We love to highlight success, but we love to highlight a good comeback even more! October’s athlete has been with us at CrossFit Odyssey since we first opened – until he left us back in 2018 to move to South Lake and live on a golf course to retire. In fact, almost his whole family worked out here, including his lovely wife, Nancy (actually the first to join us!), his son, Adam, and Adam’s wife, Mary, and his other 3 sons at different times throughout the years. We even had his beautiful grandbabies in here while mom and dad workout. I specifically remember a year when my left arm got really really strong holding little Patrick while mom worked out.
Well, after moving away Frank stopped working out so much, and then the Pandemic hit, and like so many others, his diet and exercise routine became even worse. In October of 2020, Frank suffered a stroke AND a heart attack. But he survived! After some recovery and physical therapy, he came back to us all the way from Southlake to get strong again.
When Frank began working out again he was having trouble walking and he couldn’t drive himself. We started very slowly – working on simple tasks, such as sitting down and getting up unassisted and then getting to the floor and getting up unassisted. Then we added push-ups against the wall, squatting to a high box, and basic planks. We eventually progressed to an unweighted bar and now He is back quatting 95 pounds to depth with a slow tempo. His pushups are as good as they were before his incident and his planking has gone from maybe 20 seconds to 1 minute! There are still some challenges to overcome but Frank faces them all with a wry sense of humor and a dedication to progress. He shows up, works and smiles through all the trials and tribulations.
We are proud to be a part of Frank’s return from infirmity. He truly is an Extraordinary Athlete! Congratulations, Frank, on your Journey BACK to Extraordinary!
If you or someone you know is interested in CrossFit, check us out at www.crossfitodyssey.com.