Larry Canada is a survivor. At age 13, he was first given a terminal cancer diagnosis, but he would go on to attend the University of Alabama where he would play in the Million Dollar Band and Meet his wife. At age 54, Larry was an active lawyer with a healthy litigation practice. He competed locally and regionally in Judo events. Though heavy at 275, he was still competing against and beating men 20 and 30 years his junior. In April of 2010, Larry was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, stage 3C, his second terminal cancer diagnosis in his life. With two kids in high school Larry chose the most aggressive treatment option: never give up, never surrender. Though chemo, radiation and surgery took a great toll on his body, Larry survived.
It was over a year before I could drive again or even remove the top off of a water bottle… I tried working out on my own, with a private trainer and gym memberships. I just didn’t seem to be making much progress. I had heard about Iron Tribe from others and decided to give it a try. In my initial meeting with Mr. Jim Strickland that I was not interested in competing with others, losing weight or even looking better. What I was interested in was finding a place that would make me stronger. I was tired of being unable to lift small carry on bags over my head. I was tired of being unable to do much of anything that involved strength. I was tired of making no progress with my other efforts.”
Larry went from day one of 101 scaling every work out and barely finishing, to retesting the baseline, shaving two minutes of of his initial time and doing it all as prescribed.
I have set a couple of goals for the coming year, if I am privileged to live that long: a pull up by July 1 and a muscle up by December 31. I may not achieve either by those dates, but I won’t give up until I do both. Never give up, never surrender. “
