The Year I Resolved to Do Less

In 2017, I was training 3 hours a day and failing. In 2018, I slowed down—and took 3rd at the CrossFit Games.

This edition of the Journal is brought to you by Bolder Athlete. If you have a delusional goal you want to make a reality, come train with us. Get 3 weeks free at bolderathlete.com.

It is December 31st.

Right now, millions of people are writing down their resolutions. If you look at the lists of athletes around the world, you’ll see the same words repeated over and over again:

There is a seductive lie in the fitness world that says success is strictly a math equation: Volume + Suffering = Winning.

I used to believe that. In fact, I spent two years banging my head against a wall because of it.

If you are sitting there right now planning to “crush” 2026 by simply adding more hours to your training, I want you to stop. I want you to read this.

Because the year I finally made it to the CrossFit Games wasn’t the year I did more. It was the year I finally had the courage to do less.

After my first taste of competition (which I wrote about last week), I decided I was all in. I wanted the Games.

So, I did what I thought you were supposed to do. I found a free “Elite Competitor” training program online. It was written for 22-year-old firebreathers who had nothing to do but train, eat, and sleep.

I followed it to the letter.

For two years—2016 and 2017—my life was a grind. I was training 2 to 3 hours a day. I wasn’t skipping rest days (I dutifully took Thursdays and Sundays off), but on the other five days, I was absolutely destroying myself.

I didn’t feel invincible. I didn’t feel like a “machine.” I felt beat up. I felt tired. And worst of all, I felt stagnant.

My back constantly hurt—not an acute injury, just a low-level thrum of fatigue that never went away. I was working like a maniac, but my numbers weren’t moving. I was “good,” but I wasn’t getting to “elite.”

The breaking point didn’t come in the form of a snapped tendon or a hospital visit. It came in the form of a leaderboard.

I tried to qualify for the Games at 40. I failed. I tried to qualify at 41. I failed again.

And I don’t mean I missed it by one spot. I mean I wasn’t even close.

I remember looking at the standings in 2017 and feeling a heavy, sinking realization: I blew it.

I had poured thousands of hours into the gym. I had sacrificed time with my family. I had suffered through the volume. And the result was... mediocrity.

I had to face a hard truth: Training like a 20-year-old was breaking me.

The program wasn’t “bad.” It just wasn’t for me. I was a 41-year-old father, not a collegiate athlete. My body couldn’t absorb the volume I was throwing at it. I was digging a hole deeper than I could climb out of during my recovery days.

That failure forced me to audit my life.

I realized that “more” wasn’t better. “Better” was better.

I stopped following the generic elite programming. I stopped trying to match the volume of athletes half my age. I started training like a Masters Athlete. I focused on appropriate intensity over unrelenting volume. I focused on recovery as a discipline, not an afterthought. I treated my energy like a limited resource that needed to be invested, not spent recklessly.

It felt scary to pull back. It felt like I was “doing less.”

But the body keeps the score.

One year later—after reducing my overall volume and recalibrating my intensity—I didn’t just qualify.

In 2018, I made my rookie debut at the CrossFit Games and stood on the podium in 3rd place.

I was fitter at 42 doing “less” work than I was at 40 doing “maximum” work.

As we head into the New Year, I challenge you to flip the script.

Don’t resolve to destroy yourself this year. Resolve to adapt.

If you are a Masters athlete, you cannot win by simply out-working the calendar. You have to out-smart it. You have to respect the recovery curve.

The clock is ticking, but the game isn’t over. In fact, if you train smart, you might find that your best years—like mine—are still waiting for you.

Happy New Year. Let’s make this one count.

🎥 Recent Videos:

`Masters in Motion Podcast

Bolder Athlete Podcast