You'll Be Fine
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 12:00PM 
You have no right to bitch. Your sore hamstrings and screaming core are artifacts of high intensity compound movement, enabled by firm contact with Mother Earth and the primate’s gift of an opposable thumb. The very fact that your arms feel like lead and your legs like the business end of a propane torch is a gift of inclusion, given only because you have legs and arms to hurt.
The men of the Warrior Transition Battalion at Brooke Army Medical Center don’t know your pain. They brought guns to a bomb fight, and came home with fewer limbs than they packed, blown apart by the cowardice of other men.
Their pain is worse, one of exclusion, borne of wheelchairs and ramps, endless hours of physical therapy and prosthetic fittings, hobbled by the incessant need for painkillers. You will never know the agony that they’ve endured, first physically mangled, and then pitied, seen as victims of a botched War.
Luckily, they don’t share the viewpoint. An even twenty, enabled by the efforts of a young Lieutenant, are pursuing rehabilitation with revenge.
These men came to Alamo CrossFit to learn the tenets of CrossFit, supported by a crackerjack crew of trainers and an unrelenting need to go beyond the bounds of traditional recovery.
Placed in an environment where pity was gone and intensity was the only goal, I watched men do handstand pushups, femurs balanced against their wheelchairs, no feet weighing them down. I watched a Marine pull himself up a gymnastics ring, ripping as hard as he could while an unwieldy leg brace fought his every effort. I watched a man with no patella tendon sit into a full-depth squat, and a man with no legs clean a medicine ball from the ground.
These men, broken in body, were impossible to stop. The pain that we could inflict—jackhammering hearts, mental torment, and burning muscles—paled in comparison to the months of adversity that led them to our doorstep. They deadlifted and squatted, ran and pressed, displaying a fortitude far beyond our capacity to keep up.
Every moment hammered home a single point: You’ll be fine.
Remember that the pain is a gift, and men have overcome far worse. When your training results in injury, remember that there are those whose injuries dwarf yours by degrees of magnitude, men who would kill for the right to feel a strained Achilles or a jammed thumb. They will not quit regardless of the odds, and you will not disgrace their example.
The next time your muscles protest or you feel a callus give way, be thankful for the feeling, and the comparative ease with which you train every day. Be thankful for the gift that is your body, and the pain that it brings.
In Northern Texas, there are twenty men battling to reclaim lost capacity, showing the world that injury is not an endpoint, that sacrifice does not end in martyrdom. Their courage is physical and mental, and their lesson is one that will serve far beyond their lifetimes.
Their pain is unimaginable, but their message is easily understood: the struggle to become a better human being ends only in death. Don’t let them down.
Kyle Maynard coaches Josh through a muscle-up attempt at Alamo CrossFit. Picture courtesy of The Napping Poet.
Reader Comments (24)
True words... I will pass and send this to everyone.
Thanks to you for sharing it, and THANKS to them for their sacrifice.
I am an avid reader of this site and its articles. I frequently look up my favorite postings from the past for reinspiration.
Today's post, has humbled me more than I thought possible about 2 minutes ago. I am so inspired, so greatful, so angry with myself all at once. Thank you to all those that have come before me, and that will come after, whose examples will far exceed any that i may possibly lay down.
When I raise my fore finger to point out to my daughter those inspirations and fine examples of athleticism, sacrifice, and fortitude, I will not be pointing to the Tiger Woods's and Misty May's of the world. I will be pointing at these men & women and those of the like. And if she's lucky, she'll be listening.
Thank you. A million times, thank you.
Fucking A!
Great article, Jon!
Hooah Gilson.
'Nuff said.
I found your site through Harbor City Crossfit where I'm a member and was floored when I read your post. I retired 3 years ago from the Marine Corps. The year before I retired I attended a conference in San Antonio and was given the opportunity to visit wounded Marines and Soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center. It was an Honor to meet these young men. I met one young Marine who's memory I will carry with me for the rest of my life. He is burned over 98% of his body. He has no fingers or toes, no ears, or lips..... but there was a fire in his eyes that I had never seen before and am quite sure I will never see again in another person. HE wheeled HIMSELF to the window in the morning and evening for Colors and although his body denied him his spirit was standing at attention. At first I felt sorry for him but that quickly faded as we talked. His sarcasim and wit was pure, not from a place of anger or regret but that of someone who was just simply grateful to be alive and was not willing to concede the fight. He refused to give up and to this day I'm sure he hasn't.
Thanks for yor post. It is a reminder to me of all that I am able to do and will continue to do. I was humbled that day in San Antonio and again reading you article. Keep them comming, I will be reading from now on.
Word Up Jon--thanks for the support...forever and always Brother!!!
Mike
HOORAH to all the brave men and women putting it on the line day in and day out. Hopefully the main site will post a similar article in the CFJ.
I'm sitting here with a sore back from yesterday's cleans a little choked up after reading this. Thanks to these brave men, and thanks to Jon for putting into words.
I have met a couple of these brave young men and I cannot say enough about their attitude and determination. I have a wife and two young children. I have never had the privledge of serving in the armed forces, though sometimes, I wish I had chosen that path. I feel outrage at how or soldiers are treated at times, and often feel downright embarassed at the pettiness of my problems in this world. I just explained to my wife ( who is also a crossfitter), that i feel compelled to express my eternal gratitude for these men and women who give the ultimate sacrifice while asking for the minimal in return. My aches and pains when doing our workouts are nothing compared to what some people go through.
I want to be specific when I say : I support our troops, I support our war, and I support our country. God bless America and God bless our troops
Eric Garner
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Thank you John and my humblest thank you to the men and women who are the subject of your article. Every veteren, every first responder offers up their bodies and lives everyday. It is a selfless act (whether they realize it or not) and when the bill comes due, those that pay it show the rest of us what the words warrior and courage really mean. It is an honor to share their stories and be even distantly associated.
Strength and honor,
Bruce
Thanks for the motivation. I need to go set my legs and arms on fire.
Right On! Thank you for some perspective.
Hear you and will embrace the pain! Strong work
A very worthy post, Jon. It deserves a place on the Main Page. Perhaps you would let me quote it in "Sunday Musings"?
We try to discover which of our patients has served every day at Skyvision so that we can thank them. Here, as always, humble thanks to those who do and have done, and awestruck thanks to those warriors who Jon has described who left so much on the battlefield.
I've quietly enjoyed your posts for some time. Thank you for all of them.
--bingo
Jon,
Thank you so much for calling attention to the fortitude and heroism of these men. They would never presume to do it themselves.
That's why I'm so proud to work at Brooke Army Medical Center: to serve a group of heroes who know the meaning of sacrifice in a way that, God willing, none of the rest of us will ever know.
Bingo,
What's mine is yours, brother.
Best,
Jon
Jon- Thanks for that humbling perspective, I'm continually grateful for everything these guys do.
Wow.....that was a powerful piece.
Thanks for sharing that.
Our troops are always in my thoughts.
Jon, you're gift for writing is greatly appreciated. That is something everyone should read. No doubt, should be posted on the Main Page. My efforts in the gym can't compare to these brave souls. Good stuff.
Jon-awesome,inspiring and humbling!!! Really puts things in perspective. Thanks to all those who serve and God Bless.
Glenn