When Bob Harper is in New York, he works out at CFNYC. So I turned on Biggest Loser tonight, to see him in action. Hilariously, though [Planet “No CrossFitting” Fitness](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbnapi3dZC1qg1vd7.jpg) is this year’s sponsor, Harper still managed to sneak in an array of [Rogue Fitness](http://www.roguefitness.com/dynamax-medicine-balls-76.php) equipment, and even wore a Rogue t-shirt for much of the episode. Undercover CrossFit!

But while I enjoyed watching a [WOD](http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html#General0) go down on major network TV, I was more than a bit shocked to see what Harper and the other trainers (particularly Jillian Michaels) put their trainees through for a first workout. Minutes in, several contestants had passed out, vomited or fallen repeatedly off treadmills.

Obviously, that makes great television. (Look! It’s a fat guy being fat!) But it’s a terrible example for people looking to get in shape in 2013.

Over the past eight years of building the country’s largest CrossFit gym, I’ve seen a huge number of people resolve to lose weight. I’ve seen a lot of them pull it off, and I’ve seen a lot disappear, presumably reverting to their old habits. The difference, invariably, is that the people who succeed start slow, and focus all their energy on sustaining their efforts over the long haul.

[As I said a few days back](https://www.joshuanewman.com/2013/01/resolved/), building a habit is about consistency before intensity. If you’ve started out doing two workouts a day, seven days a week, you’re not going to make it to the end of January before you fall off the wagon, no matter how much New Years resolution piss and vinegar you’re full of. Instead, twelve months from now, it’s the people who have found a way to get to the gym three mornings a week, every single week, come hell or high water, who will be [forwarding around a picture of themselves standing inside their old, now oversized pants.](http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=safari&sa=X&tbo=d&rls=en&biw=1307&bih=651&tbm=isch&tbnid=Y8IFJnQANv4lGM:&imgrefurl=http://www.crossfitnyc.com/2011/11/10/111111/&docid=lTxAf_pcCa4nsM&imgurl=http://www.crossfitnyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Reis_pants-750.jpg&w=750&h=1000&ei=z1nqULXuIKbX0QGt6YHwBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1024&vpy=211&dur=475&hovh=259&hovw=194&tx=111&ty=108&sig=104389786113928369300&page=1&tbnh=144&tbnw=102&start=0&ndsp=35&ved=1t:429,r:18,s:0,i:144).