One Man’s Road to Recovery Was Also a Road to the Games

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“One of the coolest and wisest hours a man has is just after he awakes in the morning.” — Herman Melville

From Brain Injury to CrossFit Games

The background.

In 2011, Regional athlete Landon Brazell was completing a set of toes-to-rings in an outdoor competition when he lost his grip. He fell from the rings, landing on the left side of his head, eight feet below, on concrete.

That’s not good.

First aid immediately came to assess him, forcing him to remain on the ground. He wasn’t bleeding anywhere, but it was obvious to the medics that Brazell’s brain had begun to swell. They rushed him by helicopter to Atlanta, where neurosurgeons were waiting to take him into emergency brain surgery.

Except he never went into surgery. “This is where all the miracles started to happen,” Landon said. “When I get to Atlanta, they take me in and the bleeding, miraculously, just stopped.”

But he was not in the clear yet. He had multiple skull fractures, and the blood was still on his brain. Brazell left the hospital after only 11 days, with strict instructions to never do CrossFit again.

CrossFitters are stubborn people tho.

But Brazell knew better. “All I could think about was when could I get back in the gym,” he said. “I know my body better than anybody. Obviously, I know I can’t afford another fall like that.” He took his time. First, he started by just walking around his neighborhood. Then he added in sit-ups. By the time he was able to return to the gym, he knew just what to do.

“The very first thing I did was the exact same exercise that I fell on, just to overcome that fear.” Brazell dove back into CrossFit and also into competing. He went on to compete at Regionals four more years, working his way up to qualifying for the 2018 CrossFit Games, where he competed as a masters in the 35-39 division, placing 17th overall. He’s proud of how far he’s come since the accident, with no lingering effects from the injury.

“Well, when my wife tells me to do something I tend to forget things I didn’t forget before,” he joked. “I’m kidding. I’m fine. What’s great is everything has come full circle now, especially with making it to the CrossFit Games.”

Coffee Break Conversations

What to tell Bae when he says he wants to try and be more active…

Get a dog. Dogs are always the answer, but this one is actually backed by science. A recent report shows that dog owners took an average of 2,760 more steps a day than non-dog owners, which adds up to 23 additional minutes of daily moderate exercise. Makes you wonder how many more steps a day cat owners take #JustSaying.

What to ask your swolemate today…

Can you do 10,000 double–unders in 30 days? Only one way to find out. Beginning September 1st, your mission is to complete 10,000 double-unders during the month of September for the RPM 10K Challenge. That is an average of 333 jumps a day. Totally doable! Just bring your rope with you everywhere you go. Tag @rpmtrainingco in your pics and videos on Instagram, and use hashtag #10kjumpchallenge for a chance to win a new Sprint rope.

Things To…

WATCH: A Day with Laura Horvath

Laura Horvath stole hearts when she claimed her place at the CrossFit Games. See how the second fittest woman Laura Horvath trained for the CrossFit season, what she eats, and how she recovers.

WATCH THIS. 

HEAR: Tips to Improve Competitive Performance 

Ben Bergeron covers his best tips to improve how you perform under pressure, his best advice for new competitors, and what to do if you don’t have a competitive coach to work with.

TUNE IN. 

DO: Register for the CrossFit Games Team Series 

Team up for the CrossFit Games Team Series! The 2018 Team Series will feature camaraderie, competition and community with the added dynamic of partner events. Grab a friend and sign up now.

GET AFTER IT. 

EAT: Slow Cooker Thighs

Not mad at all about how easy these are. Or how delicious either. Throw ’em in your cooker, go handle your business, come home to dinner. Done.

ALMOST TOO EASY.

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Chalk Up Community

• PRO-TIP: FRONT RACKING — Do you struggle with your front rack position? Dave Eubanks, a CrossFit Seminar Staff member, instructs Level 1 participants in the rack position of the front squat, walking them through widening their grip to achieve a more stable racked position. 
• KITTEN YOGA — CrossFit High Voltage and Kitten Rescue Los Angeles are teaming up to bring you a one hour beginner-friendly yoga session filled with kittens of all shapes, sizes, colors, and personalities. After yoga there will be a 1-hour adoption event where you can get to know your future furry friends even better. If you are attending the yoga session please arrive at 2:45 PM. All proceeds will be donated to Kitten Rescue Los
  Angeles. For the 348 of you who are going to email us asking: YES, the kittens are going to do yoga too. 
• HERO WOD FOR FALLEN OFFICER — Milwaukee Police Officer Charles Irvine Jr. was killed during a pursuit on June 7. On Sunday, members of BrewCity CrossFit held a memorial Hero WOD for Irvine.  
• MEMORIAL WOD — Join CrossFit Rio Rancho in a memorial workout to honor the late ten-year-old Victoria Martens on what would have been her birthday, August 24.

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES (a highlight reel around social media of CrossFit pros and average joes)

Adaptive athlete Logan Aldridge gets a 2RM 155 pound thruster PR • Yes you do need an astronaut golden retriever t-shirt to help Blair Chapman get to the Granite Games • Stacie Tovar lays out what ten years of CrossFit and nutrition looks like • Rogue Fitness is now selling burn barrels for when you really want a portable and ready-to-go fire pit • Fifteen-year-old Sarah
Benedict gets a 145 pound snatch PR • Jose Carrillo gets a 405 pound deadlift PR.

