Congratulations to Casey Whittington for being selected as the July 2017 Athlete of the Month! Casey has put in so much work since his last shoulder surgery. We all know it’s not easy to take a backseat to the regularly scheduled programming, but Casey trusted the process, followed the plan, and is (as he later points out) better than when he started. Casey brings energy and a sense of humor to the gym. Along with being an awesome addition to class he is knowledge about local government, tasty red wine, and is the best at recommending a podcast! Ask him what he has going on, you are sure to learn something fun. He is always ready to sweat and compete in the blazing hot afternoons. For those reasons and many more, he is definitely deserving of the title for Athlete of the Month.
Started CrossFit: Started in 2015-ish. I came and did a class at Mission and while I was bent over a trash can, Drew could be heard laughing.
Favorite WOD: DT
Least favorite WOD: Kalsu
Favorite lift: Deadlift
Least favorite lift: Anything overhead
Story: First off, I have to admit that I never thought I would be the guy who loves CrossFit. I used to make fun of it all the time. After signing up at Mission to do the sport program after coming from a less competitive gym, I tore my the labrum in my right shoulder a mere two days into my membership doing some standard pull-ups. I was disheartened, having had five surgeries on my left shoulder all ready, but Drew was adamant that I would be back. Six weeks after surgery, Drew told me to not even think about touching a weight for six weeks and came up with a rehab plan. I am sure all of you saw me flailing around in the corner of the gym most afternoons with tiny dumbbells and cardio. However, after all of my surgeries I have done physical therapy, and this is by far the strongest I have come back. I cannot thank Drew and the Mission staff enough for being patient with my aging bones and helping me when I have to scale the workouts accordingly. Having been to a number of gyms, I can honestly say that Mission is by far the best.
