S06E126 Bison 15 - The Power of Showing Up in CrossFit - April Egarian
We sit down with April Egarian @apee411 to trace how CrossFit becomes a steady anchor through motherhood, stress, and major life changes, and how training gets better once recovery is treated like a real priority. We also dig into the practical mindset shifts that make nutrition consistent, friendships healthier, and performance stronger without burning out.
• starting CrossFit with a four-month-old and sticking with it for 12 years
• why switching CrossFit gyms feels like leaving family and what actually drives the decision
• how programming and training load affect recovery as we age
• using a nutrition coach to rebuild habits, reduce weekend blowups, and lose 15 to 20 pounds
• the gym as a support system, accountability loop, and mental reset
• chasing strengths and weaknesses, from lifting to chest-to-bar and muscle-ups
• scaling, backing off sensitive spots, and staying mostly injury-free
• navigating gym social dynamics, finding your crew
• advice for new members on showing up consistently until it clicks
#crossfitcoach #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #gymowner #HealthyLiving #GymLife #CrossFit #FitnessJourney #BotoxAndBurpees #podcast @botoxandburpeespodcast @crossfitbison @crossfit
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TRANSCRIPT
Sam Rhee (00:00.91)
Hello, welcome to another episode of Botox and Burpees, the Bison 15. I have with me an awesome athlete, probably one of the better athletes I would say at the gym at CrossFit Bison. This is April Agarion, and she's been at Bison for about three years, and we're gonna take a little trip down her fitness journey. thank you, April, for guesting and welcome to the show.
April Egarian (00:08.929)
Okay. Thank you.
April Egarian (00:26.376)
Thank you, Sam. I'm honored that you chose me. But yes, I've been at Bison for a little over three years now this month, I think.
Sam Rhee (00:36.376)
Yeah. So how did you get into CrossFit? And I don't I know bison wasn't your first gym, right?
April Egarian (00:42.31)
No, I belong to another gym for nine years. So I've been with doing CrossFit for 12, 12 now. I started when I was 34. So I wish I was like one of those 20 year olds that started now because I would be like, my God, I would be so much better. but but I remember when I started at it was Great White CrossFit.
Sam Rhee (01:02.43)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (01:09.528)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
April Egarian (01:10.028)
They just opened, so they had like a one month free trial. And then my husband at the time, that's another story, but he said, you know what, you'd probably really like this. Cause I always worked out, like I did boot camps and Pilates and all the gym stuff, you know, since my twenties. And then I walked into that gym with a four month old.
I remember bringing him in the carrier and just setting him down, like doing the swap, you know, to so, you he could, you know, dad can take him. And then I started CrossFit and I never looked back. And like the one thing I've really always loved was like, you know, you join a gym, you go to the global gym, you go for months and then all of a sudden you take months off. And with CrossFit, I didn't even want to take a week off. just.
There was something that was so consistent with. I mean, it is kind of like an addiction with the way it makes you feel, but it was like something that like I would just always push harder. with a four month old wanting to get back in shape and then like the mental aspect of it, just being a new mom, working mom, juggling all that, like that's where I stayed nine years at Great White.
Sam Rhee (02:30.943)
What ended up making you switch to to bison then?
April Egarian (02:35.562)
Oh, there's so many things. I mean, I was there for a really long time, so I had really good friends there. But then I had like some things that I just didn't agree with that were there. And that's a whole other story. So I don't even want to get into that. after, oh, I knew Brittany R.C. So.
Sam Rhee (02:39.415)
Yeah.
April Egarian (02:59.249)
I always loved Bison and I dropped in at Bison when you guys were at the old spot a couple of times. I knew Liz for a long time. And then I would always talk to Brittany about like joining her gym. And then when COVID happened, I remember I did join Bison for like a 10 pack. So I would come like when you guys were outside in the parking lot at the new spot. So I came there and then
Sam Rhee (03:25.389)
Mm-hmm.
April Egarian (03:28.646)
I knew I loved it. as soon as like I just parking in the parking lot, I'm like, love these people. So I couldn't join join after that. I went back to great white because the hour, like I needed like a five 30 class and you guys only had like five 15 or something. So I went back to bison, but then I mean great white and a couple of things happened that that made me switch and talk to a couple of people that belong to bison. And, and then I just made the switch and it was really hard. It was actually, it was like leaving.
Sam Rhee (03:54.359)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
April Egarian (03:58.384)
leaving family. Like it was it was a very difficult decision, but I was really happy I did it.
