By Julie MansMann [email protected]
MerricknativeStephHammermandevel-oped cerebral palsy shortly after she wasborn23yearsago.Buttheaccomplishedath-lete and motivational speaker said shedoesn’tstrugglewithanything. “Peoplehavethismisconceptionthatjustbecause we are individuals who have toadapt to different circumstances that weautomaticallysuffer fromsomething,”shesaid of adaptive athletes. “I hope thatthroughmyactions,andalsomywords,Icanshowotherpeoplethatanythingispossibleif youbelieveintheimpossible.” Hammermannoted thatshegetsreadyand goes to work just like anyone else.Accordingtoheremployer––CrossFit,Inc.––Hammermanisthefirstwomanwithcere-bralpalsytobecomeafitnesstraineratthecompany. Her achievements within theCrossFitcommunityandinhealthandwell-nesshavegarnerednationalattention,asshehasbeenfeaturedontelevision,andsheisnow being booked for public-speakingengagements. Hammerman,whograduatedfromKen-nedyHighSchoolinBellmorein2008,saidlivingahealthylifebecameextremelyimpor-tanttoherafterthelossof oneof herbestfriends,ScottPollock.Pollock,whodiedinDecember 2005, was born without arms.However,Hammermanexplainedthatnoth-ingkepthimoff thebasketballcourt. Usinghis feet toplaybasketball,Ham-merman said Pollock remained active
throughout his life while advocating forotheradaptiveathletes.NowHammermansaidshewantstomakeadifferenceforoth-erslikehedid. “ItoldhisfamilyIwantedtocontinuehislegacy,”shesaid.“Itwasaroughtime,buthe’ll foreverbemyinspirationanddrivingforcetomoveforward.” Hammermanbegangoingtothegymsev-eraltimesaweek.WhileattendingLynnUni-versityinBocaRaton,Fla.,shebeganwork-ingwithapersonaltrainer.FrankManuskyhelped Hammerman prepare for her firstmarathon. OnDec.4,2011,Hammermancompletedthe26.2-milePalmBeachMarathonusingahandcycle.RobinCanarick,Hammerman’smother,saidherfamilyflewdowntoFloridatowatchhercrossthefinishline. “Shehadafootball teamonthesidelinerooting forher,”shesaid.“Shehasalwayshadthesupportof herentirefamily.Myex-husbandandIgavehereverytoolpossible.Wegaveherherwingstofly.” Althoughshesaiditwasanexhilaratingexperience, Hammerman knew she couldimproveuponherfinishingtimeof 4:34:14.Shesaid thispromptedher towalk intoaCrossFitbox(gym)forthefirsttimeonMay3,2012. HammermanbeganworkingwithScottLefferts,ownerof CrossFitHardCoreBocaRaton.Leffertshadneverworkedwithanadaptive athlete before meeting Hammer-man,butheworkedwithhersoshecouldcomplete the various segments of thestrengthandconditioningprogram.
“Little by little we worked together toadaptallof thesemovementsthatsomeoneelsewasdoing.If someonewasliftingabarover theirhead, Iwanted tobeable todothat,”Hammermansaid.“Itwasveryfrus-tratingduringthefirstfewmonths,butthisis a community where everybody can bedoingthesameworkout,whetheritisscaledor done as prescribed. At the end of theworkout,everyonefeelsexactlythesameway– completely exhausted but very accom-plished.” Asshebegantoseechangesinherownbody and workouts became more routine,Hammermansaidsherealizedshealsowant-edtohelpothersrealizewhattheywerecapa-ble of physically. This led her to pursuebecomingcertifiedasaCrossFittraineronJune7,2013. HammermanisnowatraineratCrossFitConquestinDavie,Fla,workingwithupto20athletesinaclasseachday.Shesaidshecon-tinuedtolearnandgrowasacoachandanathlete,andthatCrossFitisaplacethatwillalwaysbeapartof her life,as longas thecompanyisaround. Canarick said she had never heard of Crossfit before Hammerman got involvedwithit,butnowshesaysjoiningthecommu-nitywasoneof thebestthingstohappentoherdaughter.Localathletesinthecommuni-ty have also welcomed Hammerman, shesaid,notingthattrainersattheBedfordAve-nueCrossFithadhercomeinandteachaclass. “Here, I watched my daughter, who[couldn’t] jumprope,teachable-bodiedindi-vidualshowtodoadoublejump,”shesaid.“Sheknowshowtotellthebodywhattodo.Iwasamazed.” Hammermanappearedona“GoodStuff”
segmentonCNNinJuly2013.Thestoryhassincebeennominatedasoneof the top10storiesof theyearintheseries.Thepollisstillopenonnewday.blogs.cnn.com. Canaricksaiditwasphenomenalthatherdaughter’sstorytouchedpeoplenationwide,adding thatherdaughterwillcontinue toinspireothersasamotivationalspeaker.HerfirstspeakingshowcaseisonFeb.17attheNationalAssociationforCampusActivities’nationalconventioninBoston,Mass. Hammermansaidsheisexcitedtobeabletoexpressherself inthewayshewants attheconvention.“ItrulybelieveIhaveapow-erfulvoiceforareason,”shesaid.“If Ionlychangeoneperson’slifeoutof 1,000,Ihaveprettymuchdonemyjob.” Hammermanisalsocurrentlypursuingamaster’sdegreeincollegestudentaffairsatNovaSoutheasternUniversity,noting thathertimeatLynnasanundergraduatewasimportanttoher.Asasophomoreatthecol-lege in 2009, she founded the DisabilityAwareness Initiative, comprising eightevents aimed at teaching able-bodied stu-dents about the daily challenges that stu-dents with disabilities face. It has sinceexpandedtoFloridaAtlanticUniversity. Anaviduserof socialmedia,Hammer-mancanbefoundonInstagramandTwitter@iAdaptFitness.Canaricksaidherdaughterisanexcellentcommunicatoracrossplat-forms,andthatsheisproudof allshehasdoneandwillcontinuetodoworkingwithothers. “Ionlyhopethatshecontinuestobehappy,behealthyandjusthasallof herwishescometrue,andthatshetrulyhasapositiveeffectonotherpeople’s lives,”shesaid.“Sheisveryheadstrong.Whensheputshermindtosome-thing,thereisnostoppingher.”
Adaptive athlete inspires others nationwide
Photos courtesy Steph Hammerman
steph haMMerMan stepped into her first CrossFit box, or gym, on May 3, 2012.
haMMerMan is the first woman with cerebral palsy to become a fitness trainer at CrossFit , Inc.
