Reading Time: 3 minutesWLC Mission is a weekly challenge, meant to improve your life by disrupting your day-to-day routine — taking you out of your comfort zone, asking you to try something new, and challenging you to become a more complete person. Never easy, you can consider the Mission an advanced experiment in personal wellness, with you as the star.
This Week’s Mission: Travel the Hard Way
The Idea
When you go somewhere this week, add as much human-powered motion to the trip as possible. You’ll walk, run, bike, skate, take the stairs, swim, paddle, and climb at every opportunity, using your own “engine” to get where you’re going.
The Payoff
You’ll get fitter, and you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you don’t always need a car to get to your destination. And if you’re really into it, you might find that human-powered travel is a great opportunity to engage in reflection and mindfulness, building your mind as well as your body.
The Parameters
If you can walk, walk. If there are stairs or an elevator, take the stairs. If you could bike or drive, bike. And if you have to drive, park as far away from your destination as you’re able once you “arrive,” and use your own power to get the rest of the way.
Try it on at least one trip this week (and more if you’re digging the Mission).
Of course, the purpose is to inject locomotion into your daily life, while traveling further than you normally would using alternative means. You’ll be surprised how far you can get walking (a mile takes twenty minutes), how rapid a bike ride can be (a mile takes six minutes), and how satisfying it is to know that you reached your destination under your own power — using less gas, spending less money, and getting more exercise.
Examples:
- Take your bike to the grocery store and bring your food back in a backpack.
- When you drive to your next appointment, find a parking spot a half mile away, and walk the rest of the way.
- If your gym is within a few miles of home, run there, do your workout, and run back.
- Take your bike to work.
- Take the stairs as you travel within buildings (even if it’s 10 flights or more).
- Dust off those old rollerblades, skates, or skateboard, and push your way to your destination.
The Scoring
WLC Missions aren’t scored. Instead, they’re personal explorations, meant to give those new to the Challenge a look inside how we live our lives, while giving our veteran players “next steps,” new things to master once you’ve had success incorporating the 7 Daily Habits into your life.
In other words, give the Mission a shot — but leave the scoreboard at home. This is just for you.
Previously, he founded Again Faster Equipment, a functional fitness equipment company created to serve the CrossFit community. Established in 2006, Jon took the Company global in 2012, twice landing on the Inc. 500/5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies.
From 2007 to 2013, he served as a Senior Lecturer for CrossFit, Inc., training aspiring CrossFit trainers at over 100 seminars, including engagements in Iceland, Afghanistan, Moscow, Holland, the United States, and Canada. Jon also served on the CrossFit L1 Advisory Board, helping establish policy for the organization’s training efforts from 2011 to 2013.
He’s also done stints in state government, gym management, and consulting — and currently teaches classes at CrossFit City Line.
Jon graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2003, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in Psychology. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Finance and Control from the Harvard Extension School, 2006, and has completed coursework in data analytics.
