This week will make week three of no gym, and I am very impressed with everyone with their home workouts. I have written blogs and done videos on why home gyms do not work for CrossFit, and I stand by that. We see videos of people like Matt Fraser and Josh Bridges killing it in their garage, and we think we can do that too, but we forget that they are the fittest on earth and have a reason to wake up every day and ‘Pay the Man’ in their garage. All of us mortals exercise for general health, and not to be the fittest on earth.

I always tell my personal story from when I was a member of a CrossFit Deer Park back in 2011. I didn’t have much money and was paying the monthly membership for classes, but I thought I could do it on my own. I bought just over two thousand dollars worth of equipment for the house, quit the gym, and started working out alone in my garage. I was just getting into competitive CrossFit, and at the time, the modern CrossFit programs didn’t exist. Your CrossFit gym only had CrossFit classes, and most of the time, the workout was written up the day before and put on the whiteboard by the 5 am coach. You would have to go onto the CrossFit discussion board and search for a program posted by Coach B if you wanted to get better at lifting.

It was about week three that I realized the gym was more to me than a place to work out, and my motivation to exercise didn’t come from my crazy desire to be fit, but the community and atmosphere that the classes brought. I looked forward to my 7:00 pm CrossFit class.

I thought about the workout all day and planned my strategy. I planned my meals throughout the day based on when I was going to be at the gym. I had my pre-workout drink timed to perfection so that it would hit right as the warm-up started. I would rush to the gym, even changing there when I lived less than a mile away, so I could get there a little early to hang out and shoot the shit. I stayed a little late to help the coach clean up; he was a good friend of mine. Often a group of us would grab some food or drinks after class. I missed that, and it was only week three by myself.

I had over two grand worth of equipment and a desire to be the fittest person I knew but no motivation to workout because, frankly, I missed my community. Before the end of the month, I was a member again and used my home gym solely for strength building when I had time.

It was also that same moment in my garage where I realized that not only did I miss that community but that I wanted to be engulfed in that type of community daily. I soon signed up for my CrossFit Level 1, and now almost ten years later, I am exactly where I wanted to be.

Y’all I understand how hard it is to find the motivation to keep fitness as a part of your daily routine, but it is a must now more than ever. Our physical health in the future could be the difference between life and death from this invisible assailant.

We need to prioritize the things that we can control with this ongoing battle against something that makes the future for everyone very uncertain. Everyone’s WHY right now should be to be able to fight. To be ready to fight against this enemy when the time comes and know that you have prepared your mind and body for whatever it attempts to throw at you. Stay strong and get your butt out there and get a workout in!

As always, reach out to me with any questions!

Stay moving my friends,
Richard