Recovering Through CrossFit and Sober Sundays

Capstone CrossFit in Lubbock, TX just kicked off a program called Sober Sundays. Every Sunday, from noon to 2:00 PM, they open their doors to the recovery community with a workout and fellowship to support and encourage everyone who attends.

Jackson Hanks, a recovering addict himself, found CrossFit a year into his sobriety. He remembers his first day of CrossFit, “I pulled up to the parking lot and I sat in the car. I was scared shitless, I didn’t know what to expect. Later, I realized, holy crap. It’s the same thing. It’s the same as recovery. Show up as you are, do your best, and just don’t quit.” He’s been hooked ever since.

Trading one fix for another.

CrossFit helped him replace his unhealthy addiction with something positive and he wanted to find a way to share it with the rest of the addiction recovery community.

“There are a lot of parallels between CrossFit and sobriety. I was afraid to get sober because I didn’t know what to expect,” Hanks said. “I thought people were going to judge me. I didn’t know how to do it, and you know this is the same thing when you do your first CrossFit workout. You’re scared. You don’t know what to do.”

The need for something bigger.

With a plan in mind, he approached John Forburger, owner of Capstone CrossFit.

“The need for something like this is a lot bigger than I could have ever imagined,” Forburger said.

Word spread quickly as Lubbock, TX is home to the Center for Addiction and Recovery, the first place of its kind.

“The response has been overwhelming. We’ve received donations for shoes, water, workout clothes, food for after the workouts,” said Forburger, owner of Capstone CrossFit. “We even received a donation of $200 from a gentleman who is celebrating his 30th year of being sober.”

Jackson Hanks is excited to see the program progress, which has seen upwards of 12 members at a single class.

“I look forward to Sundays. Just kind of get a workout in, talk about anything that’s going on in our lives at the time, lean on each other and then eat some food. And I mean, that’s it right? That’s the thing that makes up CrossFit. It’s all we need.”