Reading

“If she can do it, you can do it,” trainer Amy Ferro says of athlete Marissa Lelogeais. Marissa is a CrossFitter at CrossFit Southie in Boston, Mass., who has cerebral palsy and a visual impairment that left her partially blind. Those conditions, however, haven’t stopped her from CrossFitting. In fact, CrossFit has helped Marissa build her physical capability.

Having been in and out of the hospital for multiple surgeries, Marissa was no stranger to… Continue Reading

Tim Curdt believes CrossFit workouts helped him deal with one of the hardest parts of his life: saying goodbye to his father.

In a Q&A session at FilFest 2010, CrossFit founder Greg Glassman mildly scolded a delegate who said he had found little success persuading people to do CrossFit by reciting the stated goals of “increasing one’s work capacity across broad time and modal domains” or making one more… Continue Reading