Most January plans fail for the same reason: too much, too fast, with no plan and nobody to check in with. More workouts, a strict diet, no missed days. By mid-February most of it is gone.
At CrossFit Spring Hill we ask for less. Pick one hard thing and hold it for a month. In January 2026 we called it Choose Your Discomfort, after one of our four values: Comfort in Discomfort.
What we did in January 2026
We asked every member to pick one discomfort and commit to it for the month. The options:
- Sugar-free for the month
- Liquid calorie-free. Water, black coffee and unsweetened tea only
- Social media-free, or a real cut in screen time
- Your own. Something personal that stretches you in a healthy way
There was no leaderboard and nobody was compared to anybody. It was one clear commitment, and the coaches helped each member pick one that was hard and realistic.
How to pick yours
Three questions do most of the work:
- Where have I been choosing comfort by default?
- What single change would stretch me in a healthy way?
- What would move the needle for my life outside the gym?
Why one thing beats five
January brings its own discomfort before you add any. New schedules, cold mornings, less daylight. Stack five new rules on top of that and all five go at once.
One habit is small enough to hold on a bad week. Say you want to read more. Going from zero to ten pages a day lasts about a week. One paragraph a night before bed lasts. After 30 days of hitting it most nights, make it a page. Then two. Then ten minutes.
Food works the same way. A 30 day crash diet ends on day 31 and you are back where you started. One fruit or vegetable at every meal for a month is a habit you still have in March. The next month, add protein to each meal and keep building.
Be the person at Culver’s who orders the steamed broccoli instead of the fries and still eats the burger.
The fittest people you know have been consistent for years with basic habits. That takes patience, and it is the part most plans skip.
The same rule runs our training
Every class here follows one order: mechanics, then consistency, then intensity. Move well first. Show up regularly second. Push hard once both are in place.
That is how we program, too. The first quarter of 2026 was a 12 week strength cycle built on the back squat, the deadlift and the shoulder press, with progress measured across all 12 weeks. It was built to add strength gradually.
The target is how you feel in March, in June and at the end of the year. January is where it starts.
Bigger than the gym
The discomfort you choose in January changes how you eat, how you scroll, how you sleep or how you handle stress. That shows up in your energy, at home and at work.
Fitness is the tool. Life outside the gym is the goal.
Questions we hear every January
Do I have to do a January challenge to train here? No. In 2026 it was one commitment each member picked for themselves, with no leaderboard.
What if I miss a day? Pick it back up the next day. The standard is most days, not every day.
I have not worked out in years. Is January a bad time to start? No. Your first week is three one-on-one sessions with Joe, Cj or Kim, and you learn the squat with an empty barbell before you are in a class. You do not need to be in shape to start.
Should I wait for January to start? No. Your first week is one-on-one whenever you start, and a habit you build in November is already in place on January 1.
Book a free No Sweat Intro. Twenty minutes, sitting down, no workout. Tell us what you want to change and we will help you pick where to start.