I was n't always in love with the idea of fitness or being healthy . But it 's something that became extremely important after losing one of my best friends , Scott Pollock , in December 2005 , and realizing that life was way too short to just be thrown away on junk food and little activity ; that was n't living . When Scott passed , I made a promise to him and myself that I would do everything in my power to keep his dreams of making a difference for people with different abilities in the world of fitness alive . I was n't quite sure how I was going to do it , but I knew that if I wanted to I would have to get myself in shape first and the rest would soon fall into place . In my freshman year at Lynn University , as I was looking through pictures posted on Facebook , I began to see a person I did n't like , and I knew something needed to be done to change it . By the time I started my sophomore year and was acclimated with the campus , I had made a great deal of friends and was doing well in school , but something was missing . I was going to the gym about three times a week doing as much as I could on my own , but it was n't always easy to get in and out of machines or to know which exercises would be beneficial . I told my family what I was trying to do and they agreed to support me so I could work with a personal trainer . After meeting with a few different people , I met with Frank Manusky . That 's when the transformation began . From my first meeting with Frank , I knew this was going to be successful . He had worked with people of the adaptive population before and had told me that anything was possible , as long I wanted it to be . About four months into our training , I came to Frank with what seemed to be a crazy idea : After watching athletes compete in hand cycles one weekend I wanted to complete a marathon . Without hesitation , he said , `` OK , let 's get to work then . '' I finished my first hand-cycling marathon on December 4 , 2011 , with a time of 4:34:14 . When I looked up at that clock , more exhausted than I have ever been , something inside of me said , `` I have to do this again , but next time do it better . '' That was the day my competitive spirit was brought to life . I competed in several races after that and loved every second of it , but I wanted to get stronger . This is when I first heard about CrossFit . I walked into my first CrossFit box ( gym ) on May 3 , 2012 . I saw people who had just finished a workout lying flat on their backs , breathing heavily , looking like they had just come out of a war zone . I thought to myself , `` I want to do this and look like that someday . '' That first day I spent close to an hour with Scott Lefferts , owner of CrossFit Hard Core Boca Raton . We talked about everything from what I had done before , to what I thought I could do , to what I thought at the time was physically impossible . Scott accepted me for everything I was and together we took it workout by workout . Six months into my experience , I saw undeniable changes . I was stronger , I was moving faster , and all I could seem to think or talk about was CrossFit . It 's now been a year . I have worked with several different coaches and have had the opportunity to travel the country showing people how an adaptive athlete with CP gets it done . If you would have told me that in a year I would be lifting weights over my head , flipping tires and coaching this sport , I would n't have believed you , but this is my reality . As an adaptive athlete and coach , I see and do things differently than most , but that does n't make my desire to be great any weaker . In CrossFit when the term `` RX 'd '' is used it means an athlete has done something as prescribed . My weights and rep scheme may never be RX , but my effort always will be . If this last year has taught me anything , it 's to embrace every challenge that comes your way because you never know when that challenge is going to turn into great opportunity .
Stephanie Hammerman began getting in shape after a friend 's death . She completed a hand-cycling marathon in December 2011 . In the past year , she 's become a CrossFit trainer .