Twin brothers David and Jason Benham are former professional baseball players. David was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1998, and Jason was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the same year. Both played together for the St. Louis Cardinals before retiring. Now the brothers find their competitive outlet in CrossFit.
“The thing we love most about CrossFit was we were competitors; we were born to compete. So in the YMCA and some of the other gyms that we were in after we got out of pro baseball, we had no opportunity to compete,” David says. “So when we got to CrossFit, I won that first WOD, and we knew it’s on.”
Jason says CrossFit helps a person meet his or her genetic potential.
“When you’re doing those functional fitness movements combined with that Paleo Diet, your body is getting to a place where it was genetically coded to be,” he says. “Your body becomes what it should be, and in doing that it helps you in every facet of life.”
According to the brothers, CrossFit can definitely benefit professional baseball players.
“Lengthening your career, lengthening your game—the most important thing is strength and conditioning,” David says.
The brothers say they see CrossFit integrating into the sport and share how they push CrossFit and the Paleo Diet with their continued involvement in baseball. The two coach businesses now and have brought CrossFit to their own employees. They say they’ve seen CrossFit benefit their business with increased productivity, self-esteem and energy levels in their employees.
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Additional reading: The Marlins Go CrossFit by Paul Fournier, published March 1, 2010.