Leigh P. - Overcoming Injury with CrossFit

I joined CrossFit because I had been bored of the monotonous workouts I was doing at my gym and eventually I just stopped going. A friend of mine had been raving about CrossFit, and while I was intrigued, I was very intimidated. But it was one winter, frustrated by the fact I was gym-less and “couldn’t” workout outside, I made the decision to just go for it!

The hardest part of getting back into workouts has been finding a balance between challenging myself physically and making sure I don’t rush the rehab process. I don’t want any setbacks! This is my second time coming back from a major knee surgery (unfortunately). After my first surgery, I did not exercise for 3 months post surgery, and I felt awful. I have learned that my body and mind feel so much more at ease if I continue to move, stretch, sweat, and get those exercise endorphins! So I look forward to getting to the gym even though my workouts have to be different.

Since I haven’t been able to do any anything that involves supporting myself with my right leg, my workouts have been modified a lot. Strict pullups, presses, rowing with one leg on a mini scooter, no-squat wall balls, biking, and core work are just a few of the many movements the coaching staff has designed for me. I can not emphasize enough how wonderful the coaches have been checking in with me each day, designing a personal workout just for me, and still encouraging and challenging me each and ever day. Thank you all so much!

My knee still aches a bit when I sit for too long, but always feels better when I’m moving around. Rehab and PT has been going very well and my knee feels stronger each week! My road to recovery is very long (8-12 months for “back to normal”). So I don’t get too ahead of myself, I have some short term goals. Since I just graduated from rowing with a mini scooter to regular rowing (yay!), my next goals are to do an air squat, and to be able to jog!

Marz, Amelia, Leigh (center), Andrea and Casey after a workout