CrossFit is helping these individuals recover lost skills and experiences.
At CrossFit Muskoka, David Marshall is using the sport to help bring people back to their community.
After being approached to assist with a program for progressive drug and alcohol rehab, Marshall designed a regimen to help reintegrate individuals and motivate them to aim for a higher standard in their lives.
Bonnie, coordinator of the rehabilitation program, started her own CrossFit journey at nearby CrossFit Orillia, where she fell in love with the workouts and environment.
The program had a certain amount of funds allotted to promote reintegration. One of the accepted funding options was a gym membership. “She convinced her superiors that a CrossFit program would be more productive use of funds,” Marshall says.
With Marshall leading the CrossFit component, Bonnie continues to remain involved, training with the group.
The members of the "Bootcamper" program are all at a fairly advanced stage of getting their lives back together. They all have a history of bad choices, addiction and lost time. CrossFit is just one part of Bonnie’s program, but it helps keep participants engaged in their other therapies. “One of the criteria for getting access to CFM was that they had been clean for a certain amount of time,” Marshall explains.
Bonnie uses the program to help with compliance in other areas. The Bootcampers are responsible for getting to the gym themselves, and they set up carpools. They check up on each other, and make sure the others make the classes. With CrossFit, adherence has gone way up with all of the other activities, like meditation, she says.
The program attracted large numbers from the start, and a select few were chosen for the trial group. Marshall says he had a lot of trepidation because he was not sure what to expect. He found himself facing a large group of new members, all starting on the same day.
Marshall tested their fitness, like he would any other client, but he also had some subtle tests up his sleeve. He gave instructions on setting up workouts and secretly measured their improvement on things like taking instructions, working as a team and being self-starters. Where other new clients get a baseline fitness test, the Bootcampers were timed on setup and takedown for the workout.
Over the last eight weeks, Marshall has been able to measure the improvement of the group. “All of them have done quite well on a physical level. There's been some rapid improvement,” he says. “For example, we've been focusing on the press and the deadlift to keep it simple and consistent. When we tested the deadlift, our lone male member’s first attempt was 135 pounds at the beginning. He just did 255 pounds. Confidence is a big factor there.”
Crossfit Muskoka isn’t just helping these individuals with their physical fitness. Marshall is helping address the issue of lost time. “One of the girls repeated a WOD today that she did for the first time a month ago,” he says. “The first time, she walked on the run portions. Today, she posted on Facebook that it was the first time she'd ever run in her life.”
CrossFit is helping these individuals recover lost skills and experiences.
It's also giving them hope. If they can survive here, they can survive the trials in the real world. CrossFit teaches perseverance and continuous trial.
As for the next step, Marshall says, “Bonnie and I would like to integrate them into the regular CrossFit group. That would be huge. Then we can bring in the next group of Bootcampers.
CrossFit is a bright spot in their journey of self-improvement. “We've only had one dropout, and she struggled with the other therapies,” Marshall says. “CrossFit was the only part she liked.”
He's exploring options for funding, so he can keep the program alive. These may involve research on recidivism or goal setting. He says he may go back to the limited formula he found with Bonnie for this 10-week period. With gains like these, though, it's hard not to notice how much CrossFit can improve lives.
A documentary is being made about this progressive rehab plan, and Marshall hopes it will draw attention to the benefits of CrossFit for everyone.
