A lot of the principles that we try to reinforce in our tape, our business and our everyday lives are that, everyone can be an athlete. It sounds cheesy, and you've probably heard it before, but the only limitation is you.
We recently sat down with adaptive CrossFit athlete, Henry Dunn, to discuss his recent experience of competing in Texas at the Adaptive CrossFit Games, how he uses tape and exactly what the phrase 'adaptive athlete' means.
Let's get right into it.
USING TAPE AS AN ADAPTIVE ATHLETE:
WHO IS HENRY DUNN?
From the outset, his story will probably sound a sad one, but despite the trauma and extreme difficulties of losing an arm, he's not let that stop him from achieving anything and everything that he wants. Not many people would be able to experience what he has and remain mentally, and physically, strong. So, what is his story?
After graduating from university in 2022, Henry and his partner went travelling around South-East Asia and Australia, and during their time down under, a terrible farming accident resulted in his left arm getting crushed and subsequently amputated.
Anyone who's met Henry knows he almost always has a smile on his face and his positive mindset is always on full display.
Now he's transformed his whole life and, after walking into his local CrossFit gym, doing a lot of his rehab there, he began to build up his strength and now competes as a CrossFit athlete in competitions that have taken him all the way to Texas to take part in the Adaptive CrossFit Games.
"THE REST IS HISTORY!"
Before his accident, rugby was a huge part of Henry's life, so there was definitely a massive trajectory change when he came back from Australia. That was another reason why he found a second home within his CrossFit gym — to continue to do some sort of sport.
"I had nearly a year and a half of intense rehab, with the amputation of my arm, it wasn't easy. It was a time where I knew I had to work hard to get a long term gain. I had a lot of healing to do, mentally and physically, and the fact there was a competition to train for made it better."
Of course, the competition that he's referring to is the Adaptive CrossFit Games, which in 2024 took place in San Antonio, Texas. If you haven't worked it out, and like any top CrossFit comp, the games allows adaptive athletes to compete for the title of the 'fittest on earth'.
"Texas was an amazing experience, especially after coming sixth overall in my first year of the competition!"
HOW HENRY USES TAPE AS AN ADAPTIVE ATHLETE
There are lots of different ways that you could be classed as an adaptive athlete, but it ultimately comes down to whether or not you have a permanent impairment that significantly limits your ability to compete in non-adaptive divisions.
We've worked with several amazing adaptive athletes now and, of course, it can be very different for each athlete, but tape is a tool they will use a lot. It totally depends on what area of the body you're taping and what you're hoping to achieve by using tape. It's always worth checking with a physio or doctor beforehand to get the best advice possible.
For Henry, his tape of choice is an EAB. The wider rolls cover a lot more surface area and the fact that it's sticky, compared to a Cohesive Bandage for example, means that they can survive the particularly sweatier sessions.
In his case, it's all about covering the skin around his arm with tape to stop it rubbing against bars and weights, stop it ripping the skin and just to help with the pressure of lifting such heavy weights. Combining that with a sweat band just adds that extra layer of cushioned protection.
WHY WOULD AN ADAPTIVE ATHLETE NEED TO TAPE?
The main reason that adaptive athletes need to use tape is to protect the more vulnerable areas of skin, which again, depending on the individual physical impairment, could be located anywhere across the body. By not protecting those areas, it's a lot more likely that blistering, sores and skin ripping will occur.
Whilst EAB might be Henry's go-to choice of tape, we've seen a lot of other adaptive athletes use different combinations of Kinesiology Tape, Zinc Oxide Tape and EAB. A lot of it will be trial and error to find the one, or ones, that work the best for you.
After speaking with Henry and others that have experienced similar trauma, it's clear that the phrase 'adaptive athlete' really is just a phrase. We're all athletes and, if you've seen someone compete in any form of competition before, you'll know that they're a lot stronger than most.
We’re here to make sure you get the best performance out of your tape—whether you have questions for us or for Henry, reach out! We’d love to help
