ALEX ELL: AMAZING MEASURABLE RESULTS
3 Jan
Before I began Crossfit in late 2009, I stayed away from weightlifting because I had always gotten hurt in the past.
At the time my daily exercise regimen consisted of playing various sports, riding my bike around town, and only doing bodyweight activities for strength. I ate healthier than my peers but nothing like my current eating habits, which in turn contributed to fluctuating energy levels.
When I started, I weighed approximately 185 pounds. I couldn’t finish Baseline. I started lifting with an empty bar and was a complete amateur on the rings.
A continuous challenge and gift of mine has been my inherited bleeding disorder, hemophilia. In a nutshell, my blood does not clot. When I break blood vessels from either bumping a table or strenuous activity, I can bleed into muscle tissue or a joint space, therefore limiting the range of motion of the limb.
So what are we doing at Crossfit while pushing our muscles? You got it — breaking blood vessels.
So the biggest challenge has been getting random muscle bleeds, having to take time off to heal, and losing ground while striving to build a foundation of muscle.
Due to hemophilia, I also have an arthritic ankle with severely limited range of motion. While I still can and love to run and jump, I recently made the dreadful choice as an athlete to avoid those activities in order to prolong the life of my ankle.
At first, Crossfit intimidated but also inspired me. Listening to the success stories of fellow Crossfitters helped drive me when I questioned whether or not I could create my own success story. And that day is now here.
Rochelle was present since day one, and continues to prove herself by helping me modify my workouts to support my bleeding disorder. Starting in October 2011, Scott’s individual programming took me from a plateau and pushed me up a mountain.
He listened and took into account my limitations and goals. For example, he wrote a program avoiding workouts that would put unnecessary impact on my left arthritic ankle. Therefore I can walk the next day without sharp pain.
Scott also helped me lose body fat and increase muscle mass with his creative programming skills. His modified programming for me boosted my numbers across the board.
I now weigh 176 pounds. My recent PRs:
| October 2011 | December 2011 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press | 3×160# | 3×170# |
| Deadhang Chin-up | 10 | 15 |
| Kipping Pull-up | 18 | 30 |
| Back Squat | 3×150# | 3×195# |
| Deadlift | 3×230# | 3×265# |
| Ring Dips | 10 | 23 |
| Kettlebell Swings | 3×15 @ 62# | 3×15 @ 70# |
One year ago, according to my log, I maxed out at 3 ring dips. Twelve months later I finished 23 consecutive ring dips — and in the last two months I jumped from 10 to 23 with Scott’s individual programming. My secret with ring dips and other goals is to stay persistent and avoid pushing to failure. This way I’m not unbelievably sore or hurt the next day and stay persistent by coming in 3x/week for strength.
On off days, I stick to the legendary rower and most heinous Airdyne. To see results, let that muscle group rest, and feed those hungry muscles with a post-workout carb/protein meal!
Good Work Alex!! I’m proud of you.
Great improvements, Alex! Keep up the good work!!
Amazing story Alex, truly inspirational. Thanks for sharing! Keep up the hard work.
Wow, just wow. Amazing work, Alex.
Nice PR’s Alex! Glad you found a way to achieve your goals!
Way to go Alex!! That is really inspiring! Keep it up!
You guys are awesome! Thank you for all of your support and the kind words!
Wow, great story Alex!! Thanks for sharing and keep up the hard work.
Great work Alex, and against no small odds! Keep at it, stud.
Thank you! You’ve all made my day!
Hi,
WOW! Congratulations on all of your progress! What an inspiration.
Is Rochelle the really petite, really fit woman who is one of the owners?
If so she really helped me a lot! (I’m bad with names and was just a visitor to Portland for a week visit).