"I don't want to be known for the things I've overcome. I want to be able to be a good coach and motivate others."
When she was 26, Ginger Comstock thought about something she never had before: quitting.
Not just withdrawing from an activity or changing careers, but “giving up on life” altogether. After years of suffering from the pain and limitations of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, Comstock sat on a bench across from a staircase leading into a New Jersey subway station feeling hopeless. Comstock says she “couldn't go on” living the way she was.
Because of the severity of the inflammation, joint pain and vertebrae fusion caused by her conditions, Comstock was unable to descend the stairs to the subway that took her to work. Her spine has no flexibility; any movement required substantial effort.
“My knees were so swollen that I had to have them regularly drained just to be able to walk. I couldn’t brush my hair or put socks on in the morning without (difficulty),” Comstock says. “I was considering getting a home health aide or nurse to help me with daily activities and I didn’t want to live that way.”
Turning Point
When she was in high school and college, Comstock was active in competitive sports, namely swimming and ski racing. She was taught how to ski at age 2, and considers herself a natural competitor from the day she started.
“Skiing made me feel the most free,” she says. “I had to keep moving, but I was always in pain, so it was a double-edged sword.”
After seeing various specialists and trying different drug treatments, Comstock went to Paris in 2003 to see a doctor who was practicing experimental methods of treating her conditions. It was in Paris where Comstock discovered Bikram Yoga. The high-intensity hot yoga sessions helped improve some of her flexibility, but Comstock couldn’t afford to pay for the number of sessions she needed.
“My move to Paris was out of sheer desperation. I had explored any and all treatments here and I could not go on. I don't think my family really understood what I was doing. I had no place to live and no money. I slept on a friend's floor for the first six months and I did odd jobs to pay for treatment and eat. I babysat the owner of the Bikram Yoga studio's baby in exchange for my membership,” Comstock says.
This became a turning point in her health. In 2003, Comstock returned to the U.S. To maintain her frequent treatment schedule and offer others the same benefits she received, she opened her own Bikram studio in 2005 in Westfield, N.J. However, yoga represents just one part of Comstock’s success. She began participating in group workout sessions at a local park and met her first CrossFit trainer.
“CrossFit was pivotal in building my strength both physically and emotionally. In my first WOD, with my coach screaming in my face and pushing me, I felt at home. CrossFit gave me back the life I was supposed to have,” Comstock says.
She adds: “My first workouts were kind of trial and error.”
Because of her flexibility restrictions, Comstock worked with her coach to develop modifications to CrossFit movements to allow her to build strength. For instance, Comstock does push-ups using a barbell laid low across a squat rack.
"I've never been as strong as I am now," she says. "It makes me even forget that I have arthritis."
After finding success in the form of increased strength and flexibility, Comstock decided to open her own CrossFit affiliate in Westfield, N.J. She successfully completed the Level 1 Seminar in 2008 and began taking steps toward opening her box. Initially, she ran classes in the parking lot of her yoga studio. Those who showed up included the local high-school hockey team and their moms.
“(We) built pull-up bars outside of the building, bought some weight equipment and kept everything in a shed in the parking lot,” Comstock says. “During the winter we would shovel snow as a warm-up.”
In 2011, CrossFit Westfield got bricks and mortar.
“(Being a coach) is exactly who I’m supposed to be,” the 38-year-old says. “I tell my clients, ‘It’s not OK to quit. If I got here, you can get here.’”
The Arthritis Foundation recently named Comstock one of their “Women on the Move” and she is being featured in an upcoming documentary called “Where Do U Go From Here?” by Ingrid Alexander.
Still, Comstock says she measures her success not by her own accomplishments, but by those of her members.
“I’m more proud of the people that come to my box than anything else,” she says. “I do it for them. I don’t mind being an inspiration, but I don’t want to be known for things I’ve overcome. I want to be able to be a good coach and motivate others.”
