Workout for Ryan
<p>From left, Jason Miller, Geoff McLachlan and Travis Potter work hard on the rowing machines at CrossFit Coeur d'Alene. On Saturday a group of athletes assembled to honor the late Ryan Reinhardt with a workout that bore his name.</p>
<p>Mandy Jacques, left, and Melissa Zweigel work out with slam balls on Saturday at CrossFit Coeur d'Alene. The two women participated in a workout to honor the late Ryan Reinhardt, who was a member at CrossFit.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - By all accounts Ryan Reinhardt was hardworking and humble, a strong, dedicated young man who would set lofty goals and then quietly go about reaching them.
"He was just really positive," recalled Trent Breakie, who often worked out with Ryan. "Everything had a purpose."
Ryan was 18 years old when he died in a car accident near Twin Falls on Sept 12. Six days later, on a wet and dreary Saturday morning, a group of athletes gathered at CrossFit Coeur d'Alene - Ryan's former gym on Northwest Boulevard - for a special challenge.
"We just decided to make up a workout, name it after him, and just kind of suffer together in his honor," said CrossFit co-owner Derek Hutchison. "I can't think of a better way to pay your respect."
Before the exercises began, Hayden firefighter Travis Potter played "Amazing Grace" on his bagpipes.
"I worked out with (Ryan) a lot the summer before his senior year (at Coeur d'Alene High School)," said Potter, who plays in the Coeur d'Alene Firefighter Pipe and Drum Band. "He was a great guy. He'd smoke me in every workout. He was good."
Saturday's first test was a 1-mile run through the rain, down to Riverstone and back. Then things got a little tougher: 100 slam balls (basically raising a small medicine ball over one's head, slamming it on the ground and catching it on the bounce), 100 double-unders with a swift-moving jump rope, and finally, 100 calories burned on the stationary rowing machine or exercise bike.
The workout was brutally efficient, about 30 minutes altogether. Characteristic of the CrossFit program, the exercises were designed to add strength without bulk, to increase fitness without taking off too much weight.
It was not easy, and that was the point.
Ryan had used CrossFit to train for football, lifting, running, cycling and rowing at an astonishing rate.
"Once the time starts it's a little bit of a competition," said Mandy Jacques, a CrossFit member from Coeur d'Alene. "And Ryan was always beating me. He was always giving 120 percent to every workout."
Sweat-soaked and dry heaving, many of the participants lay flat on their backs, arms over their heads, trying to catch their breath. Geoff McLachlan, of Coeur d'Alene, had just finished the ordeal.
"Right up Ryan's alley," McLachlan said. "He was incredibly hard-working, incredibly nice. He'd be here on the ground, sweat-covered, and still cheering people on. That's the kind of kid he was."