Formosa Fitness

And no, I'm not advocating spouse abuse. :) For new readers, I'm referring to the Crossfit Cindy workout: 5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 bodyweight squats done circuit style, as many as you can in 20 minutes. I do this periodically as a fitness test.

Today: 19 reps and almost finished 20.

Totals: 98 pullups, 200 pushups, 293 squats. Overall total: 591, just 9 short of a 600.

Needless to say, I'm a happy camper today. :) That's the best ever for me.

So I'm not putting these numbers up to impress anyone. Some of you studs and studettes can do this in your sleep. Instead, I want to make two points.

1. Having a fitness test every now and then let's you know where you are and where you need to go.

2. working escalating density style (EDT) is a great way to stay motivated.

Expounding on point two, what makes Cindy tick is that it's an EDT style workout: you want to do more volume by even the smallest amount each time you do the workout. And an increase of just 1 in any exercise shows that you're making progress.

Do you realize how inspiring that is?

Instead of dreading going to the gym, each workout becomes a part of an overall competition in which you're competing with yourself. Do one single more rep than last time on the test and you win. That's progress. No, I don't make every workout a competition as that would put way too much pressure on me and I'd burn out. This is where point one comes into play. I make the fitness test my competition with myself. I pick a single day (and not too often) and go for it. That's what I did today and it was great.

Have a great day. :)