Sam Rhee (04:05.057)
I don't want to get into the details, but I do want just your thoughts about when people do switch gyms, and like you said, especially CrossFit gyms, it's a really hard thing to do. And I have tried other gyms and sort of looked at gyms or especially when I first started. Is it is it the pr like so you don't have to go into details, but is it interaction with people? Is it the programming? Is it
April Egarian (04:18.396)
Mm-hmm.
Sam Rhee (04:34.259)
Schedule like what is it that really sort of makes that decision for you?
April Egarian (04:39.244)
It's, I mean, it's definitely the people that you work out with is a huge part of it. But I mean, the programming, you know, because you can always like scale or, know, switch your reps or do something different if it's too hard. But but it was like, it was a lot at my other gym, like I just felt it on my body. Like it was really
Sam Rhee (04:44.011)
I see. Mm-hmm.
April Egarian (05:03.512)
And at my age, recovery was like not as easy, not as quick. So I, when I did switch, I did feel like better about myself. Like I maybe, I don't know if I was getting better, but I did feel better, because the workouts were a little less strenuous or like, I don't know. don't know. I know Dave puts a lot of thought into his workouts and he's like considering the whole gym, you know, not just.
Sam Rhee (05:33.281)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
April Egarian (05:34.01)
like how he wants to work out. So I do like appreciate how he does that.
Sam Rhee (05:39.883)
Now I've seen you over the past three years and you've made a lot of improvements overall in a lot of different aspects, I would say. what do you think you've improved at for yourself over the past three years at Bison?
April Egarian (05:56.293)
in so like movements or or just like overall
Sam Rhee (06:02.881)
Well, I think your performance I think seems to have gotten better, but also you just look healthier and you also seem like you've done better overall in that regard.
April Egarian (06:09.561)
Yeah. Okay. So, yeah. So I would say like when I joined Bison, I mean, life was like pretty status quo, but then like, I started going through like a lot personally and like a really, really hard, hard time in my life. And I think I gained like 15 to 20 pounds. Like I was like slowing down. I was feeling worse.
After last summer, life was just really hard outside of the gym. And every time I'd go to the gym, that's where I would feel good. But I was feeling worse about myself. Weight gain and then just the performance was worse. And I realized I needed to get myself in check. So I actually did speak to a nutrition coach and
That was a year ago. So I've been working with somebody that, I mean, first he's like, you need to like recover. You need to rest. Like you can't go to the gym every single day. And so I started like implementing recovery, you know, getting steps instead and just not going to the gym, you know, five, six days a week and just like, you know, like I do what I can only go like certain days of the week. So I'd be like, all right, I'll go Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
you know, and maybe I'll take off Friday, but then if I can squeeze in Friday, I'll go Friday too. And maybe Saturday, you know, if like, if it worked. But I was like, let me just take a rest. Like it's, can go today on a Wednesday, but I need to rest. And I felt like I would feel so much better. Like I, and I would feel better at the gym. I would perform better. I would be faster. I'd be stronger. And so I'd realized like, all right, at my age, I can't go six days a week anymore. I need to, I need to chill.
And then, and then like, started working with my nutrition. So then I lost like 15, 20 pounds. And then I noticed like, you know, my performance got better with, with my workouts too. And physically I just, you know, felt better.
Sam Rhee (08:18.775)
So what did you change in terms of your nutrition at that time?
April Egarian (08:23.368)
I mean, I, I always like thought I knew I would, like, I knew what I was doing, but you know, I'd count macros. I do all the protein, carbs, fats, you know, certain ones track everything. But then like the weekends come and like the wheels fall off, you know, Friday I'm like, no, I'll be good. Cause I want to go to the gym Saturday morning. But then like, you know, you have a couple of drinks and then you go eat whatever. And then you don't think about it again until the next day. But the next day you feel like.
you garbage, and then you just continue. And then the weekend was a wash and you start all over again on Monday. And that's so common. like my coach has been like mentally like changing the way I think like about food, about alcohol, about, you know, how everything makes me feel. you know, I drink so much less, like it, it, you know, not that I was like an alcoholic or anything, but I definitely are, I'm not.
like Fridays here, let me go drink. And then also surrounding myself with like people that aren't always drinking too, you know, so that, that helps a lot, but they took the alcohol, not completely out, but a lot out. And then, you know, watching the macros and trying to like stay on point on the weekend, which is really hard to do still.
Sam Rhee (09:46.732)
Yes, it is, for sure. So w yeah. When you use so y you've used the gym as sort of a anchor or a touch point for yourself in terms of your life. You've and and you've also used it sort of as a gauge to how your life is going in terms of how you feel and and how you're performing reflects is sort of a a r you know, it gives you a sense of like how you're just doing in life. So
April Egarian (09:48.092)
Stop.
