Our Empower oldtimers have heard this tale more than a few times by now but a passing conversation the other day with a newer member reminded me that not everyone knows how or why Empower came to be.

If you’ve heard the tale before, please skip over it, it is intended for those members who are struggling with their fitness and are uncertain if they can ever achieve their fitness goals.  Contrary to popular opinion, I did not come out of the womb handstand walking and throwing around heavy barbells.  Here’s how I came to CrossFit:

My Judo training started in 1980 at the ripe old age of 8 and I began competing at age 9.  20 years later, in 2001 at the age of 29 my body was broken and I was living in constant pain.  I retired from Judo (obviously) and from Dragon Boating (I used to be on a team with Bruiser, Dr. T, his two brothers and Crusher’s brother).  I stopped going to the gym because it hurt too much.  I resigned myself to a life of gentle activities like Yoga and Pilates but, to my surprise, even those proved painful.  It hurt to sit, to stand, to lie down.  Soon I didn’t even like to walk in the park with Sunghee because it hurt too much.
   

Desperate to free myself of chronic pain I sought help from physiotherapists, chiropractors, RMTs and sports medicine doctors but like Humpty Dumpty, none of them could put my broken body back together again.  At best they could temporarily relieve some of my symptoms, at worst they just aggravated the situation.

There was no constant to my suffering.  My foot would hurt, then my neck.  Or perhaps my shoulder or my knee.  Often my back but sometimes my hip.  And I don’t mean a mild ache, I mean the sort of pain that leaves you sleepless and incapacitated. 

The health professionals sold me all sorts of cures like custom insoles, potions and special foam mattresses but none of these things helped.  My future looked bleak.  I had watched my father, a former athlete, suffer with debilitating arthritis from his late 30’s.  I hadn’t even made it that far.

Then in 2002 I had a chance encounter with RMT Len Krekic who introduced me to the Muscle Balance & Function methodology.  I was sceptical and resistant by this point but to my surprise, the combination of Len’s therapy and the prescribed home exercises began to rebalance my broken body.  At first I just went to see him when my body malfunctioned but on Christmas of 2002 while playing on the floor with our newborn son my back went into spasm and I could not get up.  Here I was, 30 years old and utterly helpless, in excruciating pain, unable to lift up my own infant son.    At that moment I made a decision that I would not live the rest of my life as an invalid.

When Len’s office reopened after the holidays I booked an appointment and went to his clinic with a contract I had written and signed stipulating that henceforth I would see him once every month whether or not I needed to.  And I did so for 11 years until he relocated to Penticton.

Instead of just addressing malfunctions, we now had an opportunity to work on developing preventative strategies.  Len insisted that once my body was correctly balanced and functioning properly, we needed to add strength in order to maintain structural integrity.  I was very reluctant to return to weight training but under his guidance I learned to deadlift and squat and he also introduced me to kettlebell training.  I began to grow stronger and more confident.

In 2003 Len encouraged me to return to the Judo mats.  I was terrified of hurting myself and returning to that painful, broken state but Len assured me that our bodies are fully equipped to heal themselves.  He even came and stood matside at my early competitions so that when one of my ribs popped out, he popped it back in for me and sent me out to continue fighting.

With this new confidence I began training again and in 2005 discovered CrossFit which served to further develop the physical resilience Len and I had been building.  When I affiliated CrossFit Empower in 2008 I started personal training clients out of the small gym in Len’s massage therapy clinic.

Having regained my physical competency and confidence, having crawled out of my personal pit of despair and pain, I became obsessed with helping others the way Len had helped me and CrossFit provided me with an effective vehicle with which to transform the lives of the people I worked with.  My Mom keeps pestering me about when I am going to retire but I do not ever want to stop doing what I am doing.

Getting my life back was a real gift.  Not only am I not in pain, at 51 I am stronger, more active and more resilient than I ever was in my 20’s or my 30’s.  The inevitable decline into pain and decrepitude which claimed my father, and for which I once thought I was certainly destined, has not been my fate after all.  The ability to play and engage in life on my own terms at this age seems to me a miracle.


If you’ve just met me you might assume I was always fit and active and that it all came easy but the exact opposite is true.  22 years ago I was a broken man.  Broken in body and in spirit.  The challenges you’re facing are familiar to me.  They are my reason for what I do.  On that Christmas in 2002 I made a promise to myself to do everything in my power to become healthy and capable and despite setbacks – and life always provides plenty of setbacks – 22 years later I am still fulfilling that promise to myself.  It has not been an easy road.  Muscle ups, overhead squats and handstand walking were not inevitable, they were earned against overwhelming odds.  No one expected me to achieve this level of athleticism, least of all me.

You may watch me move today and assume that I started far ahead of where you are today and you are most likely wrong.  And that’s why I am so committed to helping you, because I know that wherever you are starting from, however broken, your achievements are limited only by your determination, persistence and passion.  If you bring me those 3 qualities, I can coach you to whatever results you want to achieve.  And the opportunity to do so makes me excited to wake up each morning.

Friday
For this repeat from the 2019 CrossFit Open we are going to split into 2 heats so each person can have a judge to count reps and reset their rower.  Can you beat your 2019 score?

Warm Up
Medball Passes

Open WOD 19.1
15 min AMRAP
19 Wall Balls
19 Cal Row