June Macombie

June Macombie

This month's Macombie "Not the Same Man" goes to Tony A. You can read Tony's story below:

"I am a Michigan Army National Guardsman, and a local fire fighter. Last year I enrolled in the Officer Candidate School (OCS) program. The OCS program is a physically and mentally tough program that prepares soldiers to become leaders in our nation's military. Because I lead an active lifestyle, I figured the OCS program would not be overly challenging - I was wrong.

"In January of this year, I went to Phase 0 - also know as 'Hell Week'. Passing Phase 0 is necessary to become an official Office Candidate. The physical demands were like nothing I have ever experienced before, and this is coming from someone who went through Macomb's Fire Academy and graduated top of the class. I did not quit the program, but was told my physical condition was not good enough to proceed in the program. I was given just one more chance to pass Phase 0 this May.

"I came to CrossFit Macomb in January, immediately after Phase 0. I found your program to be intense, yet scalable. I was pushed, but not so much that form took a backseat. I went home sore and exhausted, and that was exactly what I needed.

"I recently came home from my second attempt at Phase 0, and this time the results were completely different. I had OCS Cadre tell me that they could not believe I was the same person from January. I had a 50 percent increase in pushups and situps and my two mile run went from 16 and a half minutes to 14 and a half minutes. More importantly, when we get smoked (punished) and the cadre has us lifting tractor tires or logs above our heads, I have enough energy to get through it and I recover very fast. I went from being a hot mess, to the head of the pack - all in less than four months.

"The Crossfit program works. I can recommend it to anyone regardless of age and shape because of it's scalability. If you want to change your life, Crossfit is definitely a tool for the job."

Tony's story is a great one because it shows how the right stimulus matched with determination can completely change a person's ability to accomplish their goals. Keep up the great work Tony! I am honored to play a small part in your story.