"I believe that supervised CrossFit training is not only the best thing you can do for performance, but for recovery."
In May 2012, 35-year-old Barker competed with his CrossFit Plymouth teammates, one of which is his wife. This is a stark difference from the 16-year-old Ted Barker who was facing a diagnosis that promised little to no hope for recovery.
Barker's Story
Barker is proof that sometimes human will is stronger than any diagnosis, no matter how frightening.
A high school football star, Barker was developing a promising career when a radical infection left him paralyzed from the waist down, and in an incredible amount of pain. “A cyst swelled and pinched my spinal column leaving me unable to use my legs, and I had a severe fever,” Barker says.
Doctors could not seem to get a hold of what was plaguing Barker’s life and ending his athletic career. After being paralyzed for a week, Barker underwent a ten-hour surgery, which decided the course of his life.
Post-surgery Barker was able to move again. Before he entered surgery his doctor told him that he may never walk again, let alone play any kind of sport.
Barker’s ordeal left him weighing 150 pounds, a full fifty pounds lighter than before the infection. While Barker missed his college football window, he wanted to make a point to prove to himself his life would not be dictated to him. Barker’s first demonstration came about when he became a collegiate level rower in his second year of college.
Barker embarked on a more than nine-year career as a Gaelic (Irish) football player. A full contact game where hitting is called “shouldering,” injuries are prevalent, intensity is high and competition is fierce. He played over nine seasons while maintaining a full time job and family life.
The CrossFit Road
Barker’s impressive and resilient path led him to CrossFit in November of 2010.
“I was told never to squat again, and that deadlifts were dangerous and all sorts of claims about exercise. Bullshit,” Barker says. “I believe that supervised CrossFit training is not only the best thing you can do for performance, but for recovery.”
Barker began CrossFit with an incomplete spinal column and several knee injuries. He firmly credits CrossFit for his recovery.
“I used to feel like my back would always be an issue. Now I feel like it’s my strength. People will call us a cult and make up excuses but the truth is CrossFit becomes a standard of living with standards of movement,” Barker says. “The only way to get better is to overcome fear by trial, and just go somewhere to learn. I have been to many CrossFits, and while they are all different, I have always received proper instruction for where I am in my training. There are no magic words, just trust.”
Not only has CrossFit enhanced Barker’s performance, allowing him to regain and succeed at movements he never thought he would do again, but it has also strengthened his marriage. “I finally found something competitive I can do with my wife, and we love it,” Barker says. “She is on CrossFit Plymouth’s affiliate team with me, and we will compete together at Regionals. In fact, our team training sessions are our new date nights.”
Barker is no stranger to pain. From wheelchair to Regionals, Barker is proof that life's sucker punches knock everyone down, some just choose to get up.
