Why Most People Quit
Most people who quit working out don’t quit because it’s too hard. They quit because they were doing it in a way they couldn’t keep up forever. They went all out, every day, until their body or their schedule said no. CJ, one of our members at CrossFit Topside, lived both versions of that, and the difference is worth talking about.
The Home Gym Trap
Before CJ joined us, he’d done CrossFit for a couple years pre-COVID. Then COVID knocked him off the wagon. For a while his “training” was a kettlebell, a couple dumbbells, and the occasional attempt to do something at home. It wasn’t working. He kept tweaking his back doing the simplest things, and he’d think, this is ridiculous.
Then he found out he had a baby on the way. Some instinct kicked in: I should probably get in shape if I’m going to be a dad. He lived right down the road from the gym, drove by it all the time, and finally walked in.
A week later, his daughter showed up a month early. One week of workouts, then gone. If you’re a parent, you know exactly how that goes.
Coming Back, The Right Way
Here’s the part that matters. He came back. And when he did, something clicked that hadn’t before.
CJ had always been an afternoon and evening workout guy. With two little kids, that window disappeared, so he became a morning person out of necessity. He’ll be the first to tell you it sounds awful. How do you get up and train after a night of no sleep with a toddler karate-kicking you in bed?
But his honest answer surprised even him: “Even as groggy as I might be walking through the doors, I feel so much better after the hour. It actually energizes me more than it drains me.” The hardest part is just getting out of bed and into the car. Once he’s here and gets through a few movements, his whole day resets.
Trading The Leaderboard For The Long Game
The bigger shift was in how he trains. In his 20s, it was RX or nothing, a score on the board every day, push until you’re wrecked. That works until it doesn’t. He remembers feeling physically and mentally exhausted all the time.
Now he treats CrossFit as a methodology he uses to train, not a competition he’s in day in and day out. He trains around 80 percent most days, then picks one workout a week to really send. He listens to his body instead of letting his mind override it. If it’s a deadlift day and his back is cranky, he’ll grab the trap bar.
The most interesting part is that he’s fitter now then when he was crushing himself before. His bench press is right up there with his all-time bests. His running and his gymnastics are as good or better. He’s not losing anything by training smarter. He’s gaining.
The Wins Add Up
When you stop chasing today’s score and start showing up consistently, the progress takes care of itself.
CJ started with maybe two strict pull-ups, if we’re being generous. Now he’s around eight strict and fifteen kipping. He ran a half marathon last year, something he never would have called himself capable of. He’s gotten genuinely strong, especially on squats, the exact thing he skipped for years in the bodybuilding-style gym.
He put it best talking about pull-ups: if you can do eight at 90 years old, how many 90-year-olds do you know doing pull-ups? That’s the whole game. Not peaking this month. Being able to move for decades.
Fitness That Fits Your Actual Life
The reason CJ keeps coming back isn’t the leaderboard. It’s that the fitness carries over to everything else. He plays golf and walks all 18 holes. He snowboards all winter. He visited a friend in Tennessee who trains all day for a living and could keep up on a run. He has more energy and more patience with his girls, and he can throw a kid in a hiking carrier and walk up the side of a hill.
His wife Dorothy has a tell for it. When he’s getting in his own head, she’ll say, “I think you need to get some exercise in.”
You Don’t Need To Be In Shape To Start
If you’ve been telling yourself you’ll join once you’re fitter, or once life calms down, CJ’s story is the counterargument. He started a week before a baby. He trains on no sleep. He stopped trying to crush himself and got better anyway.
Every class at CrossFit Topside is coached, so you’re never guessing.
If you’re anywhere in central Connecticut and you’ve been on the fence, use the link below to book a free intro with one of our coaches and learn how we can help you with your health and fitness goals.
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