If you’re connected to the Instagram fitness world, then there’s a good chance you’ve seen the video of CrossFit® athlete Armand Poreaux smoking a 70kg clean at his home box, Remes CrossFit. Within 24-hours of sharing the video, it had amassed well over one million views, along with sparking a huge snowball of motivation across multiple fitness focused Instagram pages.
For those who haven’t seen the video, we’ve included it below. Poreaux is a strength athlete that loves and trains on a regular basis, and works around Cerebral Palsy. “I’ve had a motor disability since birth that makes it more difficult for me to move, coordinate, focus, and speak. Despite that, I live a normal life,” Poreaux told us.
Cerebral Palsy is a term that describes a variety of movement disorders that often begin at birth due to abnormalities in the brain. Poreaux has always been into sports, but it was only somewhat recently he truly immersed himself into CrossFit. “It’s been six months since I discovered CrossFit, thanks to my friend Adrien Petrel,” he tells us.
In terms of strength sports, Poreaux originally started his love for the gym with bodybuilding. “It’s been two years since I practiced bodybuilding, and I had no motivation for the sport. The trigger for starting CrossFit was the development of a CrossFit space at the back of a garage by my friend Adrien. So as soon as Remes CrossFit opened I signed up.”
Outside of strength sports, Poreaux loves to practice motocross and mountain bike. “In addition to, and before CrossFit I practiced the bike on circuit, mountain bike, and motocross. I have always been sporty.”
Out of all the lifts, he explains that the snatch is his favorite lift. “My favorite exercise is the snatch because it works the whole body and is very technical for me. I don’t practice it in full completely yet, but I’m working on it.”
CrossFit has helped Poreaux in many ways outside of the gym. He explains, “I am a little impatient in life, and Crossfit is a sport that demands a lot out of being patient. It requires a lot of determination and will. It’s helping me learn to be patient and leave nothing behind.”
When his video was originally shared by Remes CrossFit, Poreaux had no idea how fast it would gain traction. “I never would have thought my video would make such a big impact, make it all the way to the United States, and that it would be such a success.