No Rep to the Widowmaker Heart Attack

ByCrossFit May 29, 2020

Jim Rowe, 70, has been doing CrossFit for just more than three years.

“I feel like my life and my body have had a total transformation,” Rowe says.

Rowe was introduced to CrossFit by a waiter at a restaurant he frequents. When Rowe noticed the waiter had lost weight, he asked what his secret was.

“CrossFit,” the waiter replied.

Rowe was hesitant at first, but once he stepped into Clermont CrossFit in Minneola, Florida, his nerves relaxed. Now he’s lost 75 lb., gained energy and made new friends.

Rowe’s dedication has transferred over into his home life, as well.

“Since Jim’s been going to CrossFit, we do seem to have a different way of life,” says Rowe’s wife, Pamela. “We’ve always been extremely close, but now we even get in the kitchen together. We cook, we clean up, we laugh more than I think we’ve ever laughed.”

When Jim was diagnosed with a large blockage that could lead to a “widowmaker” heart attack, his doctors said he was likely alive because of CrossFit training and improved nutrition. Today, Jim’s been given a clean bill of health, and his cardiologist told him to return to the gym.

“He says, ‘Let me tell you: Don’t change a thing,’” Jim recalls. “’I want you to go back.’”

And he did.