Wisconsin adaptive weightlifter redefines strength through sport
Wisconsin adaptive weightlifter redefines strength through sport
Alex Jimenez, an adaptive athlete at Inclusive Performance in Waterford, finds strength through sport and has become an AdaptX Games winner.
WATERFORD, Wis. - There are many ways to measure strength. At a gym, and in life.
What they're saying:
"Everyone here is very supportive, very kind," said Alex Jimenez, an athlete at Inclusive Performance in Waterford. "There’s definitely no judgment here."
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There’s the obvious – the amount of weight on the bar.
"The main thing is just consistency," said Jimenez. "Start out small and work your way up."
In Jimenez’s case, there are other methods that flip the whole concept of strength upside down.
"First time I did it," he said after a set of handstand push-ups, "I fell on my face."
As you’ll learn about the 23-year-old, that’s never stopped him before.
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"Ever since I’ve known Alex, he’s never doubted himself," Inclusive Performance founder Felicia Davis said. "He’s never had that question of what he can and can’t do."
Jimenez is preparing to defend his title in this week’s AdaptX Games, the major fundraiser for Inclusive Performance’s free programming.
"There’s like a societal kind of ceiling," said Davis. "We don’t have that here."
"It doesn't stop him"
The backstory:
Jimenez is at home at the gym – and at the gym even when he’s at home, thanks to a setup of weights and equipment in his basement. It’s a physical manifestation of the strength he’s shown since day one.
"He was 1 pound, 4 ounces," said Janine Miller, Jimenez’s mother. "He was the size of your hand."
Janine gave birth to her first child when she was just 23 weeks pregnant.
"They were completely convinced he was not going to make it through the night," she recalled.
The list of issues was long – brain bleeds, heart surgery, pneumonia, skin so delicate that Miller had to wait three weeks to finally, fully hold her son.
"For eight hours, I laid there and tears just ran down my face," she said of the first time she was allowed to do skin-to-skin contact. "We just had these little great talks about, if he kept pushing and kept going, that I would keep supporting and make the best decisions possible for him."
Life at home wasn’t much easier. Jimenez was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and needed reconstructive bone surgery, yet learned to ride a bike with casts on both legs.
"I could barely walk in them, they were itchy 24/7," said Jimenez. "But I was determined to ride my bike with my friends."
"I wouldn’t say he doesn’t realize – he knows he’s disabled, and he has these limitations," said Miller, "but it doesn’t stop him from being limitless."
A fan of anime and manga, Jimenez has always been drawn to the magic of the phoenix – the concept of rebirth and renewal.
"I see a young boy," Jimenez said, looking at a picture his mom got him of a child and a phoenix intertwined. "Despite everything that happened to him, he persevered."
"Just keep moving"
What they're saying:
By high school, Jimenez found a transformational outlet of his own – weightlifting.
"He started out with five-pound weights," said Miller. "And now what are you lifting, two people?"
In college, an advisor told Jimenez about a program at a local CrossFit gym with coaches certified in adaptive training.
"I feel like I wouldn’t be who I am without it," he said.
The same can be said for the almost 100 athletes who have found the free programs and the welcoming community of Inclusive Performance.
"We teach belief in themselves," Davis, the founder, said. "And it’s really beautiful watching them carry that into other places in their life, too."
So yes, there are many different ways to measure strength. But for Jimenez and his fellow athletes, none of them involve a number.
"Ability is so much more than what you can physically do," said Davis.
"Strength is your heart," Miller added about her son. "When I look at him, his go-getting, non-stop attitude about not letting anything get him down. That’s the strength that he shows."
"Just keep moving, no matter what," said Jimenez. "And that’s what I do. I just keep moving."
AdaptX Games
What's next:
The AdaptX Games take place at Syndicate Strength & Fitness in Waterford from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 16. It is Inclusive Performance's biggest fundraiser of the year and goes a long way toward providing the free training and opportunities for athletes like Jimenez.
The Source: FOX6 News interviewed the subjects of this story.