…and Arnold Schwarzenegger called out a dude on Reddit for not answering his 500 push-up challenge.

CrossFit Was a Game Changer — When Tim Clark started CrossFit in 2015, he was on the verge of being pre-diabetic. He saw an ad for CrossFit BNA in Mount Juliet, TN and decided he’d give it a try. Since then, he’s off his prescription medication and is down 35 pounds, doing things he never thought possible and looks forward to working out every day. “This right here is like family. You can’t beat that.” 

“The Toll of America’s Obesity” by David S. Ludwig and Kenneth S. Rogoff, The New York Times 

Weight-related complications like hypertension, fatty liver, orthopedic problems, sleep apnea and Type 2 diabetes are bad enough when they strike in middle age. But they have become relatively commonplace at pediatricians’ practices across the country.

In adults, obesity substantially increases the risk for some of the most feared illnesses, like heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s. At all ages, obesity is associated with social isolation, depression and other major mental health problems.

This burden on our bodies, as well as the effects of poor diet and inadequate physical activity at any weight,  contributed to declines in life expectancy in 2015 and 2016. County-level maps show striking correspondence between areas with the highest obesity rates and those with the greatest increases in mortality.

Beyond the toll of human suffering, obesity and diet-related diseases impose massive and rapidly growing economic costs.

This economic burden hits low-income and otherwise disadvantaged populations the hardest, exacerbating income and wealth inequality. With insulin now costing up to $900 a month, a diagnosis of diabetes can mean financial ruin for a low-wage worker, especially if it results in uncompensated sick days or underemployment. And as disposable income declines, so too does the ability to afford a nutritious diet, creating a vicious cycle of poverty and diet-related disease.

8/18: Bladium CrossFit Fossil Games (Denver, CO) 

​8/18: The Revolution: Articles of Confederation (San Antonio, TX)

8/18: Summer Slam Royal Rumble (Oakdale, CA)

8/18: CrossFit Krypton’s Compete for a Cure (Chesapeake, VA)

8/18: CrossFit Endure Granite Games Throwdown (Windsor, CO)

8/18: MKT CrossFit Granite Games Throwdown (Columbia, MO)

8/18: Rocky Mountain Throwdown (Fort Collins, CO)

​8/18: Mayhem on the Mountain (Pelham, AL)

8/18: CrossFit Charlevoix Granite Games Throwdown (Charlevoix, MI) 

8/18: Battle in the Boro (Washington, NJ)

8/18: Troy CrossFit Granite Games Throwdown (San Diego, CA)

8/18: Babes & Bros (Grand Rapids, MI)  

8/18: ​CrossFit Shatter 2018 Summer Slam (Albany, NY) 

8/18: CFBD Summer Showdown 2018 (East Longmeadow, MA)

8/18: Battle of the Boxes (Plymouth, MI)

8/19: Battle on Broadway (Garnder, MA) 

8/25: Iron Belle and Femme Royale Women’s Competition (Austin, TX) 

8/25: CrossFit Sua Sponte Summer Slam (Raleigh, NC) 

8/25: AMRAP For Autism (Waxhaw, NC)

​8/25: CrossFit Decathlon (Indianapolis, IN) 

8/25: Best of the West Summer Event (Bend, OR)

8/25: 2018 Firewall Frenzy (Holliston, MA)

8/25: The Hero Games 2018 (Farmington, AR)

8/25: 2018 Rivertown Throwdown (Cape Girardeau, MO)8/25 – 26: Battlegrounds Nevada (Reno, NV)

8/25 – 8/26: Battle at the Barn (Ft. Worth, TX) 

8/25 – 8/26: Battle of the Boxes Highland Games (Mt. Airy, MD) 

​8/31: Greece with VoyEdge RX

9/1: Tampa Bay Games (Tampa, FL)

9/1: Battle At The Base 3 (Oklahoma City, OK)

9/7: Koski Training Camp (Lloret de Mar, Spain) 

​9/8: Midwest Fall Classic (Tulsa, OK)

​9/8: The Sugar Skull Showdown (Agawam, MA)

9/8: I Can CrossFit Competition (Georgetown, TX)

9/8: Global Aftermath 2018 (Online)

9/8: The Catalyst Games (Bastrop, TX) 

9/8: BoxLife Games (Bunnell, FL)

9/8: Booties in Action (Wilsonville, OR)

9/8: Hookd2Hops 2018 (Newtown, CT)

9/8: Rumble in the Jungle 2018 (LaVista, NE)

9/8: 2018 Battle of the Bluegrass (Louisville, KY) 

9/8: Decima Throwdown (Littleton, CO)

9/8: First Timers Fitness Festival 2 (Burlington, MA) 

9/8: Girls Gone RX (Bridgeville, PA) 

9/8: BoxLife Games at CrossFit James Island (Charleston, SC) 

9/8 – 9: The Vermonster Team Challenge (Berlin, VT)

9/15: Warrior Affiliate League Three Amigos (Pomona,CA)

9/15: No Mans Land 4 (Painesville, OH)

9/15: Average Joes (Troy, MI) 

​9/16: 5th Annual North East Masters Classic (Plainville, MA)