MEEKER I “If I’m in the scenario of that much pain, and I have the option to quit, what would I do? would I keep going, or would I stop?” Dr. Justin Grant told the HT in an interview this week, describing his harrowing experience over the weekend. For 24 hours straight, Dr. Grant exercised at Smoking River Brewing Co. to raise money for a family friend who was recently diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.The event was live-streamed to Facebook, along with interviews from fitness professionals, doctors, business owners, and Maudy Milton, whom the fundraiser benefitted.
“Time seemed to really slow down, the clock just didn’t seem to be moving” noted Grant when discussing the ordeal that he trained to do for almost three months. Combining wind-machine exercises and crossfit, altogether the workout involved:
• 50 calories on the row machine
• 50 squats
• 50 calories on a SkiErg
• 50 clean and jerks (with 75lbs)
• 50 calories on the assault bike
• 50 bar over burpees
All of that, but for 24 hours. Despite significant efforts to train before-hand, Dr. Grant reflected “it wasn’t enough, in hindsight,” as the process still took a significant physical toll and led to some injuries, which he said he has mostly recovered from. “It’s probably one of the top three most painful things I’ve ever experienced,” he said, adding “but at the same time, it’s in the top three most satisfying and rewarding.” things of self-accomplishment that I’ve ever experienced.”
Dubbed “the wind-tunnel,” (a name with both literal and metaphorical meanings) the routine was titled to represent response to extreme adversity.
“It’s an area with really high velocity winds, it’s a violent area, something that a lot of things can’t withstand,” said Grant, “we all face our wind tunnels ” he added, referring to the adversity faced by Milton, and those who participated in the event over the weekend who were part of more than just a fundraiser. “We were raising money, yes, for Maudy Milton, but we were coming alongside Maudy Milton in her wind tunnel, and we were learning lessons for ourselves to take forward into our own future wind tunnels,” Dr. Grant said.
Ongoing fundraising via GoFundMe for Milton can be found at https://bit.ly/3rSm82r or by scanning the QR code below.
Dr. Grant said he plans to do more like this event in the future, though he hasn’t yet decided exactly what. In the meantime, you can checkout the day’s live-streamed events at https://www.facebook.com/athloslife
By LUCAS TURNER | [email protected]om