"The same mentality I had as a professional athlete, I now have as a CrossFit athlete. I'm even more passionate about life and the things I can accomplish outside the field."
Photos courtesy of Ali Ott.
Gary Brackett is used to performing under pressure.
The former starting linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts helped the team defeat the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI in 2007.
“I remember when the coin flipped in the air and the lights started going off,” he said. “It was almost blinding.”
Last week, the 33-year-old was forced to dig deep and revive the pro-athlete within. It didn’t matter that there were no cameras to capture his 138 reps. He knew what he had to do to get through Week 2 of his first CrossFit Games Open.
“I have the ability to dial in and lose myself in that moment, forget about what else is going on and concentrate on the here and now,” he said. “And what I needed to do in that moment was finish the workout.”
Brackett developed that ability out of necessity. After two years as a college MVP at Rutgers University, Brackett was picked up as a free agent for the Colts in 2003. Then football became more than a job for Brackett, it was his lifeline. In a sudden onset of tragedy, his father, mother and brother each passed away within a span of 18 months.
In a state of turmoil, he chose to cope instead of quit, pouring out sweat on the field in equal measure to his tears at home.
“Football was an escape,” he said. “I didn’t have the luxury of thinking of anything else (happening) outside the field. You could put yourself in harm’s way if you’re not focused.”
By 2006, he was a starter, and from 2007 until his retirement after the 2011 season, he led the team as Captain, making over 700 tackles during his nine-year career.
When he saw that same perseverance in the working mothers and middle-aged fathers in the gym at CrossFit Zionsville last May, he knew he’d found a replacement for the support system he had in football.
“It was almost like an extension of the locker room, where I’m developing friendships through a common bond, which is pain, sweat, blood and tears,” he said. “That’s the same way relationships are forged in football. You can trust (people) because you know what they’re about when times get hard.”
His football training taught him to run fast and lift heavy, but he had never done more than 10 or 15 pull-ups in a row before CrossFit. Pacing for intensity in a workout was also a foreign concept.
“In football (there are) four quarters, so we were trained to work with a reserve,” he said. “I had to get into the mentality of leaving it all in the workout.”
Open Workout 14.2 presented both of these challenges in one wicked package. Brackett would have to work smart and fast, trading his default role of “shoulder-ramming machine” for that of a gymnast.
“The overhead squat were not an issue,” he said. “My main thought was, ‘How am I gonna attack the pull-ups?’”
Having logged eight shoulder surgeries and a major rotator cuff injury during his pro-ball years, butterflying the chest-to-bars was out of the question. He settled for a regular kip in sets of two, chipping through his first round with 40 seconds to spare.
“The second (round) felt like two minutes, and by the third, my hand was slipping,” he said.
He shifted his weight to his right arm as he kipped—the limb with the fewest injuries on record. After making the second set of 14 overhead squats look light, he dropped to singles on the pull-ups. The clock ran out as he finished his eighth rep, for a total of 124.
Before recovering his breath, he planned his re-do, counting the seconds he’d lost with each drop from the rig.
“I started to do the math and I thought, ‘Wow, I spent a lot of time on the ground,’” he said. “If I can do four (pull-ups) at a time and then go down to two (in later rounds), I think it would be less time on the ground.”
He put his homework to the test in a second try on Monday morning, taking home 14 reps more for a final score of 138. He said the only thing between him and one round more was friction.
“I ripped, so I couldn’t get to 16,” he said. “But (it was) still a nice jump.”
After overcoming tragedy, winning a Super Bowl and living the dream of every kid with a backyard and a pig skin, some might wonder what could be left to strive for.
Everything, Brackett said.
“The same mentality I had as a professional athlete, I now have as a CrossFit athlete,” he said. “I’m even more passionate about life and the things I can accomplish outside the field. Never give up until the game is over.”
