by Sasha Reddy
For many professionals, the biggest obstacle to fitness isn’t the routine itself; it’s finding space for a workout in the middle of an already busy, stressful life. Long workdays, late nights, and constant responsibilities can make the gym feel like one more obligation rather than a relief – and that’s before factoring in obligations outside of work. For Blake Craft, waiting for the “perfect” time to work out simply wasn’t working. After blood work revealed early warning signs of disease down the road, he knew it was time to nix the excuses and take his wellness more seriously.
Blake has worked at Hockessin Athletic Club since 2014, first as a boisterous member of the Front Desk team, then as the Membership & Billing Administrator. In 2020, Blake was again promoted to HR Director following the retirement of former director Mike Givler. Prioritizing fitness in his day-to-day life was challenging enough already, but with his new role and the responsibilities that came with it, workouts became even scarcer.
Things came to a head in the summer of 2024 when Blake received some unsettling news about his health. “I had gone and gotten blood work from my doctor,” he remembers, “and he put me in two categories – one was pre-diabetic, and the other was high cholesterol.” His doctor suggested medication, but Blake wanted to first see whether lifestyle changes could turn his biomarkers around.
Like many people balancing demanding work, Blake started exercising whenever he could find time. “Before, I used to work out at 2 [pm],” he says. “You can have all the intentions in the world of working out at 2. Then at 1:45, someone comes in, they need to talk about something…” As Blake quickly discovered, when the nature of your work demands that you be accessible, your workouts become negotiable.
To reduce distractions, Blake began working out at 7 am – before the start of his workday. Exercising in the mornings helped him be more consistent, but it had its drawbacks, too. By the time he’d finished a 1.5-hour weightlifting session, showered, changed, and made his way back to his desk, he felt like a significant chunk of the day had already been lost and valuable productivity along with it. The logical solution was to work out even earlier.
“If you had told me at the end of summer in 2024, ‘Could you start going in at 5?’, I would have laughed,” Blake admits. “I would have been like ‘No, absolutely not.” As he’s gotten older, he’s had trouble with sleep anyway; many nights, he finds himself waking up at 2 or 3 am, regardless of whether he’s intended to. But despite initial doubts, sleeplessness actually made it easier for Blake to transition to an early morning routine. In fact, it was exactly the change he needed to thrive.
Working out has always been an effective stress reliever for Blake. Back in the early 2010s, he’d hit the gym regularly to help him overcome the pressures of law school, and he gets similar benefits now in his role as HR Director. “At 2 am, I like to think about everything that can go wrong and like catastrophize,” he says. “So, by the time I do get in here and start working out, it’s like ‘you know, this isn’t the end of the world.’ The stress leaves, and I start to be more realistic about how difficult a situation really is.”
Exercise not only helps Blake maintain perspective but also gives his mind a break. “In an administrative-type position, you have to do a lot of critical thinking. So, there’s something really soothing about just having to count.”
Genuinely enjoying his workouts certainly hasn’t hurt Blake’s success. “I am not one of those people who dread going to the gym, you know? That’s the most exciting part of my day.” Over the last two years, he’s developed a consistent regimen of six workouts per week, mixing strength and cardio about 50/50.
“Strength training is the one I like the best, so [those days] can be embarrassingly long,” Blake laughs. His cardio sessions vary depending on what his body needs; some days include an exhaustive outdoor run, while others call for a long hike with his pup, Ranger.
Between the summer of 2024 and the summer of 2025, Blake lost 50lbs. In the year since, he’s regained several pounds of muscle mass and is no longer prediabetic. His cholesterol remains elevated – something that runs in his family – but it has lowered enough that he’s no longer a candidate for statins. He credits much of his progress to slow, steady consistency and to not trying to reinvent his life overnight.
“I think one thing that kind of discourages people when they first start to get into exercising is that there’s all this noise: ‘don’t eat a lot of sugar, don’t eat a lot of processed foods, don’t eat a lot of high-fat foods…’ It’s daunting if you try to do all those things in week one.”
He’s found much more success focusing on one small change at a time, waiting until one new habit has fully formed before trying for another. One week, he might focus on choosing foods with less sugar; another week, he’d try to cut down on late-night snacking. Each change may have felt like a drop in the bucket, but they stacked up over time.
Blake is not blind to the benefits he’s received as an employee at a health club. He counts himself lucky to be able to walk from his office to the weight room for a lift, and he’s grateful for the many pieces of expertise and encouragement he’s received from fellow staff throughout this journey.
Though he’s happy with the praise he’s received along the way, the greatest win has been reclaiming control of his health without medication. “I don’t think I ever saw myself taking it this far,” Blake reflects. “I’ll be honest: when I got in shape before, back in 2010, 2012, it was more about aesthetics. There’s nothing wrong with people exercising truly just for aesthetics. However, the tricky part is being okay with where you are in the journey – that, I wasn’t good at in 2010 and 2012. Now, I am.” As his intention has shifted from looking good to feeling good, he’s been able to give himself more grace and appreciate every incremental step toward a healthier version of himself.
For anyone juggling career stress, responsibilities, and the pressure of daily life, Blake’s story offers a simple reminder of what we already know: the goal isn’t perfection – it’s progress. Success lies in embracing the pace of your journey, even if it’s slower now than it was when you were younger, and in meaningfully setting aside time in your busy life to work toward the changes you want to see in yourself.
