The Work You Do In Here is Practice For What you Do Out There

In fitness, we praise getting uncomfortable. Each of us can remember a time we pushed our bodies to failure. Thoughts of, “I have nothing left to give,” ran through our brain at least a dozen times, but one sideways glance at a teammate, a signal from the coach, or someone screaming our name snapped us out of it.

We applaud that level of effort. An athlete laying on their back after a workout is a sign that they, in that moment, gave everything they had.

And we want you to take that same drive, that same willingness to put yourself in uncomfortable, even painful situations, and apply it outside the studio.

Your Ability to Complete a Challenging Workout Has Nothing to Do With Your Physical Capacity

It has everything to do with your mental threshold.

Your brain, just like your quad or your hamstring, is a muscle you have to stretch. Every time you consider quitting, then find the inner drive required to push past that point, that mental muscle grows a little more.

“This workout is mentally challenging,” says owner Chris. “It’s purposely a mindfuck.” It will continue to be a mindfuck as long as this studio exists. Those of you who have been with us since the beginning witness the workout evolving. An alternate warm-up, burn-outs between stations, and finishers encompassing eight laps around the room prevent us from getting comfortable with a workout we thought we mastered.

You Already Know How to Push Yourself to Failure in A Workout. Find a Way to Push Yourself to Failure in Life

This workout, as intense as it is, is done within a controlled environment. Whether or not you want to acknowledge it.

We know how to push ourselves well outside our comfort zone—as long as we’re safely within this studio. We find ourselves surrounded by nineteen other teammates, and their only expectation of us is that we get through this with them. No one gives a flying fuck about who we are or what our star jumps look like. We can drop weights, miss boxes, and lose our grip over and over again.

Inside the studio, failure is applauded. An athlete dropping to their knees after a sprint, or hitting ten reps instead of twelve because they went for the heavier weight, brings nothing but cheers.

Take that same fearless approach—that same willingness to choose failure over not trying—and apply it elsewhere. Each of us once surprised ourselves in a workout we thought we couldn’t complete. Push yourself to find that same level of uncertainty, where success is anything but guaranteed, in other areas of your life.

If You Hesitate to Seek Discomfort in Other Areas of Your Life, Ask Yourself Why

If you push yourself to reach a lofty goal—in your career or in life—it will require many failed attempts to get you there. If you find yourself playing it safe (when the rest of us see you tearing it up on the turf) start asking yourself why. Why can you push yourself past the point of breaking in a workout, but you refuse to take risks outside the studio?

Whether you realize it or not, a workout comes with certain tools. You have a coach, who knows you and knows when you can push harder; you have a team, working side-by-side with you; and you have the workout, or a set of instructions to follow.

Outside the studio, you don’t get a set of instructions, and no one’s going to check you on your mental threshold. Katie’s not going to grab a heavier weight for you because she knows you can handle more. That’s on you. It’s on you to repeatedly ask yourself, “What do I want, and what fear is stopping me from getting there?”

It’s on you to give an honest assessment of how hard you push yourself, and what blocks stand in your way. It’s on you to surround yourself with people who will challenge you, want the best for you, and won’t put up with your shit. And you know what? Those individuals might not be found in your closest group of friends, and it’s on you to go out looking for them.

We Want to Start A New Conversation Around Fitness

Abs are great and box jumps are cool, but what makes a great Instagram post doesn’t represent the things we care about most.

“You’ll love the workout or you won’t,” says owner Alex. “Regardless, we’re pulling for you to live your happiest, healthiest life and we’re here to support you, teammate or not.”

We can’t tell you if a seemingly impossible goal is actually attainable. And while we’re pretty good at gauging your maximum effort inside the studio, we can’t make that same call outside it.

What we can tell you is this: Every time you walk into this studio, you get uncomfortable. You drop weights, hit muscle failure, and get to a point where you can’t hit that last rep. You failed again and again, and yet you came back for more.

The more tough workouts you face, the more comfortable you get with facing fear, failure, and discomfort. For two years, we watched each one of you push your mental threshold a bit further. Now we want you to take what you learn here, and apply it to other areas of your life.