Big behavior change starts with one tiny habit — a single small commitment you keep every day that snowballs into bigger changes over time. In part six of Mindset of a Champion on Physical Friday, three-time CrossFit Games Masters champion Jason Grubb explains how he went from being out of shape at 38 to a CrossFit Games champion by building one micro habit — getting out the door by 8:30 every morning — and letting it cascade into everything else.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Jason Grubb's answer is to start with something very, very small — a major commitment to one tiny habit — and let it snowball. He pointed to the ideas in Atomic Habits, making slight micro changes that lead to major habit change. For him it was deciding he would go to the 9 a.m. class every day. Get the one small thing locked in, and the bigger changes follow.
It was getting out of the house by 8:30 every morning. That single anchor forced everything else into place — going to bed around eleven, getting up at 6:30, eating breakfast, handling the kids, and getting out the door. He built the rest of his life around that 8:30 exit so he could be warmed up and ready for the 9 a.m. class.
Jason told me he just goes. Even now, as a champion, there are days he feels every bit of his age and would rather nap than train. His trick is to lower the bar to the smallest action — just get to the gym, just start warming up. Once he is moving, his body follows along and the workout happens. The hard part is showing up, not the workout itself.
Yes — Jason described a cascade. Once you start exercising every day, you do not want the effort to be wasted, so you naturally go to bed a little earlier and eat a little better. One slight change ripples through the rest of your life. I call it stacking W's — get up without hitting snooze, make your bed, get your workout in — and each win builds on the last.
Jason referenced Atomic Habits by James Clear, which is also one of my favorite books and is in the book club on tomrowlandpodcast.com. It covers exactly what Jason talks about — how tiny habits build on each other to create major change. You do not have to buy it from any particular place. Just read it, because it is genuinely that good.
Jason Grubb is a three-time CrossFit Games Masters champion who was not in great shape at 38 and became a champion just a few years later. He is the guest across several parts of this Mindset of a Champion series, sharing his approach to nutrition, habits, and managing fear.
Jason Grubb was not in very good shape at 38, and a few years later he was a CrossFit Games champion. I love talking to people who have achieved something, defended it, and done it again, because you know what they are describing actually works. His advice on behavior change was simple, honest, and immediately usable.
The instinct with big change is to go big — overhaul everything at once. Jason argues the opposite. He made one major commitment to one tiny habit and let it snowball. I think most people fail because they skip this step and try to change ten things on day one. Hear Jason explain why the micro approach is the one that actually sticks. Press play.
The part I find most encouraging is the cascade. Once Jason was training daily, he did not want to waste the effort, so the eating and the sleep improved on their own. That is the snowball, and it is why one small win matters so much more than it looks. I connect this to my own idea of stacking W's in the full episode. Listen in for it.
The day after recording, the takeaway was almost too simple — make one small thing non-negotiable and let it pull the rest of your life up with it.
Jason pointed to Atomic Habits, which is one of my favorites and lives in the book club on the website. I do not care where you get it. Just read it, then go pick your one tiny habit.
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
Jason Grubb · CrossFit Games · Atomic Habits · James Clear · tomrowlandpodcast.com book club · stacking W’s · Physical Friday · Tom Rowland Podcast
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series where I help fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen build the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay strong and stay in the game for life.
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