If you have any familiarity with CrossFit, then you’re aware that a Hero workout is occasionally slipped into the programming.
A Hero WoD honors a fallen soldier, first responder, or other special individual. Generally, it’s the fallen individual’s favorite workout or has some other connection to the individual. The idea is that because that individual can no longer do the workout, we’ll do it for him or her.
It’s special. The motto behind it is that when you feel like quitting, remember why you started.
One such Hero workout is “Chad”. Usually performed on Veteran’s Day, the workout is named after Navy SEAL Chad Wilkinson “who took his life on October 29, 2018 due to the effects of numerous deployments, several TBIs, blast wave injuries and PTSD. The goal of the workout is to honor Chad’s life and legacy and to raise awareness for suicide prevention”. You can read more about the foundation behind the workout at the “Chad 1000X” page here.
Before Chad’s death, he was training for a mountain climbing event using this workout that consists of:
1000 Box Steps to a 20’ box
Oh, and you should wear a 45/35 pound backpack…
What you’ll find below is how I approached the workout and a stream-of-consciousness script detailing my thought process during. If you don’t like to read cuss words or witness intense human suffering, you should probably stop here…
Disclaimer: This is an account of last year’s attempt to Rx the workout. I did the workout again this year, but I only wore a 20 lb. vest because of some lower back issues. Still, the results were the same…
I’ve done Chad twice before, but only wearing the 20-pound vest I use for “Murph.” This year, however, I decided I would load up my new Bear Komplex backpack and give the Rx a shot. I stuffed my Harbinger weight vest into the pack, then used the other 2-pound sand weights to reach 40 pounds.
Yeah, I was 5 pounds shy, but give me a break. I stuffed the last two-pound weight in roughly 3 minutes before the coach started the clock; that’s still double what I did before, I’m pushing 50, and I’m kind of a sissy…
My Strategy:
Easy. Step up. Step down. Don’t puke. Don’t pass out. Don’t die. Repeat.
Okay, maybe there was more to it, but not much. On paper, “Chad’ appears to be a deceptively simple. It’s not. Chad is a long, tedious slog that becomes a test of mental endurance as well as the physical. And to make it worse, you have to count to a 1000…
The other athletes at my box decided on sets of 20 to keep the counting more manageable and to work in a second or two rest to wipe the mark off a whiteboard. I followed along and set my whiteboard up with 50 slash marks in 5 rows, each totaling 200 reps.
The Warm-Up:
I expected a lot of quad, hip, and glute emphasis, so I focused on those areas and then threw in some calf stretches for good measure.
And 3..2..1.. GO!
Reps 1-2
Holy shit, 40 pounds is heavy! I’ve NEVER worn a ruck during a workout before, and clearly, I picked a stupid time and weight for my virgin flight. Was NOT expecting the balance problems when stepping up and then back down.
I’m going to end up flat-ass backward, flailing around like a tits-up turtle until they bring in an end-loaded to hoist me back up. I know it…
Reps 3-50
There we go. Balance is leveling out. Pack is adjusted and set where it should be. And if my feet weren’t flat before, they soon will be. That should help, right?
Reps 51-100
This isn’t too bad. Pace is good. Burn in the hips and quads is minimal; ass doesn’t feel like I sat on a lit blowtorch.
I got this. I’m gonna own this. I should take my shirt off.
Stupid backpack.
Reps 101-200
I’m not breathing that hard yet, but headband is fucked. Sweat is flying off my head like I’m in South America during the rainy season.
Does South America have a rainy season? A lot of rainforest down there, right? The Amazon? Doesn’t it always rain down there? Tacos. Tacos sound awesome. Steak though. Not that ground beef bullshit. Try slipping chicken in there, and it’s bare-knuckle time…
Wait. Focus. What number am I on?
Son-of-a…
Reps 201-300
Okay, still hanging in there. I think I may have this. Still sweating like, well, me in church, my heart rate is jacked, but keeping a solid pace. Twenty reps, then a break only long enough to erase a mark on the whiteboard is still working. But…
So. Many. Marks. Left. I had to miss some.
Seriously. I had to miss some…
Reps 400-500
Did that chick in front of me just fall off her box? Heehee. I hope so…
Wait, no, she didn’t. Just my vision going sideways.
Reps 500 – 600
Coming at you live from Ockee-fucknobee-swamp, shirt drenched, whiteboard simmering in a pool of sweat. Pausing a little longer on the top of the box after rep ten to question life choices.
