Special Populations

For Tyler Belanger, coaching special kids is about allowing them to live without limitations.

At CrossFit Catalyst in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., the coach works with an almost non-verbal, functioning autistic boy.

“Does he understand what is actually being said, and pitch and tone of voice? Probably not,” Belanger explains. “But we can’t really tell either. What we know is that he really enjoys when people smile, and… Continue Reading

For pregnant CrossFitters, resources on how to continue hitting the WOD are becoming easier to find. CrossFit Chantilly owner Catherine Cochran, a Type 1 diabetic, shares her experience.

In 2009, as a Type 1 diabetic struggling with my condition and experiencing life-threatening hypoglycemic episodes, I did my first CrossFit workout: Fran.

It was heavily scaled, but I completed the workout and was immediately hooked. In the… Continue Reading

Ron Gellis, a recovering alcoholic and psychologist, started a program that combines elements of a traditional 12-step model with CrossFit. Community, he says, is key. Andréa Maria Cecil reports.

About a year ago, Zach’s 7-year-old brother found him lying on the floor of their parents’ Washington home, passed out from a heroin overdose. Two weeks later, his sister saw him in the bathroom with a needle in his arm.

The 21-year-old, who asked that his last name… Continue Reading

On Episode 250 of CrossFit Radio, host Justin Judkins interviewed CrossFit Steele Creek owner Dr. Brian Strump and recovering addict Scott Ries. This episode was webcast live at 6 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2012.

The Words of Wisdom are from Roy Baumeister, professor of psychology at Florida State University, and they were spoken in an interview with Dan Ariely: Why Willpower Doesn’t Work.

5:28… Continue Reading

Kate Foster fights cancer and wins. Now she wants your help. Emily Beers reports.

The goal of the CrossFit Games is to find the fittest man and woman on Earth. But when Kate Foster took the microphone and addressed the crowd at the Home Depot Center on July 14, it became clear that CrossFit is about something so much bigger than that.

The 13-year-old, who was diagnosed with leukemia last year, proudly… Continue Reading

After an accident left her without the use of her legs, Chile’s Francisca Mardones discovered wheelchair tennis. And the rest of the world discovered her. Andréa Maria Cecil reports.

When Francisca Mardones was 5, she dreamed of being an Olympian. Her wish would be granted. But not in the vein of her childhood imagination. Fate, it seems, had slightly different plans.

A multi-sport athlete in high school, Mardones got a… Continue Reading

Bayley Lawrence talks about her experience CrossFitting while pregnant.

Pregnancy is a workout only CrossFit could design:

Start with an empty vest. For every week that goes by, add 1/4 to 1 lb. to the vest. Continue adding weight for eight months. Do not stop the workout but modify if necessary. This is not for time. Going faster will get you nowhere.

3-2-1 … go!

Mother Lynne Knapman explains how CrossFit changed life for her special-needs son.

My 21-year-old son Chris participated in his first CrossFit competition a few months ago.

What’s so special about that? Chris has a moderate intellectual disability. Along with this disability come poor muscle tone, a severe lack of spatial awareness, a very positive attitude and a predisposition to carry excess weight.

We have always… Continue Reading