Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Dr. Stephen "The Man" Haessler

Just wanted to give some well deserved props to Dr. H. Steve has impressed all of us on a regular basis, but especially this month. All of us know that Steve competed in the first ever Master's division of the CrossFit Games. It takes a lot of guts to compete as an individual, and even more so when you have know idea what to expect! Not only that, but Steve is "59 and almost 1/2" (his words :)! He was going against some guys that were almost ten years younger than him. You wouldn't have been able to tell though. He blew me away over there. In the first workout what impressed me the most was that Steve never hit a wall, like most of the competitors. He was going all out and kept pace the whole time. He came so close to finishing too! Great work. The second workout out was just amazing. Twenty pound PR on his thruster...need I say more? Day two was tougher. Steve had a fair, but strict judge that made him do, I don't know, a thousand chest to bar pull-ups? What a good show you put on Steve. What I like most about Steve is his great attitude. After each workout he would say "Boy that was fun!" or "What a blast!" I thought he was just oxygen deprived or a bit crazy, but no, that's how Steve is. Let me also mention that he probably wouldn't have been able to accomplish what he did without the support of a lovely young lady named Midori. Right by his side, cheering him on the whole way. She was actually WAY more nervous than Steve was, but I guess all of us were. Steve and Midori have been such a joy to know and train. CrossFit has really become a way of life for the two of them. Did I mention he just passed his Level 1 CrossFit certification (along with Daniel :) last weekend? Thank you guys for coming to CrossFitWorks. It's been a pleasure getting to know you. Steve, one last question. When are you going to start training me?

2 comments:

  1. Yes, Steve IS THE MAN!!
    During that CTB Cindy, I would have felt like kicking my judge in the face, but Steve took it as time to get his CTB's right and ended the workout with pride, a smile and two thumbs up!

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  2. What a nice post! Thanks Jenny, I'm honored. You and the other coaches at CrossFit Works have a gift of fitness knowledge, leadership skills, and ability to inspire by example. You change lives for the better and are all aw-shucks humble about it. That's so cool. And Summer, true confessions. I so wanted to deck that judge and then just run away to the far side of the field. I thought, no one will notice. And so the opponent at that time was really me but happily I defeated myself and kept after those illusive chest to bars. So, I won. I learned to harness the whiner and quitter in me in the crucible of the CrossFit Works gym with the guidance of people like Jenny.

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