On the positive side, only two more rows of tick marks on the board, which equates to– shit, 400 more.
Math is stupid.
Reps 600-650
Oh, Good God, will this never end? Those tick marks on the board don’t want to leave. They’re dancing around my head like rabid bats, taunting me, haunting me, insulting my mother.
The time, though, that keeps moving quickly…
Reps 650-651
Seriously? One rep? I’m thinking about one rep?
Reps 652-700
Managed to talk myself out of ‘accidentally’ slipping off the side of the box, smacking my forehead off the wooden corner, and slipping into sweet, sweet unconsciousness.
I’m getting there, still truckin’. Pace remains consistent and not that far off from when I started. Legs don’t hurt as much as I thought. Feeling the fatigue in my core, though.
I can do this.
I’m a lion. A tiger. A bear.
Reps 701-703
Oh my, I can’t do this. I can’t…
Reps 704-706
Yes. You can. Suck it up. Take it one step at a time. Focus only on the next rep. Right leg up. Left leg up. Right leg down. Left leg down.
And count!
For the LOVE OF GOD count!
Reps 707-708
Look at me go! I’m back, baby! Coming at you, you wooden, 20-inch high piece of recycled gopher shit!
Reps 709-710
Aaaaand, I’m not going to finish. I hate this box, this backpack. I hate CrossFit. I hate fitness.
That’s it.
Cancelling my membership. I’m walking out of this den of pain and self-loathing with two middle fingers held high. Then heading (wobbling) to McDonald’s to extra-value meal myself into oblivion.
Reps 711-800
Chad Wilkinson. Think about Chad Wilkinson.
Think about all he did and fought and struggled with, both in war and out. Through his sacrifices, he gifted me the opportunity and freedom to be there in that gym with my friends, stepping up on that box over and over again.
My pain will stop; my life will go on.
Chad’s didn’t. Chad’s won’t.
Reps 801-805
I think I can finish this in under 75 minutes! I really, really think I can!
Reps 806-815
Okay, 77 minutes seems more accurate…
Reps 816-820
Maybe 80 minutes?
Reps 821-900
Okay, I’ve had enough of this. Enough whining and complaining. I’m almost there. I’m done with the 20-rep thing. Making a final push… no stop, no pause, fuck those tick marks. I’m going to 900.
Reps 900-999
Oh yeah, bitches! Made it to 900 unbroken. Only 100 left. 100 small steps, and I’m done. I’m out. I have enough gas in the tank for one final 100-rep push… I know I do.
Rep 1000
Done.
78 minutes. 59 seconds.
I’ll take it.
Rest in Peace, Chad. May God watch over your family. And thank you for your sacrifice. For your ultimate sacrifice.
The Aftermath:
Surprisingly, this didn’t end up being a collapse and gasp, writhing around in your juices, crying to the Blessed Mother finish.
However, I Could. Not. Wait. to get that backpack off–until I actually did. Pain immediately shot through my left trapezius muscle. It felt like one of those tick marks from the whiteboard dislocated my collarbone and was shanking me in the neck with it.
That happens when you have 40 pounds pressing down into the muscle and bone for over an hour.
The Aftermath–later that afternoon:
Not going to lie. Took a nap. A damn good nap. Woke up to find my trap still a little sore. Red welts cover my chest as if I slammed into a couple of seat belts.
But otherwise, it’s alright.
The Aftermath–later that night:
Stuck in a car for an hour’s drive to a wedding. Hips a little tight when I got out of the car, but no different from after any longer car ride.
Hmm. A few little twitches in the calves, the start of what could be a cramp, but some water should take care of that. Still waiting for something in the quads.
Damn. I MUST be in pretty good shape. I AM a CrossFitting slab of lean Angus beef…
I should take my shirt off.
The Aftermath–the next morning:
Oh, good Lord, Jesus.
My calves burn with the fires of a thousand hells. I can’t even graze them with a finger. I’m afraid to move the sheet over them. I hear steps and staircases all over the world laughing maniacally…
I should stretch. Work on some mobility.
I’m funny, aren’t I?
The Aftermath–many days later.
Oh, good Lord, Jesus. My calves are still sore to the touch. I’m still taking stairs so bowlegged I look like an extra on Yellowstone.
And Comptrain programmed a WoD with nothing but front squats and lateral bar-over burpees.
I can’t do it. I shouldn’t do it.
But hell yeah, I’m going to do it…
Paranormal Pressings 
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