8/25 Mental Toughness Thursday

Tammy is happy doing box jumps! How much happier will you be today jumping onto the soft sided boxes? Happiness is an important component of fitness. We like the idea of exercising till we're happy. What will make you happy today?

We are testing some max efforts today. These tests are good for developing mental toughness. Often in a workout we only have to do a specific set and rep count. With the exception of weightlifting, It's uncommon for us to see just how much we can do. Today we're seeing just how high we can jump, just how long we can push, and just how long can we pull or hang on.

These tests can improve our confidence for trying a higher box jump in a workout, kipping pull-ups, or harder scaling options. Plus, you can bet that we will retest these movements again. Comparing effort and results across time is the best way to measure your fitness. Remember, CrossFit defines fitness as increased work capacity. How will you ever know if your work capacity has increased if you don't measure it and track it?

​Knowing how much, how long, and how many can help you plan specific scaling options for your next workout or give you an idea on how long it might take you to do a workout. Having a plan is a great mental toughness trait. As Benjamin Franklin said, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." Let's plan to succeed!  

Today's Workout  
Max Vertical Jump Height (using the Vertec)
Max Height Box Jump (using soft sided boxes)
Max reps push-ups
then
Max weighted Pull-up
Max reps strict pull-ups
or
Max effort Flexed Arm Hang
5 x 1/2 max time flexed arm hang 
These tests are used by Beyond the Whiteboard to calculate our fitness level.