"Skydiving is physically demanding, going up and down in a plane, maying doing eight to 10 jumps a day. CrossFit helps because when you're in good shape, you are able to perform better."
Mike Paolin knows a thing or two about jumping out of airplanes — he’s done it more than 9,000 times. The four-time World Champion skydiver lives in Sebastian, Fla. He says CrossFit has given him more confidence and functionality in his jumps.
Paolin, 54, recently returned from the World Championship in Dubai, where he and his U.S. team placed second, behind France, in the free-falling canopy formation four-way sequential event. He is now focusing on next year’s National Championship, which could be his 23rd gold medal. He credits much of his success to his training at Treasure Coast CrossFit.
Skydiving for more than 35 years, and CrossFitting for the past five, Paolin says he notices a huge difference in his jumps and overall athletic abilities.
“Skydiving is physically demanding, going up and down in a plane, maybe doing eight to 10 jumps a day. CrossFit helps because when you are good shape, you are able to perform better,” Paolin says. “Even if it’s not a physically demanding sport, like golf, if you are in good shape, you are going to be on top of your game. I cannot say enough good things about how CrossFit has prepared me, and I find myself recommending it now for anybody.”
Two skydiving buddies and his wife of seven years, Rebecca Carswell, introduced him to CrossFit.
“A couple of the guys I jumped with at the drop zone opened up Treasure Coast CrossFit here in Sebastian and kept telling me all about it. My wife was the first one to try it, though, and she couldn’t stop talking about how incredible the workouts were, so I gave in and decided to give it a try,” Paolin says. “I remember doing the warm-up on my first day and thinking that it was a great workout when we finished it. Little did I realize that it was just the warm-up.”
Carswell says CrossFit has changed her life, as well.
“Way before discovering CrossFit, about 10 years ago, I was in a very serious skydiving accident while jumping. I was with 16 other people at the time, and we were jumping in a formation when the airplane stalled and my body was thrown into the tail of the plane,” Carswell remembers. “I started free falling and all I remember is holding my head and one of my friends flying down to see if I was OK. I opened my parachute and when I landed on the ground, I fell over onto all fours and I knew something was wrong. The paramedics came and rushed me out of there.”
After a week in the hospital, Carswell says she feels lucky to be alive.
“I sustained a very serious back injury, but thankfully, I was wearing a full-face helmet, so that is a big reason my head was OK and I made it out better than I should have,” she says.
Despite her recovery, doctors told Carswell she would never be able to bend over again.
“It really made that ‘injury victim’ stuff creep in for quite some time,” Carswell says. “I was nervous and a little scared to get back on the horse, to skydive again, or really do anything physical. I had been skydiving since I was 20, but after the accident, it didn’t happen as much.”
Then, she found CrossFit.
“I had always been a runner, and I have a small frame … so thought I was in good shape, so when our friends opened up Treasure Coast and tried to get me and Mike to come, I told them, ‘I don’t need that, I’m in shape,’” Carswell says. “I also was hesitant of whether or not I’d be able to do many of the movements. My doctors had instilled so much fear in me that I was going to break or hurt my back, but my friends reassured me that it could be scalable.”
Today, Carswell CrossFits five or six times per week.
“I cried the first time I deadlifted 160 lb. My doctors, who said I would never be able to do things like ski, wakeboard … were flat out wrong. That day was a huge turning point for me,” Carswell says.
Carswell completed the Level 1 Seminar last year, and now coaches at Treasure Coast CrossFit.
“CrossFit has taught me, if I can do it — get through a WOD — I can do anything. It helped begin to sweep that victim feeling under the rug, helped me embrace the fact that my past doesn’t equal my future and it has been empowering in that way ever since. Now, as a trainer, I love seeing others achieve their own milestones and witness change happen in their own lives,” she says.
Paolin raves that Carswell is the best coach in the gym.
“I go to her classes all the time. She is so good at what she does. She’s very thorough and makes sure you have proper form. There is no cutting corners with her,” he says. “I have had the privilege to see her change her own life. She refused to believe her life was going to be limited after her injury. If you change the way you perceive things in your life, you can change your reality.”
