Originally published on Army.mil
By Army Medicine
Fort Bliss, Texas (May 25, 2017) -- Physical fitness and exercise were part of Sgt. First Class (retired) Adam Blow's life before the military and after injury; physical fitness gave him new purpose.
"I've always been into physical fitness and training people--in all the [military] units I have been in, I have always been the one to lead guys in PT," said Blow.
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U.S. Army Veteran Adam Blow poses for a photo while walking to load the bus for the Army Warrior Care and Transition's Army Trials at Fort Bliss Texas, March 27, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Genesis Gomez)
Blow, served in the U.S. Navy for five years, then he deployed to Iraq in the Army National Guard, and in 2010, he joined the Army Reserve and deployed to Afghanistan and Kuwait.
While in Kuwait, he began having problems with previous injuries he received in Afghanistan, so he was moved to the Fort Hood Warrior Transition Unit.
"I wasn't ready for the med board and wanted to stay in but then I was introduced to Adaptive sports and I've been doing it ever since. To me this was a way to overcome a lot of my injuries and to get out and meet people," said Blow.
Blow always trained alone at the WTU, running the stairs and the track.
"I trained as an individual but out here you are working with everyone and having conversations with people, being exposed to things I would have never experienced."
While in the WTU, he received a lot of encouragement from the staff who were able to get the help he needed while being courteous and patient.
"Sometimes you need to fake the funk--you can make yourself get into something you might not have thought you'd be into. I pretended I was really enjoying myself to the point where I started to actually enjoy myself," said Blow.
"Mingle with everyone, enjoy the comradery, and it makes you feel good to be around similar people who have the same issues, the same problems that you are going through."
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U.S. Army Veteran Adam Blow gets set for the 100m race event for the Army Warrior Care and Transition's Army Trials at Fort Bliss Texas, April 5, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Fransico Isreal)
Since retiring, Blow earned a Master's of Science in Physical Fitness from Bryan University among his Bachelor's and Associate degrees and has opened up a boot camp and gym at his house.
"I train teenagers and kids, mostly peewee sports. My son and daughter are heavy into it. The exercises I do lead towards stability and keeping kids in shape during the summertime and spring break," said Blow.
Blow's favorite events are track and field but he has competed in wheel chair basketball, seated volley ball, and cycling.
"Cycling is something new I took on in the last six months and I'm starting to really enjoy it."
"Never let anyone tell you that you cannot achieve something--Always motivate and support others," explained Blow. "This is the second year for me, last year I didn't make it and they had me down [at the Army Trials] as a guide, this year I back and I'm going for it all. I'm going farther than that--I want the warrior games and the Invictus."
Read the orginial story here.
Follow along on the road to the 2017 Warrior Games on Twitter @WarriorCare and Facebook @WarriorCare, and learn more about the Department of Defense Military Adaptive Sports Program here.