BURN THE SHIPS: JANUARY EDITION

Burn the Ships: What does that mean?

"Burn the ships" is a metaphorical expression that is often used to convey a commitment to a course of action with no turning back. The phrase is attributed to the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés during the early 16th century.

According to the historical account, Cortés and his men arrived in the New World in 1519 with the goal of conquering the Aztec Empire. Legend has it that once they landed in Mexico, Cortés ordered his men to burn their ships. This symbolic act was meant to eliminate the option of retreat and communicate a clear message: victory or death. The idea behind burning the ships was to remove any possibility of going back, forcing the soldiers to fully commit to the challenging task ahead.

In a broader sense, "burning the ships" has been adopted as a motivational and strategic concept, encouraging individuals or groups to fully commit to their goals, leaving no room for retreat or fallback options. It embodies the idea of facing challenges with determination and resolve, often in the pursuit of ambitious objectives.

Burn the Ships: How does it work?

This idea s 100% inspired by one of our favorite authors and humans, Michael Easter. On the first Friday of every month, we publish a new workout for FH Members.

We do the Burn the Ships workout every Friday of the month. (Don’t sweat if you can’t do the workout Friday—just try to do it some time each week.) . We reveal the Burn the Ships workout on the first Friday of every month.

These workouts are safe and effective. They improve your strength, cardio, movement quality, and—in turn—your life.

We’ll provide scaled versions and exercise swaps, so anyone and everyone can do them.

In other words, we’re pushing edges and improving safely. It’s easy to be hard but hard to be smart.