Four times a year
The benchmark
One workout. The same one, every time it runs. The first time you do it, you get a number.
No mixed classes, no variations – just one workout, run over two days, and everyone on the floor doing it. It is the same workout every time. Same movements, same order, same length.
1
Workout
2
Days
4
Times a year
0
Variations
What it is
Four times a year the floor does one thing
For one weekend every quarter we clear the timetable.
No mixed classes, no variations – just one workout, run over two days, and everyone on the floor doing it.
It is the same workout every time. Same movements, same order, same length.
Why bother
Know that you are getting fitter
You turn up, you work hard, you go home. Weeks pass. You feel a bit better. Your jeans fit differently. Someone says you look well. But ask yourself whether you’re actually fitter than you were in March and you’ll probably shrug. That’s not a failure of effort. It’s a failure of measurement. Training without a benchmark is like driving without a speedometer. You’re definitely moving, but you’ve got no idea how fast.
The Benchmark fixes that. Once a quarter, you get a straight answer.
YOUR FIRST ONE
You cannot do badly at your first Benchmark
This is worth being clear about, because it puts people off. Your first Benchmark isn’t a test. There’s nothing to pass and no score you’re supposed to hit. It’s a starting line. Whatever number you get is simply where you’re starting from, and it’s the most useful number you’ll get all year, because everything after it is measured against it. The people who’ve done it four or five times aren’t comparing themselves to you. They’re comparing themselves to the version of them that did it last quarter. That’s the only comparison that means anything. So if you’re new, come and do it. The sooner you get a number, the sooner it starts being worth something.
HOW THE WEEKEND RUNS
Two days one workout the whole Floor
Book your slot
The timetable clears. No variations, no coach improvising. Everyone on the floor does the same thing. Slots run across both days of the designated weekend, so you can pick a time that suits.
Nothing changes but you
Same movements, same order, same length, same scoring. The workout in December is identical to the one in March, and that is the entire point. So when your number comes back different, you know exactly what changed.
Everyone at once
The room goes together. Coaches calling it, screens up, a fair amount of noise by the end. Your number is recorded and waiting for you next quarter, and then everyone stands about discussing it, which is genuinely half of it.
WHAT YOU GET OUT OF IT
A number that actually means something
One workout, run every quarter, never changed. Do it once and you have a number. Everything after that is you answering it.
A whole weekend given over to a single session. Same movements, same distances, same order, every time it runs. Nobody is racing the room. You are racing the version of you who walked in three months ago.
Proof
Not a feeling, not a guess. A direct comparison against yourself three months ago, under identical conditions.
A reason to come back
Knowing there’s a date in the diary where you’ll be measured has a funny way of sharpening up the eight weeks before it.
Direction
The number tells you where you’re strong and where you’re not. That’s useful information for what you do next.
