You might have noticed that there’s this big, white board that lines the entryway of CrossFit Northlake. There are actually two big, white boards. One is referred to as “The Leaderboard” and you record your max lifts, your Hero and Girl Benchmark workouts, and your gymnastic achievements. The other one is called “The Whiteboard” (original, right?) and you log your daily workout results on it. Wait a minute…you don’t use that one very much, do you? You should be and here’s why:
Reason 1: Accountability
Knowing you’re going to post your score on the whiteboard for all to see is meant to motivate you in a positive way to do your very best. It’s been said that one of Coach Glassman’s favorite quotes is “Men will die for points.” Healthy competition can be a valuable training tool. Seeing the top score of the day encourages people to try to reach or surpass it with their own score. Those posting the score want to be sure it holds the top spot throughout the day. In both scenarios, everyone is putting forth their best efforts and that’s a win for all. Ultimately, you’re competing against yourself and working to improve yourself. This board simply holds you accountable to your efforts.
Reason 2: Support
Posting these scores also serves as a great way for your Northlake family members to support you and offer positive feedback. How does it make you feel when you hit the Friday Night Lights workout and someone from another class compliments you on a WOD well done from earlier in the week? Or maybe you finally scratched off those double unders from the goal board and Amy posted it on Facebook? It motivates you to continue and progress to the next goal. People will never know how you’re doing if you don’t write it down.
You don’t want anyone to know how you’re doing? You’re embarrassed by your results or perceived lack of progress? Stop! Your coaches and fellow members all want to see you succeed and want to help you. No one is judging you. We’ve all been there – the newbie, the parent who’s tired from being up all night with a crying baby, the guy who’s been traveling for a week straight, the student trying to get through final exams, the person who’s just not motivated AT ALL this week…we understand that life happens. We’re here to make sure you get back on track and help you stay the course.
Reason 3: A Means to Measure
In CrossFit, it means nothing if it can’t be measured by time domain, load, distance, or volume. The whiteboard measures that every day. Think about your first class at Northlake. You probably recall who impressed you on that day with their strength, speed, or gymnastic skills (or maybe all three). You said to yourself, “I wanna be able to do THAT one day.” The whiteboard reflects your progress each day, each week, and each month as you strive for THAT strength, speed, or skill. We all know these gains take time and we can’t go by how it “feels”. “Fran” will never feel good. The better you get at it, the faster you will go, but she will always feel like “Fran”.
Rason 4: Community (Yep – it always comes back to that!)
CrossFit is all about community. Most people join a box and stay with it because of the community. We get great results from the workouts, but even that doesn’t make the average person come back month after month. It’s the bonds we form by enduring six weeks on a squat cycle together or the repeated 400 meter sprints in endurance class. We all know the pain endured and the willpower it took to not quit. We respect that in each other. We are motivated and inspired by each other and often because of what we see on the whiteboard. If you thought you could reach your fitness goals all on your own, you’d be at a globo gym paying a considerably less monthly fee. Post your results and let this Northlake community work for you.
Commit to this: Consider the whiteboard to be part of your workout – and use it!
