Banking On Your Fitness 401k

First comes the crush on Crossfit, then come the questions. It's a mixed bag of genuine interest and genuine snark (that cult question. AGAIN. Really?), with some mom-style worry thrown in (Don't worry, mom. I'm fine.) Yet there's a similar theme no matter what the angle. People want to know why.

The best answer I can come up with is, I'm contributing to my fitness 401k. Simple as that. In my twilight years I want to be mobile. I want to function. I want, as one of my coaches used to say, the ability to take a shit by myself when I'm 80. These are important things!

And like your financial 401k, the time to start planning is now.

This Is My Monte Carlo 

Anything that gets you off the couch is a start. (Believe me, there were some brisk walks on my long, slow road to fitness.) But the thing that gets you working hard on a routine basis is better for you in the long run. Fitness isn’t sporadic. It isn’t easy. You commit to it. You’re consistent. Day after day.

It’s unrealistic to expect results to magically accrue otherwise. I’m not going to put $2 in my 401k a month and expect to move to Monte Carlo when I’m 65. The world doesn’t work like that, and neither do our bodies.

Making Bank 

This is great but... saving is no fun. It is in fact fun-retardant. And going to the gym in the traditional sense is about as much fun as filing your tax return. It's an obligation. A sweaty sacrifice that must be performed to secure the better things in life. Like doing beers! Sitting! Talking about doing beers!!

It's hard to stay motivated. But if you settle back into the comfortable yet sporadic fitness routine, those unchecked withdrawals will catch up with you. People with real degrees in fitness and medicine have written much on the topic of strength and high intensity interval training leading to longer, more productive lives. (Which is something we started wanting once we slipped out of the ennui of our Morrissey-laden twenties.)

Which brings me back around to the other answer I have when asked why I do what I do. Crossfit is fun. It's always different. There are friendly people to high five and they let you climb a rope. Oh, and it TOTALLY KICKS YOUR ASS. It's easy to contribute to my fitness 401k when I look forward to going and make excuses for not making excuses.

Crossfit isn't everyone's jam. Find your fitness thing. Make it fun. Do it hard. And keep contributing.