John Arendes

On February 22 of 2014, I had a full knee replacement. At age 48, this was a tough decision. I have been an active person all my life. I had played baseball from the age of seven up until I was 42. I played the positions of third base and catcher. Most of my later years was as a catcher. Starting at the age of 30, I had gone through several knee surgeries, including an ACL replacement in my left knee. After baseball, I took on triathlons.

However, two years ago I realized that my knee was in awful shape and that any type of long distance running was no longer possible. With that, I took on Crossfit. I know that sounds crazy, but I knew I needed to make my overall body stronger, and I mean my whole body, not just my legs. Because my knee issues, I had never focused on my flexibility or on my overall body strength. Which I believe led me to gain weight that put extra pressure on my knee. From Nov 2012 to Feb 22, 2014 I lost 35 pounds had made my overall body ready for surgery. Within four weeks of my surgery, I was back in the gym (or Box as it is called in Crossfit). My plan was to slowly work my way back but not allow myself to be stationary, but also with a deliberate plan that allowed me to focus on upper body strength. This also enabled me to incorporate what my physical therapist had me doing at home and at their offices along with Crossfit training. Working with my coaches, I was able to modify all of the workouts to adapt to my knee within its range of motion while at the same to increasing my strength and ROM of the knee. With the care from my doctors at HSS and working with my coaches and physical therapist, you can see what I have been able to do after 9 months later.