Meet Sam.

He's a classic overachiever.

The “work hard, play hard” type.

He’s 45 and got 3 young kids and is happily married.

Even though he’s got a team to lead and multiple businesses he’s involved in, he still makes time for his most important asset.

His health.

He's been hitting Planet Fitness 2-3x a week depending how tight his schedule is.

But lately Sam has been feeling like something's not quite right.

His workouts have become harder, and he's not seeing the same results as he used to just a few years ago.

He's also been feeling more tired and run down than usual.

With a business to run and a family to take care of, Sam’ stress levels are higher than ever.

His friends have been talking about CrossFit, and he's been thinking about giving it a try.

His competitive nature inspires him to keep up with the younger athletes in his gym, and CrossFit seems like the perfect challenge.

So Sam signs up for a CrossFit class 5min from his office.

The workout is intense, and he finds himself struggling to keep up with the younger athletes in the class.

But he pushes through, determined to get in the best shape of his life.

Within a few days Sam feels great.

He's excited about the new challenge and is seeing some results.

But about a month in, he senses something is off.

He's not sleeping as well as he used to, and he's feeling more irritable and moody.

Sam’s wife starts to notice a difference too.

She wonders why he won’t get it up anymore, and if he’s lost attraction to her.

Sam goes to the doc to get in blood work.

After a few tests, Sam discovers that his hormone levels are out of balance.

His cortisol levels are high, which is leading to a decrease in muscle mass and an increase in body fat.

And his testosterone levels are low, which is making it harder for him to build muscle and lose more bodyfat.

Sam’s doc compares it with his last blood work that was just about 4 months ago.

There’s a clear pattern to see where the cortisol started rising, and it was when Sam started doing CrossFit workouts that put a lot of stress on his body.

Given Sam’s demanding work and family life, his body simply can't handle the added stress.

Initially Sam is disappointed, because the community felt like a brotherhood and he had fun doing the workouts.

Yet his body clear doesn’t like the input, and his blood work and mood shows it.

Looking back, Sam realizes that he had fallen for the CrossFit hype.

He had been so focused on getting in the best shape of his life that he had ignored the warning signs that his body was giving him.

The story of Sam is a real story for many guys over 40 who I speak with and consult.

CrossFit may be a great workout for some people, but it's not the best choice for everyone, especially when you are over 40.

An important lesson here for many high achievers and go getters like Sam is this:

What you DON’T do is just as important as what you do to get six-pack lean.

??????

Re-read that again.

Effort doesn’t equal effectiveness.