Bound Newsletter 4.13.2025
Character, Challenge, and the Science of Growth: How Daily Struggle Builds a Better You
“Bodily vigor is good, and vigor of intellect is even better, but far above both is character.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt wasn’t just a president; he was a force of nature. He lived a life of constant challenge—boxing in the White House, exploring the Amazon, and leading with relentless grit. His quote is a striking reminder that while strength of body and mind are valuable, it’s our character—the habits we forge through consistent effort—that ultimately defines us.
Today, modern science backs up what Roosevelt intuitively understood. Our brains and bodies are wired not just to handle challenge—but to thrive because of it.
The Science Behind the Struggle: Meet BDNF
At the core of this transformation is something called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor—or BDNF. Think of BDNF as Miracle-Gro for your brain. It supports the growth of new neurons, enhances memory, improves focus, and even helps regulate mood.
Here’s the kicker: one of the most powerful ways to boost BDNF is through exercise—especially challenging, uncomfortable, sweat-dripping kind of exercise. High-intensity workouts, resistance training, and endurance activities don’t just sculpt your muscles—they spark powerful changes in your brain chemistry.
Each time you push through the resistance of a hard workout, your brain responds with growth. You’re not just getting stronger physically—you’re rewiring your brain for resilience, adaptability, and focus.
Mental Toughness and the Power of Voluntary Discomfort
In his TED Talk, “The Secrets and Science of Mental Toughness,” Dr. Joe Risser, MD, MPH, explains how deliberately choosing hard things builds mental toughness. He draws from neuroscience and behavioral psychology to make a compelling case: we get stronger by doing things that are hard—on purpose.
Whether it's a cold shower, a brutal workout, or tackling an intimidating project, the act of leaning into challenge activates what Risser calls our “toughness muscle.” Over time, we become more resistant to stress, more focused in chaos, and more confident in adversity.
That’s not just mindset—it’s neuroplasticity in action. You’re shaping your brain every time you show up for hard things.
From Habit to Character
Roosevelt placed character above all else. And character, it turns out, is a daily decision—a choice to confront difficulty rather than avoid it.
Choosing to run when you’d rather sleep in.
Choosing to finish that hard book instead of doom-scrolling.
Choosing discomfort over ease, knowing that’s where growth lives.
As we commit to these small, challenging acts daily, we’re not just building better bodies or sharper minds—we’re shaping the very core of who we are.
And maybe that’s the point. Not just to be smart. Not just to be strong. But to be the kind of person who shows up, no matter what.
Practical Steps to Build Mental Toughness Today:
Move Daily – Even 20 minutes of brisk exercise can elevate BDNF levels.
Do One Hard Thing – Choose a task that makes you uncomfortable and lean in.
Reflect – End the day with one question: What challenge did I face today? How did it shape me?
Final Thought
Roosevelt’s wisdom, paired with cutting-edge science, paints a clear picture: challenge is not our enemy—it’s our teacher. In the forge of difficulty, we build the strength, focus, and character that lead to a deeply fulfilling life.
Bragging Board:
Jeb Buffington finished the Age Group Semis for the 45-49 division in 44th place
Matt Link finished the Age Group Semis in the 40-44 division in 140th place
Mary Lubbers completed 5 strict dips!
Natalie Gordon completed her first strict pullup(s) Friday since 2017!!
Jen Wells set a 5k PR at the KSU race on Saturday and then Sunday turned around and hiked 20 miles with Piper!
Welcome New Members:
Edgar Romero
Wes Jetton
Upcoming Birthdays
-April Zahcaris April 14
-Katherine Garey April 15
-Sabrian Melo April 20
-Nicholas Hadley April 23
-Mary Lubbers April 24
-Ken Wysocki April 25
-Casey Linch April 27
-Erin Jones April 28
-Brian Lawler April 30
Upcoming Anniversary
2-Year
-Antony Korah April 14
-Braelyn Barrett April 14
4-Year
-Brooklyn Shaw April 14
-Laura Rutland April 28
-Mary Sanders April 29
-Seth Hamlin April 30
-Ashton Phillips April 30
Upcoming Events our Members are attending:
Atlanta Ga April 26-27th
Challenge: Summer Nutrition Shred Challenge
A Nutrition Challenge that promotes whole food nutrition having you feeling your best heading into summer.
Begin: Monday May 5,
End Sunday June 1. (4 weeks)
Price: $149
*Early bird $20 off ends April 21st at midnight.
Payment link: https://buy.stripe.com/6oE6pL3ZJ3Z1d9efZJ
Discount code for $20 Off: SHRED20
CF Journal Article of the Week: Efficient Training: The 80/20 Rule of Fitness and How CrossFit Maximizes Results with Minimal Time
By Stephane Rochet, CF-L3
The Pareto principle, commonly called the “80/20 rule,” suggests that 80% of outcomes result from 20% of inputs. By prioritizing our efforts on the 20% — the most impactful, critical factors for success in our chosen endeavor— we can achieve most of our desired results rather than getting bogged down in details that detract from the end goal.
In short, Pareto’s principle offers a method for working smarter, not harder, providing an efficient path to the most significant results. CrossFit is Pareto’s principle in action. In the words of Bruce Lee, we’ve “hacked away the unessential” to create a tremendously effective and efficient methodology for developing elite levels of fitness and health. We use intensity, functional movements, variance, mixed-modality workouts, and nutrition to reap maximum benefit in minimum time.
