The Motivator Next to You

Ned
7 rounds for time of:
11 body-weight back squats
1,000-meter row
No racks, duh.

Fuel off the folks working out around you and you'll put in better workouts for yourself.
Fuel off the folks working out around you and you’ll put in better workouts for yourself.

The Motivator Next to You

A few weeks ago during a workout, I heard an athlete say to the athlete next to them, “I saw you were going for it on the burpees so I went for it to0. I thought to myself, if he’s going for it, so should I.”

This statement hammers home the fact that our group training environment is silently motivating and contagious. For a workout method that is highly individual and which champions individual progress, class hours can exhibit a tremendous team effort to complete the task at hand. We see another athlete pushing a little harder one day and it rubs off onto our own training. We see an athlete struggling through a workout and a small nod of acknowledgement can get them back on track.

Have you been midway through a suckfest of a workout and had another athlete’s actions inspire you to refocus and work harder? Post to comments.

6 Responses
  1. Thom Defranco is a constant source of inspiration for me. Whether we are chasing one another to the finish, pushing each other to get a heavier wallball or cheering the other one on, I always work harder when he’s in class! (And that helps when it’s dark out at 5:30am!) ugghhh

  2. Cherie Chan

    This post is exactly why I’ve been getting into group classes at Roots. Love the garage gym but it just isn’t the same as the community

  3. Bones

    In fact, just this week I was trying to keep up with PMart and Nick on the lunge/pushup/slam ball workout. Couldn’t quite keep up because my lungs were starting to leak out of my ears, but it pushed me a bit harder than I otherwise would have.

  4. CAL

    A shout out to Iggy, because pacing myself with him on the Row segment of today”s “Dastardly Duo” WOD is very likely the REAL reason I managed to eke out a respectable (to ME!) 6 rounds for “NED”.