The Test That Teaches: How Losing the Battle Wins You the War

“In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.” – Tom Bodett

Thought of the Day

In school, many of us are taught that everything is a test—an opportunity to flex on our classmates and look good to those around us. Unfortunately, when this idea bleeds into our lives, it becomes more about keeping the mask on and looking like we’re passing the test rather than actually progressing.

You can see this mindset creep in when people become too focused on winning during training and take perceived losses way too seriously. Training and fitness can become the vehicle that helps strip this mindset away, showing us it’s not about passing or failing a test—it’s about who you are becoming.

As a martial artist, I’ve known many “gym heroes” in my day the ones who brag about winning a round or tapping someone out in training. People with these mindsets usually don’t last. They’re so focused on the test of today that they don’t build the resilience needed for tomorrow’s opportunity. As soon as someone figures out their style or a bigger, better athlete comes along, their ego can’t handle it.

On the flip side, I’ve seen very unathletic or out-of-shape people come in and take it day by day—until they become very good. Because they’re used to being on the losing side, they don’t take things too seriously. They focus on the process of improvement and develop a healthy relationship with both winning and losing.

My story of Judo and starting CrossFit was very similar. When I first stepped into a CrossFit gym, I thought I was pretty fit. Having trained Judo for many years, I was ready to be the big dog on campus—but the gym and its long-time members had other plans. Training at noon with all the housewives of the neighborhood, I often found myself at the bottom of the leader board.

And that was a good thing.

It gave me the chance to enjoy the process of moving better, correcting movement imbalances, and improving without obsessing over the scoreboard. If I had been too focused on winning or ego lifting, I wouldn't have lasted—or grown. The humility it took to keep showing up is more valuable than any muscle up, heavy lift, or flashy fitness skill.

In our youth classes, we have the opportunity to help kids learn this lesson early. Every day they come to the gym is a chance to improve, get fitter, and learn how to navigate the training environment safely. When we treat everything as pass or fail, win or lose, we limit our ability to grow.

In our programs, we teach that you’re playing your own game. You’re building yourself up. It’s not about flexing on classmates or looking good for others. A loss is only truly a loss if you fail to grow and become better from it.

What will you invest in this week that will make you better in the weeks to come?

Thursday

H: 03-10 Warm up (7 min)

With a PVC pipe:

Shoulder pass throughs

Around the world

Good morning

PVC shoulder flexion, stretch out triceps

Hip flexor stretches

Curtsy squat

H: 10-24 Tech (14 min)

• Lunges

Adding weight gradually: No weight, single-arm, double arms

Practice using a clean+press or snatch to get the weight overhead.

Do not bend your lower back to pick up heavy loads. Horrible.

• GHD sit-ups

Hip slightly off the pad, use legs to kick up and touch the foot pad to finish the movement

Adding the range gradually: lower to parallel, to fully open but core engaged, practice the kick up

Workout strategy: combine the largest number of GHD per set with V sit-ups. The goal is to keep moving.

H: 25 WOD

4 rounds:

50 ft Double KB/DB overhead lunge @ 35 lb/50 lb (1/1.5 pood (yellow/green))

25 GHD sit ups

Time cap: 20 min

From Monday's post

"Okay, this was originally programmed as a 135lb barbell overhead lunge but fitting that into our space is difficult even with only one person. The Kettlebell/Dumbbell version fits our space better but you must significantly reduce the loads because of the independent suspension that makes this much more taxing than the barbell version. For shoulder health, I recommend the kettlebells as they force your shoulders into their anatomically optimal position. Yellow and Green are the Rx’d loads in case you don’t speak in poods.

The GHD rep scheme is not too bad here. If you don’t feel comfortable going all the way back, going halfway hits the abs very effectively. I performed my GHD sit ups with my feet hooked into my tractor tire so I barely got below horizontal and my abs were lit up for days afterwards."

H: 50 Cool down (5 min)