The chipper: a lesson for life from the gym

I believe there are many lessons that can be learned from the gym. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks of the benefits that come from learning to embrace failure as a key component for success. One of the many things that I’ve learned from my time in the gym is the benefits that come from “the chipper”.

What is the chipper?

The chipper is a workout that is long and grinding and will test one’s mental resilience as well as their physical endurance and strength. Typically, a chipper will have lots of reps of difficult exercises combined into a as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) or for time, i.e., get through it before the time runs out. Some classic “chippers” from the world of CrossFit include The Murph (1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 air squats and finish with a 1 mile run either with a weight vest on or just BW) and the Filthy Fifty (50 reps of (box jumps, jumping pull ups, 50 KB swings, 50 walking lunges, 50 knees to elbows, 50 push presses, 50 back extensions, 50 wall ball shots, 50 burpees and 50 wall balls). Another chipper is the HyRox (1 km run, 1 km ski, 1km run, 50 metre sled push, 1km run, 50 metre sled pull, 1km run, 80metre burpee broad jumps, 1km run, 1km row, 1km run, 200metre farmer’s carry, 1km run, 100 metre sandbag lunges, 1km run, 75 or 100 wall balls- finish). Chippers are common to most gyms that run metcon or hybrid programs. In other words, a chipper is any workout with a lot of volume that forces a person to tap deep into their mental fortitude. In my view, while chippers are physically hard work, it is mental toughness that is really what is tested doing a chipper.

An example of a chipper- this was my Hyrox Personal Fitness Test on Saturday 13th July.

The chipper: lessons for life

Life is a long workout. In a way that is not dissimilar to a chipper, life consists of many functional activities (relationships, health, work, chores, etc.).  Success requires one to chip away at each of them on a regular basis. Good relationships require constant attention as does success at work or doing well in any endeavour a person might undertake. Good health is the same and so on. And often the battle to put the work in is in the head. David Goggins, retired Navy Seal, ultramarathon runner and author, talks about this at length and says that “most wars are won and lost in our heads”. Goggins’ story is a fascinating one and without going into it in too much detail here, there are many things to learn from his belief that “mental toughness is a lifestyle”.

The chipper is all about mental toughness and tackling a chipper is a great way to teach ourselves to be strong and to battle against our inherent tendency to give in before we’re done. Goggins point is that our tendency to give in happens well before we’ve reached our real point of exhaustion.  Whether it is 40% as Goggins’ claims or more or less than that, the point is that in almost all cases, in just about every case, people tend to give up on a task before their completely spent.  

Recently, I came across an article that claimed that reading in a chosen field for 1 hour a day will put a person in the top 1% of experts in that field in 7 years. What an incredible example of a chipper. Not only does this habit produce knowledge, reading stimulates the brain in numerous ways including improving concentration, creativity, reducing stress amongst other wonderful benefits. There are loads of other examples of how “chipping away” can improve life. How about today taking an hour out of your day to not watch TV, or scroll social media, or playing video games and commit that time to a positive endeavour such as quality time with family, or reading a book, learning a language, exercise or some other activity that will enhance your life. Then repeat tomorrow and the day after and then the day after that. If you can, you’ll be well and truly on your way to being more herculean. It’s not overnight success, but as we all know, anything worthwhile takes time and effort.

Until next time, be herculean.