Adam Brown overcame drugs and a troubled past — including some time in jail — to become an elite Navy SEAL.
He was killed by heavily armed militants on March 17, 2010, in Komar Province, Afghanistan. Brown, 36, of Hot Springs, Ark,, left behind his wife, their two children and his parents. The story of Brown’s heroic life is told by author Eric Blehm in the book, “Fearless.”
In addition to the book, Brown has been memorialized with a Crossfit hero workout. These workouts are named after soldiers and law-enforcement personnel who have been killed in the line of duty.
The Adam Brown WOD consists of two rounds of:
- 24 deadlifts with 295 pounds
- 24 wall balls
- 24 box jumps
- 24 power cleans with 145 pounds
- 24 repetitions on a bench press with 195 pounds.
The Adam Brown WOD kicked my butt.
I can’t even imagine doing it at the prescribed weights. Doing so will be another goal to shoot for, I guess.
Because Warrior Crossfit Muscate doesn’t have a bench, I did 24 floor presses — first with my left arm and then with my right — with a 53-pound kettlebell. I did the power cleans with 95 pounds. And I did 36 deadlifts with 235 pounds. After the muscles in lower back really began to lock up, I dropped down to 135 pounds for the last 12 reps.
It took me 40 minutes to complete the workout. Elite crossfitters can do it at the prescribed weights in around 25 minutes, which is unimaginable.
But Dr. Doug Dawson of Muscatine came pretty close. He did it in 27:50 with a deadlift of 245 and 115-pound power cleans. My hat’s off to him. That is impressive.
The hero workouts are always hard. And, to me, this seemed like one of the harder ones. But I got through it. And that’s what really matters. At leas that’s what I’m going to tell myself when I can barely move Sunday and Monday.
Brome Hill 