Meet Apprentice Coach Brandon “Cyclops” McCaig: “My introduction to CrossFit”

Many of you have probably seen me on occasion, or not at all. I spend most my time in the morning and then come back for late afternoon. I am Emily’s newest apprentice.  I was given the opportunity this week to come up with material to post. I figured I would use that time to let you guys  get to know me – the newest apprentice – a little better and give you my introduction to CrossFit and how I came to CrossFit Vancouver.

Lets start from the very beginning: 6 years ago while living in Victoria, a few of my friends always talked about this CrossFit sport, but I never took it seriously and never actually looked into it. I kind of just brushed it off. I had other interests at the time, mostly involving muay thai and jiu jitsu. My wife and I then moved to Parksville and I was rear-ended, injuring my hip (not my fault) five days before my wedding. I then spent the next two and a  half years going from physio office, to rehabilitation centre, to chiropractors, and appointments with surgeons.

I didn’t end up getting hip surgery, thankfully because they were not sure if they could find the problem and tendency for this type of injury to heal on its own. In that time, I also came to the realization I wasn’t going to become an RCMP officer, and believed I would never be 100% better. I tried finding a hobby, something to distract myself with and get me out of the house. I took up archery and still love it to this day.

By the end of 2012,  I was getting fed up with how bad my leg hurt and feeling like I was going nowhere with physiotherapy. Doing little movements with bands for hours only gets you so far. I wasn’t getting better. I was almost on the verge of having to use a cane. At this time, my wife had started a fitness class called CrossFit and it looked fun, exciting, and NEW. So I decided a couple of months later, I was going to take my own health into my  hands. I thank the physios I worked with for making me do hours of wall squats to a ball. If I didn’t do that, I can’t imagine what my first full-depth unassisted back squat would have looked like.

I remember my very first workout was at CrossFit Zone, with Lucas Parker as coach. He made us do a 500-meter row, 40 air squats, 30 sit-ups, 20 push-ups and 10 pull-ups. I didn’t even make it through the squats before running off to the bathroom. But that didn’t deter me. I came back out and wasn’t about to give up on my first day. I finished off the squats and began on the sit-ups. About 10 sit-ups in,  I realized I wasn’t feeling so hot and had to excuse myself one more time. I came back out, held my head high and finished off the rest of the workout. Needless to say, I have improved my cardio since.

After that workout, I couldn’t get enough. I enjoyed every day there. The pain in my hip did present some limitations at first.  Squatting, running, rowing, box jumps, and deadlifts all caused pain in my hip, so I was cautious at first.  After a month I noticed some strength in my leg again, and after two months my hip was feeling fine. No longer was there discomfort as long as I stuck to solid movements with the best technique I had.

My wife and I spent the next year at CrossFit Zone, and this set me on the path of knowing what I wanted. I invested time into becoming a personal trainer and spent a few months realizing that what I had been taught barely scratched the surface of the knowledge I needed  to teach people how to move properly. My wife came across MadLab and mentioned it to me.  I looked at it and said, “That’s what I need,” and a few months later we packed up our stuff and moved to Vancouver.

Thursday

W/U:   a).  Complete 3 rounds of: 20 glute bridge,  12 scapula push-up, 7/7 bowler squats,  10 t-spine bridge, goblet squat hold

b). Empty bar HSC work

TECH:    Hang Squat Clean (3 x 5)

WOD:    7 min AMRAP:

5 H-S-C (65/95 lb)

7 Box Jump (24/ 30”)

-CFP