New Year’s resolutions, you know the drill . . . the whole talk yourself into believing that this is the year you really (I mean truly!) are going to stick with it, lose the weight, eat less processed food, exercise more, make more, however, whatever your resolution is, this is the year that progress will be made! You start out excited, motivated, you buy a gym membership, download a diet app, convince a friend to join you and boom, off you go. You’ve got ammunition, a plan of attack and right until mid January you are . . . out of excuses. Then, shit hits the fan. The dog is sick and you skip the gym to make his vet appointment. You work late one night and don’t have the energy to cook, so you order pizza. Your friend hurts her ankle and can’t run anymore so you convince yourself it’s not safe to run alone, you should probably just take a breather till she’s better. The list, the pattern goes on until you are sucked right back into your pre New Year’s routine and all resolutions are out the window.
And this, this list of excuses, is the number one reason I started and have continued with CrossFit and why I believe it started as a trend, a fad even, but has held on and held up, and essentially become a household name. With CrossFit, all you have to do is show up. PERIOD. Show up and an instructor will tell you what to do, will put you through a program that is cyclical and allows you to track my progress in a very visible, tangible way. Show up and you will be surrounded by people with similar goals, who will push you, encourage you, and notice when you are missing. Show up and you will leave feeling accomplished, happier, and more energetic (and definitely sweatier) than you were when you walked in. With CrossFit, you only need one resolution – get started.
When I joined my first CrossFit gym, back in January 2012 with Christmas Abbott and the amazing ladies that now own Raleigh CrossFit, I had only one goal, one New Year’s resolution – stress relief. I had just started grad school and was working a full time job and another part time job, and my anxiety was through the roof. I joined so that I could spend one hour a day NOT THINKING . I had absolutely no idea how impactful my time in the gym and around its members and coaches would be. I not only accomplished my primary goal of stress relief, but also started working toward others like building muscle, developing skills, cleaning up my diet and I did that because I wanted to, I enjoyed it and it was fun being around a group of supportive, health minded people. For me, CrossFit has been the resolution that’s just kept on giving.
So, this New Year’s, this New Decade, throw the list away. Tackle one thing (that will soon spiral into all the things) at a time – make some new friends and join a CrossFit gym. You won’t regret it.