Nick Cafardi has been part of the Industrial Athletics community for years, showing up consistently and making the gym a priority—even when life, work, and eventually injury tried to get in the way. After surgery and a long stretch of rehab that kept him away from the gym, returning wasn’t just a physical challenge but a mental one. In this piece, Nick shares how discouraging it was to be sidelined from the place that had become such an important anchor for his mental health, and how resilience, patience, and a shift from evening classes to early mornings helped him rebuild—not just his strength, but his relationship with fitness.
Rewriting My Relationship With Fitness
I have never been someone people would generally describe as “athletic” or “fit.” Growing up, I was an awkward kid, skinny, lanky, and beset by asthma and every environmental allergy possible. To say the least, I wasn’t getting picked for any sports teams (or volunteering for them either). I much preferred being indoors, reading books and following creative pursuits.
This continued as an adult and as I became busy in my career, going to a gym was the last thing on my mind. I spent long days sitting in front of a computer or in meetings. I often spent nights drinking and eating heavy meals at client or networking events. But I eventually started to burnout and realized I had to change my habits and focus more on a healthy lifestyle. As a New Year’s resolution in 2017, I decided to improve my diet and start working out regularly. And after testing out a few different gyms, I finally found a perfect fit at Industrial Athletics.
From Self-Doubt to Self-Belief
The CrossFit format worked well for me because I didn’t need to think about what to do at the gym each day, which was great since I knew nothing. And the coaches and other members were all incredibly supportive and patient. Over time, I pushed through the initial self doubt at the gym and cleaned up my diet. After a few years of regularly going to the gym and eating well, I felt fantastic. I was proud of how much I progressed and working out turned into an engine for success and happiness in all aspects of my life. I also started to shed all of the old feelings that I simply wasn’t “athletic” or “fit.” I felt like a new person and I had no desire to turn back.
Injured, Frustrated, and Searching for Answers
Then in 2021, I injured myself. For the next two years, the injury came and went. I’d go to the doctor, go through physical therapy, get started at the gym again, but the injury eventually reoccurred. I went through this cycle at least three times. It was incredibly frustrating. I just wanted to get back to my exercise routine and the feeling that it gave me.
Initially, every doctor I went to had focused on my back because the pain I experienced radiated from my lower back and down my left leg. But treatments for my back were not fixing the injury. Finally, in the spring of 2023, I went to a different doctor who listened to my full story and diagnosed a torn labrum in my left hip. In July of that year, I had surgery to repair the tear and remove the impinging bone tissue that caused it.
After surgery, I spent the next six months in physical therapy—again! But this time, I at least had some confidence that I was moving in the right direction. And coaches from IA kept checking in on me and rooting for my recovery. Slowly, I was able to rebuild basic strength in my hip and move light weights. When I was cleared for full activity again, I went straight back to IA.
Starting Back—Not Where I Left Off
By the time that I returned to the gym in spring of 2024, it had been more than a year since I was able to workout without significant restrictions. I just wanted to jump right back to where I had left off but I couldn’t because I had lost strength and mobility, and my cardio had deteriorated.
I started off with private coaching sessions twice a week. It felt like I had to relearn everything I had spent years figuring out before but this time at least I wasn’t starting from scratch. After a few weeks, I started to realize this was a valuable opportunity to focus largely on form rather than strength. It was a second chance to go through CrossFit basic training and set myself up for fitness success in the future. But that didn’t make the process any less challenging.
Weeks turned into months and I started returning to regular classes while still having one coaching session each week. The coaching sessions kept me in check for my recovery, reminding me to listen to what my body was telling me and to keep improving my form as a way to guard against future injuries.
Fitness as a Lifelong Journey
I’m now two years removed from the surgery and back at the gym four days most weeks. I’m close to the PRs I set before my injury, but I’m less focused on the numbers now. I just want to keep moving and staying active because it makes me feel better in all aspects of my life. While I certainly wish I wouldn’t have injured myself, I’m taking the lessons I learned from the experience forward. Focusing on form and listening to what my body tells me continue to be my guideposts. I’m hoping to stay at this for a long time.
