British Army veteran Mike Burgess dedicated himself to becoming fit. The 42-year-old lives with post-traumatic stress disorder but says he doesn’t let it define who he is. Drawn to CrossFit by its connection to the military, Burgess was intrigued when he saw the results CrossFit produces.
In this six-part series, follow the trials and triumphs that go along with Building Burgess.
In Part 1, Burgess discusses his desire to improve his life with Brett Marshall, Level 1 Seminar Staff member and owner of CrossFit Calgary in Calgary, Canada.
“If it took you 20 years to get fat,” Burgess says, “it’s not gonna take you 10 minutes to get fit.”
Convinced by the results he’s seen in work colleagues, Burgess decides to make a change—but it won’t be easy.
“Part of the challenge is that I’m old, fat and broken,” Burgess says with a laugh. “(CrossFit’s) got a reputation for being so ferociously tough.”
At the first class of his eight-session on-ramp, Burgess is nervous but ready for the challenge.
“I’m hoping to really beast the shit out of this to be honest,” Burgess says. “Might as well start on a brutal note and then go from there.”
In his first CrossFit workout, Burgess is introduced to Tabata intervals or was it “toboggan”?
Video by Jeremy Podlog.
10min 14sec
Additional reading: The War Within by Hilary Achauer, published Feb. 10, 2013.