Sam Rhee (10:16.921)
what is it about the gym itself that was that refuge, especially when you're, you know, going through hard times, which we all do physic personally, what was it that that it helped you with?
April Egarian (10:26.666)
Yeah.
April Egarian (10:33.352)
So, I mean, yes, I can't even express how like those, so was like the hardest time of my life. So, you know, going, you end up like having, you know, some friends and you have like a certain like little support group that you become close with. So they're like the only ones that know anything about what's going on in your life. So just like seeing them every day.
you know, the same time and, you know, then the workout itself. And then even like the coaches, like they might not even know what's going on in your life, because I don't really tell anybody much, you know, like just the way they support you with just the workout itself and then just the endorphins that you get from the workout and, you know, the challenge that, you know, how hard you make it for yourself, just like all those things. And then once you leave, you just feel so much better. Like it's
It's a legit therapy and like just doing that like every week for the last couple years, like what I've been going through has really just helped me mentally just get through it. And cause when you go in there, you just don't think much about what's going on outside of those walls once you start your workout.
And then when you leave, you just feel more clear. And then you don't want to cry all the time. But now I'm over that. don't cry anymore.
Sam Rhee (12:08.349)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (12:13.131)
So sorry. That that sounds like a particularly difficult time. and and I fully understand what it means to have that support system of the people that you see every day at the gym. and and then doing hard things at the gym. you know, that shared experience can can really help in terms of bonding and and like you said, just not thinking about what else is.
April Egarian (12:16.889)
Yeah, yeah.
April Egarian (12:27.366)
Yeah.
April Egarian (12:35.9)
Mm-hmm.
Sam Rhee (12:42.049)
going on, even for just a short period of time, which which can be really helpful. what w what I I think I know what kind of workouts you like or what you're good at at at CrossFit, but I want to hear from you, what do you really like doing in terms of CrossFit movements or workouts?
April Egarian (12:45.444)
Yeah, yeah.
April Egarian (13:00.219)
Obviously the lifting, but I do like working on the things that I suck at, know, because, you know, if there's like bar muscle ups or even just simple pull ups and chest to bars, like I hate chest to bars. can't, I used to be able to do bar muscle ups, I can't anymore and it's been years that I can do them. But there's, even though like I hate those things when I...
Sam Rhee (13:04.251)
Ha ha ha.
April Egarian (13:28.631)
feel good with them in a workout, even if I'm like stringing five chest to bars, I'm like, my God, that was a really great day. Or I'm doing the bar muscles with the band again, you know, and I'm like, I'm actually getting them. I felt it. Like that makes me feel so good, even though like a heavy lift and all of that makes me feel really good. And those are like the workouts that I like to do. But I like the
the challenge of the things that I really am not good at. And I feel like I, I'm like, wow, I did two more reps, know, strung two more reps in there. You know, that makes me feel, feel better just about the workouts or about what I did that day.
Sam Rhee (14:06.455)
Have you ever been in have you ever been injured in your CrossFit journey so far?
April Egarian (14:11.946)
Not, I mean, if I do heavy deadlifts and I try to like get a one rep max, I'm done. Like I can't do anything. Like my back is shot. So I don't do that anymore. But I did like kind of hurt like my knee and like I sort of like pulled something in my back and I was like all connected. And that was a few years, maybe probably like five, six years ago now. So like I couldn't even lift the barbell off the floor. had to like.
put it on a rack, I couldn't put it down. was just, you know, and that lasted maybe like four or five months. I would still work out, but not, you know, do certain movements, but never like really injured, injured, because I don't push myself to that degree, especially if I feel something in like the sensitive spots, like I don't, I just kind of keep it, keep it chill and not work out. So fortunately, knock on wood.
Sam Rhee (15:05.077)
Hmm. what do that's good. Yes, absolutely. So what else do you do outside of the gym in terms of recovery or other types of exercise or movement or anything?
April Egarian (15:19.532)
I just, I mean, I just work on getting steps, you know, at least 10,000 a day. And otherwise, maybe sometimes I'll do Pilates, but you know, that's not like a consistent thing and that's more new. But I don't have time for anything else. Like I'm working all the time. I'm, I got two kids, you know, there's sports, I coach softball, like I do.
too much and say yes to all the kids things. So squeezing the gym in is like so important to me for the last 12 years. I've, you know, just getting to bison is my main, you know, priority after everything else and after everybody else.
