Whiteboarding Ain’t Cool
July 20, 2020
The focal point of every functional fitness gym nowadays is the whiteboard. The space that not only displays the work for the day but the space dedicated to the inherent stratification of the participants. Used properly the whiteboard can be an amazing tool. It provides a place to come together and connect on the work about to be done, it provides guidance and structure for a well-designed fitness program and viewed through the right lens can provide an incentive to maximize your potential. The last part is crucial because that is where I see most people go wrong.
On almost any whiteboard you’re going to see scores, weights, times whatever is the measure of the day. At best it’s a simple, clear way to track progress, at worst it can be the catalyst that undermines your long term growth. Getting lost in “winning the whiteboard†has derailed so many people’s fitness it should be listed right alongside “eating like an asshole†or “toning up†as reasons for failure. You see “winning the whiteboard†by nature is a short term mindset because at the end of the day it will be erased from the board and everybody’s memory.
If you want this fitness thing to work you’ve got to expand your timeline. If your plan is to be fit in 20 years does it really matter if takes a few more weeks or months to get that strict pullup? Viewing your fitness as being tied to winning a given workout minimizes what it actually takes to get and that is a commitment to the program. A commitment to the process of learning how to move, how to train and how to live a healthy lifestyle. Guess what, that takes time: it takes practice, it takes discipline, it takes the humility to know you can suck at something now but work towards not sucking at it later. So next time you find yourself veering down the path of trying to win the whiteboard ask yourself if this is the best route to improving your fitness because (*spoiler alert*) everybody already knows who’s trying to win the whiteboard and who’s trying to win at life.
Alpha Workout:
“The Baseline”
500m Row
40 Air Squats
30 Situps
20 Pushups
10 Pullups