Issue #13: Personal Best

In fitness, there is the concept of personal best, or as the cool kids say, “PB.” Fitness trainers and athletes often talk about “hitting a PB.” Unbeknownst to me, last Friday was a benchmark day at Orangetheory Fitness (OTF). We were doing a 2000-meter benchmark row on the water rower. Benchmark days mean our results are recorded in our accounts, so we can track our progress throughout the year and beyond. There are about a dozen benchmarks, from 1-mile runs to “Orange Everest” (i.e., incline runs) to distance rows to “Capture the Flag” (i.e., team-based distance rows). Each benchmark is held two or three times per year, and is a good way to inject novelty into the workouts as well as monitor progress.

A typical OTF workout consists of exercises at 3 stations: treadmill, water rower and floor. The first two are self-explanatory. The floor is for strength training — dumbbells, resistance band, TRX suspension training, bench/risers for lower-body exercises… etc. For better or for worse, there are no barbells at OTF. I go to another gym for that. The differentiating factor with OTF is the ‘beat,’ also known as a heart rate monitor. I am a data nerd, so I love seeing my results in black and white.

Last Friday, I did not hit a PB. In fact, my result was the worst of the three times I had done the 2000-meter row. Eric had shared his result with me, and he had indeed hit a PB. In that moment, I got curious about my disappointment about my result. I had disrupted sleep the few nights heading into the benchmark day, and it was my fourth workout of the week, so fatigue was a real issue. Never mind that I had just hit a PB a few weeks ago on a 12-minute benchmark run and made it to the leaderboard for my age bracket. Never mind that my mind was occupied by work and my stepdaughter. I had to work through the feeling that I had let myself down as well as come up with a positive view.

Instead of focusing on the result, what if I carried the concept of PB to other aspects of my life? Did I hit a PB in moving past my frustration with my credit card company for an error? Did I hit a PB in showing up for a friend who confided in me about her troubling thoughts? Did I hit a PB in asserting my boundaries with a guy who hit on me? Of course, not every day is a benchmark day — at OTF or this thing called life. Each day brings its unique circumstances and encounters that ask me how much physical effort, mental energy and emotional space I want to give it. There are moments big and small that afford me the opportunity to live above or below the line.

When I was in my 20s, during a particular tough time in my life, my mom told me that she had always known I was a go-getter, even from a young age. She did not want this to get to my head, so did not share that until then. I remember our conversation vividly. Looking back on my childhood and adolescence with that insight, I could see that competition and achievement were central themes in my decisions and methods. I was inspired by successful people. I set high standards for myself. It was almost as if I associated achievement with love — I loved myself more and I believed that my parents loved me more whenever I hit a PB.

Renowned organizational psychologist Adam Grant stated that comparison is not the thief of joy; envy is. Instead of striving for other people’s markers of success, I should be setting goals that align with my own values and desires, even if they don’t come with accolades nor badges. Instead of focusing on the win or loss, the number on the scale or how my benchmark result compares to that of the person next to me, I should take Coach Helča’s words to heart, “It’s you vs. you.” Hitting a PB today may mean being forgiving toward the person who cut me off in traffic without signaling, giving my stepdaughter the benefit of the doubt, or celebrating a friend’s promotion without envy.

What are your PBs lately? I’d love to know!