Sam Rhee (16:07.255)
Tell me a little bit about your job. I've been meaning to see you for like I s every time I see you, I t I say, I gotta go see April. And it's been over two years. And we're and I felt terrible. I know it's been three years. I mean, I think maybe the first time I ever met you, I was like, yeah, I gotta see you. and so, but of course now we're doing a podcast episode and I still haven't seen you in in but tell me what you do and talk about that a little bit.
April Egarian (16:13.015)
It's in like three years.
Ugh.
April Egarian (16:28.185)
Yes. And I'm.
So, yeah, so I'm an audiologist. That's where I help people hear. I don't do any of like the balance or vertigo or cochlear implants, but I mainly work with people and hearing aids. So I've been doing that for 26 years, but just having just a baseline test is so important because your hearing change is so gradually. So we've talked about this like,
Your hearing changes so gradually that you don't know. You have no idea. But we get our teeth checked. We get our eyes checked. We do all these things every year. And we kind of forget about our hearing, which is so important just for your brain. that's why I've been telling you to come in to get your hearing done. work with adults. And I do help some people at the gym.
Sam Rhee (17:25.995)
Ha ha ha.
April Egarian (17:31.093)
you know, it's close, you know, so you're telling you to come to Paramus. So yeah, I'm just waiting for you. No excuse, but this is what I deal with all the time. Nobody wants to come get their hearing checked. No one. don't, I don't get it.
Sam Rhee (17:36.173)
Literally no excuse, you're right. Yes, I and and
Sam Rhee (17:47.052)
I I you know, my kids I I know and my kids keep telling me 'cause I always I'm always like, What? What? And they're like, Dad, you're deaf and I'm like and and may maybe you know what it is? It is it is. It is a it is a fear. I think also the reason why I keep putting it off is there's a fear that of knowing what how crap my hearing really is. But after all these years of of of ear abuse with
April Egarian (17:56.316)
Yeah, that's a sign.
April Egarian (18:03.806)
Yeah.
April Egarian (18:11.324)
Yeah, yeah.
Sam Rhee (18:16.993)
music and whatnot. So but you're right, this episode is now going to make me make that appointment. So I will I promise in the next 30 days from this day. So by the end of in yeah, the end of next month I promise you I will see you. So so that I'm I I have to now because I'm actually recording this. so talk to me a okay.
April Egarian (18:18.399)
Mm-hmm.
April Egarian (18:23.133)
All right.
April Egarian (18:33.778)
Yeah, no excuse. Yes, we have witnesses.
Sam Rhee (18:43.879)
so talk to me. I think one of the things that I sort of see as a thread in what you've talked about with CrossFit and gyms and your experience and your life is the social aspect of it. but also both in a positive and probably negative way that you might have seen it at gyms. So tell me like how you have seen negative social aspects and how you've tried to avoid that, especially at at at gyms, because that that can also play a role in terms of
April Egarian (19:13.19)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (19:13.941)
you know, things that people have to deal with.
April Egarian (19:16.816)
Right. And I realize like no matter what you do, how old you are, know, what kind of like group you're like, like the place you're at, ends up turning into high school sometimes. And, you know, and I even have like my patients tell me how at, when they live in like senior centers or the actual senior centers or the assisted livings, like there's...
there's still bullies out there and these people get treated very poorly and you they don't, I don't know, but I'm like, wow, like this stuff never goes away. But you know, it's, you know, you just learn who's, who you want to surround yourself with. And you know, there's different people everywhere you go. And, you know, like there's times where, you know, I've run into, you know, been friends with people at different gyms and then realize like, no, this person's not for me.
And then you just figure it out. We're all adults. But I think it's important that you have some friends, because they're the ones that also keep you accountable. I have even our 615 crew. And not that we go at the same time all the time, but we're always communicating. Like, hey, I'm going to try to go to 415. Can anybody do that?
but we just have that accountability with each other and then we hang out and you just know they're good people. you'd end up, now we're going to weddings and doing all these fun things with that crew, it's important and then it's important to be able to weed out ones that you don't want to be around every day.
Sam Rhee (21:10.573)
How did you find your current group of friends or crew or whomever you want to call it? That did you go to them and like, hey, you're like me, you want to go hang out? Or like if someone's new at the gym and they're like looking to make friends, like it seems for some people very natural, but for some people it's not. So, like, how did you go about that?
April Egarian (21:26.893)
Yeah.
