Greg Demarco Story

I immediately get up and get ready for the day. Once I am 100% ready to sit down and work, I take 15-20 minutes to relax, reflect on what has happened over the past 24 hours and what is coming up in the next 24. At that point, I am focused and ready to tackle the day. This is a newer practice for me, as I have never been great at reflection in the past.

I started CrossFit in May (2020) when gyms in Arizona started reopening after the first wave of the pandemic. This was a big step for me as I had plateaued during my prior routine (walking/running and bodyweight exercises, plus some yoga). During my third week, on a Wednesday, the session was titled Endurance and we had to do 10 rounds of the following: a 500m row or 400m run, and 12 single arm dumbbell thrusters. This is over 4000m of running/rowing and 120 thrusters. As someone new to CrossFit, and a level of exercise/exertion I hadn’t experienced in years, this felt like the most challenging workout ever. During the fourth round, I definitely “hit a wall.” But even in my first three weeks of CrossFit, I had completed ever workout and was not going to end that trend on this day. I pushed through that run in round three, and felt my energy rise during that round’s thrusters. Then I got better. And better. I was able to complete all ten rounds in the middle of the pack—a workout I will never forget. To this day, this workout is a reminder to me of what is possible. If the day’s CrossFit plan seems daunting, I know I can make it, because I made it through these ten rounds. There is nothing I can’t achieve, physically, because of how strong this has made me mentally. I was tired, fatigued, and my muscles were burning. But I wasn’t dead, and I couldn’t quit.

I started my fitness journey without a numerical goal. I wanted to be a healthier person, and I always knew that I would personally rate my success based on how I felt and looked, and by the reactions of those most important to me. However, hitting the 65 pound milestone was a big one for me. I went down from size 38 pants to 36 and now 34, and went from some XXL shirts not fitting me properly to having to buy all new XL shirts and some of those getting to be too big. The thought of losing 100 pounds sounds great, but it’s not about that for me. I also don’t know if that is my healthy weight (regardless of what a chart says). I am focused on losing fat, building muscle, and creating results that are impossible to ignore. The Not Dead Can’t Quit mantra will absolutely help me get to that goal. Like Mack says on the website, as long as I am alive, I am in the game. And I am motivated by the statement “This network is not about dreaming. It’s about doing.” I spent far too long “dreaming,” but that is in my past. Long past. I am about doing, I am focused and driven, and I love having a brand like NDCQ as my daily reminder of my determination and commitment to living this amazing life.