CrossFit: David McKay’s Guide on How to Do Hard Things

“There is an old aviation saying that, ‘I’d rather be on the ground wishing I was up there, rather than up there wishing I was on the ground.’” — David McKay

While David McKay was in his 20s, his diet consisted of the “three C’s,” a candy bar, a cigarette, and a Coke. His exercise routine was just enough to allow him to pass his annual mile and a half test in under 12 minutes while serving in the Air Force.

“I hated being controlled by (cigarettes),” he said.

So when McKay reached his 30s, he realized he needed to make a change in his life. After he quit smoking, it opened a door to physical activities he couldn’t do while he was a smoker. McKay started to run and road cycle. He even ran in the Boston Marathon to support the Children’s Hospital. In his 40s, McKay returned to his Norwegian roots and picked up Nordic skiing as his main hobby.

David McKay (right) and training parter and friend (left) | Photo courtesy of David McKay

McKay started racing all over the world in Nordic skiing, from Norway to Canada. He and his training partner even met in Sweden to compete in the Vasaloppet, a 90-km cross-country ski race.

While in his 50s, McKay picked up CrossFit to help him train harder for his sport. But CrossFit wouldn’t just help McKay on the ski trail. A decade later, it would become a lifeline that helped him fight an aggressive form of cancer.

Finding a Community

For 10 years, McKay was training by himself specifically for his sport. This included long-distance cross-country skiing in the winter and roller skiing in the summer.

“I did almost 100% of my training alone and followed a pretty rigid periodization schedule,” McKay said. “After 10 years or so of that, I was in a rut and not making any measurable gains.”

David McKay at CrossFit Acadia | Photo courtesy of CrossFit Acadia

So, to prepare for another race in Norway in 2014, McKay picked up CrossFit to supplement his training. He started by trialing different CrossFit gyms near him, searching for a community that felt right — supportive, age-diverse, and not super competitive.

It was the people that meant most to him.

McKay found his first community at Pennington CrossFit in Pennington, New Jersey.

“They were very accepting of where you are in your exercise journey and your health journey,” McKay said.

After just a few months, McKay could already feel a difference in his Nordic skiing. Races became easier, he could maneuver over terrain swifter, and he could cover long distances without feeling too winded. One of the biggest effects CrossFit had on his performance was the explosive strength he learned in the gym.

“Like box jump-overs,” Mckay explained. “There were no boxes in (the training) I was doing, but there was a lot of jumping kind of stuff (in Nordic skiing). There are things called moose hoofing and hill bounding, where you’d bound up a hill (with poles) and (have to) develop some of that explosive strength.”

After retiring from his job in 2017, McKay moved to Maine, where he found his new community at CrossFit Acadia. He took a liking to the 6:30-a.m. class and has consistently attended three classes a week since. McKay fills in his Nordic ski training on his rest days.

Training for the Unknown

In July 2023, McKay was in the middle of a heavy overhead barbell workout at CrossFit Acadia when his shoulder started to feel uncharacteristically sore. When he returned home, he felt a lump under his left arm.

David McKay at CrossFit Acadia | Photo courtesy of CrossFit Acadia

“I did what probably every human on Earth does. I Googled it,” McKay said.

Although he was given several diagnoses online, he told himself he would give it two weeks before worrying. If the lump got bigger he would call the doctor.

Sure enough, the lump increased in size.

So, McKay went to the hospital where we immediately underwent a biopsy and several ultrasounds. On Aug. 7, 2023, the results came back positive for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) positive large B-cell lymphoma. It’s an extremely uncommon type of cancer that forms in the lymph system.

After the diagnosis, McKay was admitted to a cancer treatment facility near his home, the Lafayette Family Cancer Institute, where he began an aggressive six-cycle chemo treatment, totaling 18 weeks.

He spends a week in the hospital each cycle, where the chemo infusion is continuously administered for four days. The better his body responds, the faster they can dial up the treatment, which means a better chance they can kill the cancerous cells.

“Here’s the unexpected benefit and tie to an active lifestyle and exercise: an aggressive form of cancer requires an aggressive form of treatment,” McKay explained. “Had I not engaged in a healthier lifestyle including plenty of regular exercise earlier, I would not have had the health or ability to tolerate an aggressive treatment that would turn out to be my best chance for long-term survival now.”

For most, the side effects of chemo start hitting after the first week, but McKay didn’t start feeling the bad side effects until the third cycle.

He attributes that to CrossFit.

Although McKay was spending a lot of time in the hospital during his treatment, he wanted to keep his routine as much as he could.

“For attitude, I’m not going to show around in a hospital gown. I’m going to dress every day on a schedule, with clothes I can actually exercise in,” McKay said.

While hooked up to his chemo bag, McKay had a PICC line in his arm. In order to wear a shirt, he had a local seamstress take one of his old racing T-shirts and put snaps on one of the arms so he could put on his shirt over the catheter.

Each day, McKay snapped on his shirt, laced up his CrossFit shoes, and did what he always did most mornings — moved.

His exercise routine started with just pushing his pole around the hospital for about 15 minutes at a time. It then grew to an hour a day. Eventually, McKay decided it was time to add more exercise to his routine.

“I called a performance physical therapist who is now part of the CrossFit community in Ellsworth, (Maine). I came in on my first week back (from the hospital), and they said I could do more than 15 minutes of walking in the morning. ‘Let’s design some stuff,’” McKay said.

After evaluation, the physical therapist found he had already started to lose muscle mass because of how sedentary he had been, so they programmed workouts he could do in the hospital with a resistance band, such as glute activations.

Now he does about an hour of walking in the hospital and at least 20 minutes of banded exercises in his room.

“I have to be careful about pelvic thrusters,” McKay chuckled. “It looks odd.”

Although McKay cannot return to CrossFit Acadia — even after being discharged from the hospital each cycle — he is still able to stay active by walking and even hiking. His friends from the affiliate invite him on hikes to bring the power of the CrossFit community to him.

McKay also has a Concept2 rower and some light weights at home he uses to stay active in between chemo sessions. Right now, the rower has 870,000 lifetime meters on it. His goal is to get to a million.

By the end of January, McKay plans on returning to his 6:30-a.m. class at CrossFit Acadia and continuing training for future Nordic ski races.

David McKay at CrossFit Acadia | Photo courtesy of CrossFit Acadia

CrossFit: A Guide on How to Do Hard Things

“The more you do now, the more options you may have later that could be seriously meaningful,” McKay said, “(CrossFit) has given me a chance to move the needle more aggressively forward at a time when aggressive counts.”

CrossFit has been with McKay through one of life’s hardest moments. Yes, he was able to improve his sport while in his 50s. But now, McKay is fighting an aggressive cancer with positivity because CrossFit has taught him several things. Most importantly: perseverance and grit.

McKay never quit in the middle of a hard workout. He won’t be quitting now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelley Laxton is a sportswriter and editor for CrossFit, LLC. Graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder with a degree in journalism and sports media, she has become passionate about promoting women in sports through her writing. Kelley has previously written for Her Sport, the first women’s sports magazine in Ireland, and continues to share the stories of strong women in the Sport of Fitness. She currently lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and enjoys her morning CrossFit class at CrossFit NCR.

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