April Egarian (21:34.105)
Well, when I went to Bison, I really don't really want to talk to anybody. Like I just, you know, I knew a few people and I didn't really, from like my old gym, I was like, I don't want to get involved. Like I don't want to know anybody's business. Like keep me out of it. Cause the other, I was, like I just knew I was there for so long. I knew everything somehow. And, and there's always stuff going on, you know, behind the scenes. And so I just.
here I was like, I don't want to involved. But then you, you know, you go to the same class every day and then you start just, you know, talking to those people. And then I don't even know, like I just became close with, with a few of them. And then they like were like a certain, I guess they did things together sometimes here and there. And I was like an addition to their, to their group. But it,
I don't know if it like, I wasn't like, hey, can I be your friend? I guess I may be like, they liked me, so they picked me to like join. I don't even know, maybe because I was so good. They're like, you know what? We should have her join our club. No, I'm just kidding. So I don't even know yet.
Sam Rhee (22:46.455)
Yeah.
Sam Rhee (22:53.781)
Yes. I would I I'm pretty sure they were like, Look look at her squat clean. Yeah, we definitely need to hang out with her. She's she's
April Egarian (22:58.349)
Yeah. You know, we can learn from her. I mean, it's so funny, too, because like everybody, You know, the people that I like, I ended up, you know, becoming close with, like some are in their 20s, some are in their 30s, the rest of us are in our 40s. Like, it's just how are we all friends? Like, I would never be these, you know, they're friends, without just, you know, once you get it. I was actually just talking to Liz about this, like once you get in to like the gym, like.
Sam Rhee (23:03.692)
Yeah.
April Egarian (23:26.791)
age and all that and what you do outside of the gym, it doesn't even matter. We all have one goal in there and we're on the same mindset. So you end up just becoming friends with every, not everybody, but whoever. And that's what's cool. But then outside of the gym, I'm like, wait, you're, even the recovery, I'm trying to keep up with these guys. I'm like, wait, I got.
20 years on you. I'm like, I get two extra minutes.
Sam Rhee (24:00.333)
You're right. trying to hang with the young, the young guys is yeah, that's when you realize you may have some things in common, but there are definitely a lot of things in common that are not, I mean, a lot of things not in common for sure. So if someone were starting at bison, say today and you saw them, what kind of advice would you give them in terms of
April Egarian (24:01.504)
April Egarian (24:08.533)
Yeah.
April Egarian (24:14.282)
Yeah, not uncommon, yeah.
Sam Rhee (24:29.995)
Like your own experience at this point.
April Egarian (24:35.146)
Come.
I mean, that's funny because I just, you know, it's.
I mean, if they came to me for advice and or if they were having like a hard time, I just would say just like keep showing up because even like my one friend just moved to Florida and she's like trying to like blend in there and she found a CrossFit gym and she's having a little bit of a hard time, you know, finding friends and feeling comfortable. And I mean, I just think.
It takes time. you know, just keep showing up and, and just do your thing and don't worry about everybody else. And, and things just kind of fall into place, you know, naturally. But I mean, unless you're, you're not a good person, then you'll have some issues. But otherwise, you know, if you're a good person, you know, things just will naturally fall into place and you just, you know, walk in those doors and everybody's pretty welcoming, especially the coaches.
Sam Rhee (25:28.001)
Ha ha.
Sam Rhee (25:32.118)
Yeah.
April Egarian (25:40.21)
know, at the gym.
Sam Rhee (25:42.871)
Well, April, you're definitely a good person and I wanna thank you for taking the time to talk today. And it's pretty awesome and it's it's really been a joy to see you over the past three years. You've been such a a fixture in the evenings and I don't go to a lot of the evening classes, but I but I see b I know but I do see you on some Saturdays and I also see like on outside of the gym whatever events we have and you you're
April Egarian (25:48.307)
Thanks, Sam.
April Egarian (26:00.176)
Yeah, never.
April Egarian (26:06.493)
Mm-hmm.
Sam Rhee (26:12.715)
You're a fixture at this point. I don't think people could imagine what it would be like not to have April as part of CrossFit Bison. So that just kinda shows how much you've become a part of the community. And I really just think it's amazing just ha like you as an athlete, but also you as a person and and I think that's pretty cool.
April Egarian (26:35.976)
Thank you, Sam. I really appreciate that. And you're pretty awesome,
Sam Rhee (26:43.369)
What? What'd you say? I can't I'm just kidding. I I I I'm gonna come see you for an exam very soon.
April Egarian (26:45.47)
I I'm like, wait,
April Egarian (26:53.616)
Yeah, no, yeah, no, but you...
Sam Rhee (26:54.155)
No, I'm gonna I'm gonna come see you and
April Egarian (26:57.352)
That was good. You almost caught me. You almost got me.
Sam Rhee (26:59.127)
So All right. Thank you, April. Please take care and I will see I will see you very soon.
April Egarian (27:02.088)
All right.
All right, thanks, Sam.
