TREASURE VALLEY — After a life altering accident, a Treasure Valley man has used his challenges to grow even stronger and to inspire others. While racing motocross in January 2014, Jedidiah Snelson had a life changing accident. He was thrown off the track and damaged his spine leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. That fall, Snelson got into CrossFit and now he trains full time.
"From that minute on, I was hooked. I knew it was where I was meant to be and it was for me and ya, I've been driving hard at it ever since,"said Snelson.
CrossFit is constantly varied functional fitness at a high intensity. It includes gymnastic movements, Olympic lifts, running, swimming, and biking.
"Jumping on the front of an echo bike or an assault bike and just going with my arms."
He does adaptive CrossFit workouts that exercise similar muscles. Snelson says he has competed in seven international events and got on the podium six times. He says the strength has given him independence.
"If we identify those and work on making those better, it just makes us that much stronger as an individual. I don't say run from it, I say attack that weakness. When you can make it stronger and you adapt that with your strengths then it just makes you just that much more of a well rounded person."
Snelson is currently ranked the second fittest seated athlete on earth. He says he works with several adaptive athletes worldwide.
