Hero Week: In honor of our Veterans.

This Monday is Veteran’s Day, and RXD wants to take a moment to recognize our Military Veterans and those on active duty.  Our military is made up of men and women who volunteered to serve our country and protect the freedom that you and I so often take for granted. 

At RXD we are so blessed to have some of these exemplary people as our members and a part of our family.  Most of them you may not even realize are veterans.  In fact, when you thank them for their service and shake their hands many will be embarrassed by the recognition.  That’s because they didn’t serve to become heroes.  They are heroes because they served.

CrossFit and the military are forever paired together.  In fact, when CrossFit was in it’s infancy, the military was one of the first groups to link itself to the new and emerging fitness program.  I believe the reason the two were quickly matched was that they both  require the same tenatious spirit. 

From the beginning, CrossFit chose to honor our military by memorializing the names of fallen military heroes with their own named WOD.  The first Hero WOD was “JT” posted on July 6, 2005.  Since then the list has unfortunately grown, but men like Murph, Roy and Badger have been forever immortalized.

In order to have a HERO WOD named after someone they must have been killed in the line of duty for the military, law enforcement or fire service.  They must have been an active CrossFitter prior to death and their friends/family must request the WOD.  In general, HERO WODs are often heavier, longer and harder than most daily workouts.  The theory is that WE MUST SUFFER TO HONOR THEIR SACRAFICE.

This week at RXD will be HERO WEEK and we will be programming a Hero WOD each day. 

I ask a few unique things of you this week:

1. Shake a veterans hand and say THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.  Let them know you care and appreciate what they did.  Whether it was 30 years ago or last year.  It doesn’t matter.  They are forever veterans.
2. Prior to each workout, recognize the sacrifice that was made by the hero the WOD is named after and honor their memory.