Intensity
Intensity is very effective at producing results. Unfortunately, it’s rather uncomfortable. Other fitness programs will avoid intensity and the “hurt” in favor of more volume — logging long, slow miles on the bike or road and long workouts with lots of lightly loaded sets and reps. Everything feels like Zone 2.
However, counting on the volume of work to get results is a losing gambit. As our bodies adapt quickly to low-intensity work, our only option is to do more. When the 5K run or 20 sets of legs, arms, or shoulders work fails to spur adaptation, we must run longer and add more sets or workouts. Eventually, we run out of time.
When we match getting more work done in a set amount of time or getting a set amount of work done faster with our physiological and psychological tolerances, we are working out at our own current level of intensity. As we get fitter, we will be able to work out at greater intensity more often. This process can continue for years without increasing the length of workouts, the number of days we work out, or how many hours we devote to the gym each day. Intensity’s direct link to our goals is key to CrossFit’s efficiency.
Functional Movements
Training functional movements — squats, deadlifts, presses — is critical because they mimic how we move in life. These movements incorporate many joints and muscle groups that work synergistically to allow us to complete a task — work — efficiently and effectively. More importantly, functional movements allow us to move relatively large loads over long distances quickly.
Think about how far your combined body and barbell weight move in a thruster. You move your body and the bar from the very bottom of a squat to locked-out overhead; it’s hard to move a load much further! And you can knock out reps of thrusters relatively quickly, even with a decent load on the bar. Because functional movements can move heavy weight fast and far, they produce a high power output, which for us is intensity. So not only do they develop all the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints through their natural range of motion, but functional movements can impart a good dose of intensity, causing tremendous, full-body adaptation.
No matter how long and hard you worked, training muscles in isolation would not be able to match the systemic effect of functional movements. Therefore, focusing on functional movements helps drive the efficiency of your fitness success, ensuring every part of your body benefits from the workout.
Variance
In CrossFit, we constantly vary everything. We vary loads, sets and reps, exercises, equipment, and workout length and structure. This variance allows you to build the broadest fitness base possible and forces your body to adapt to your training constantly.
Through variance, you avoid plateaus, address weaknesses, and hit a wide array of fitness qualities that all support each other. Improvements in cardiovascular endurance and stamina contribute to building strength as you can handle a more significant workload on heavy days. Improvements in flexibility permit you to better execute movements like snatches and cleans, developing not only your ability to produce power but also your coordination, accuracy, agility, and balance. Variance creates this training synergy, leading to better results in less time.
Mixed Modality Workouts
CrossFit was a frontrunner in programming workouts that mix weightlifting with gymnastics and/or monostructural activities such as rowing, biking, and running. Before CrossFit, most of us lifted weights on designated days and did our “cardio” on separate days. By segmenting our training in this manner, we missed the incredible results developed when all these modalities are mixed. The first time we ran 400 meters and then breathlessly stepped up to a barbell to do a set of decently heavy deadlifts, we knew we were encountering a different type of workout. What we had stumbled onto, as we combined high-rep gymnastics or fast-paced “cardio” work with traditional weight training, were workouts that delivered a potent neuroendocrine response, causing neurological and hormonal adaptations. Over the years, we’ve learned that the most important adaptations to exercise stem from the hormonal and neurological changes the workouts induce.
Contrary to segmented training or a reliance on isolation movements, CrossFit protocols maximize neuroendocrine responses. As you combine heavy-load weight training with functional movements with short rest periods, high heart rate, and high intensity, your body responds with substantial increases in testosterone, insulin-like growth factor, and human growth hormone. In turn, this hormonal environment fosters amazing results such as increased muscle mass, strength, power, and bone density, among many other adaptive responses, in record time. In the words of Greg Glassman, “It is impossible to overstate the importance of the neurological response to exercise protocols. This is why it is one of the four defining themes of the CrossFit Program, underscoring the significance of our approach to fitness.
Nutrition
Nutrition has always been a key component of the CrossFit methodology. Nutrition forms the base of our pyramid of the Theoretical Hierarchy for the Development of an Athlete. What you eat provides adaptations at the cellular and molecular level to support all your body’s systems, processes, and tissues, which, in turn, support and fuel every type of activity you do.
Our focus on consuming whole, unprocessed foods in the right amounts dramatically enhances your results in the gym. At the original CrossFit gym in Santa Cruz, California, it quickly became apparent which athletes had adopted the Zone diet, consuming quality food in weighed and measured amounts. These “Zoning” athletes would suddenly improve their performance by leaps and bounds, leaving their classmates in the dust every workout. We’ve seen this happen over and over at affiliates around the globe — athletes who dial in their nutrition in terms of the quality and quantity of the foods they eat see their performance and health metrics rapidly improve across the board. This is why nutrition is such an essential part of the CrossFit program and is embedded in our culture. Proper nutrition is a primary factor in CrossFit’s ability to generate incredible results quickly.
Extra Time
It’s been said there is a 10-year window of adaptation to CrossFit. For most, it’s much longer. The constantly varied workouts of tremendously effective functional movements, consisting of weight training, calisthenics, and cardio in intense bouts of exercise, force your body to continually adapt to the stimulus for years. CrossFit delivers a highly efficient training program where a few 10- to 20-minute workouts a week produce incredible fitness results now and over the long term. Without having to toil for hours working out, you’re granted precious time to use your fitness outside the gym in your favorite sports, hobbies, or any challenge you select to nourish your mind, body, and soul.
The Secrets and Science of Mental Toughness | Joe Risser MD, MPH
