Between every person and his or her fitness goals is an obstacle. And not to make light of your crazed schedule or massive pile of papers on your desk, but if these five fitspirational athletes can overcome tragedy, loss of limbs, car accidents, and explosions to get fit, you can definitely show your obstacles who's boss. Let’s get to work.
1. Kellie Mencel
Just a week after surviving a massive car accident in which her car flipped five times, Kellie Mencel was on a boat with her family—trying to get away from it all—when the boat exploded.
17 years old at the time, Kellie endured years of hospitalization and outpatient treatment, not to mention weird looks from classmates when they saw her carrying an umbrella and wearing compression bandages, gloves, and a hat to protect her sensitive skin from the sun. And despite cruel comments from girls on rival basketball teams—and the fact that no one wanted to cover her during games—Kellie used sports and fitness to push forward and find herself.
“Living a healthy and active lifestyle is what helped me get through all this,” Kellie recently told Buzzfeed. “Exercise is the most effective anti-depressant but the least used.” Now, at 22, Kellie works as a personal trainer and is studying fitness and nutrition.
"I’ve learned to take risks and try to be fearless in my everyday life because I want my life to be meaningful,” she says. “I try to inspire and motivate people to live a healthy, active life because that's what helped me; that is what got me through.”
Follow her fit journey at instagram.com/kelliemencel
2. Heather Abbott
Heather, like many, lost something at the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. But for her, the losses weren't just emotional; the second bomb exploded just feet away from her, and she ended up having to have her left foot and part of her leg removed.
Unfortunately, when she first received her prosthetic leg, it was the hope of walking again. “It was so painful,” she told Women’s Health in an exclusive interview. “I was only six weeks out of surgery, so the incision was still new. I stood up and thought, ‘This is what I’m going to walk on? It’s like a stilt! How am I going to do this?”
Now, Heather now has four prosthetics. “This is what I’m getting used to now—which is good because I have to—but it’s also kind of sad,” she says. Two of Heather's prosthetics are for her workouts: One is waterproof so she can wear it while paddle boarding, which she loves, and one is a blade she uses exclusively for running.
The latter came in handy when she ran the last half-mile of the Boston Marathon in 2014, just one year after losing her leg. That year, she also won the Orthopedic Association’s Spirit of an Active Lifestyle Award. And on the eve of the 2015 Boston Marathon, she launched the Heather Abbott Foundation, aimed at helping others who have lost limbs.
Follow her fit journey at twitter.com/heather/abbott1
3. Alana Nichols
It was the first snow of the season, and Alana was bound and determined to do a back flip; she had been practicing it on the trampoline with her snowboard all summer. But this time, she pushed too hard, did an extra half-flip, and landed on her back, on a rock.
“Immediately on impact, I felt my back break,” she told Women’s Health. I screamed louder than I ever had before—but it wasn’t so much out of pain, but rather shock from how my body was feeling. It was like a wave of energy had disappeared from my waist down, and I couldn’t feel my board or boots anymore. When my friends told me I was wearing them, I knew something was wrong with my legs.”
Alana had shattered her vertebrae, severed her spinal cord, and would never walk again. “I had been an athlete throughout my entire life, and that’s how I still identified myself,” she said. “Being paralyzed made me feel like that wasn’t who I was anymore, and it was devastating.”
But after two years, she realized she could still be the hardcore athlete she always was—just on wheels. She transferred to the University of Arizona to play collegiate-level wheelchair basketball and has since gone on to become the first American woman to have won gold medals in the both the summer and winter Olympic Games, rocking both basketball and skiing. “I love when people tell me I can’t do something,” she says.
Follow her fit journey at instagram.com/alanathejane
4. Allison Tai
In 2006, Allison Tai finished second the Ironman Canada, coming in second in her age group and making the podium. A week later, she was riding her bike when a truck hit her from behind at highway speed. She broke her back, pelvis, and arm, and spent six months in a hard plastic, full-body cast.
“When they finally took the body cast off, I couldn't even sit upright,” she writes on her blog. “My core muscles were gone. I remember the day that I first held a plank for five seconds. Five.”
Since then, she has progressed to walking, pool running, jogging, and to now winning tons of obstacle races (like she didn’t have enough obstacles of her own) and helping others do the same as a fitness instructor and race coach. She does it all with two kids in tow, too. She actually holds the Guinness World Records for Fastest Female Pram (Stroller) Push for the 10-K and full marathon distances.
“I can't imagine a day going by in my life without a little physical challenge," she writes. "It's what life is."
Follow her fit journey at twitter.com/allisontai
5. Rachelle Friedman
It was the night of her bachelorette party, and Rachelle and her friends decided to take a dip in the pool. Standing on the edge, one of her friends jokingly pushed Rachelle into the water—and Rachelle went in head-first. She hit the bottom, and her body immediately became numb. She had injured her upper spine and was told that she would never walk again.
“I used to teach line dancing and aerobics to senior citizens, but now I was having a hard time lifting a two-pound weight,” she told Women’s Health. “I used to be a lifeguard, but now I was unable to swim. The rehab was intense, but I approached it like any other workout session at the gym. Only this time, I was working out to gain independence, not just to keep my body looking tight.”
It made her work that much harder. With the help of special gloves, she can now wrap her hands around barbells and rock her CrossFit workouts. “My biceps are still strong,” she says. She lies on her stomach to catch serious waves while surfing and is now reaching others as Under Armour ambassador.
Follow her fit journey at twitter.com/followrachelle
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