Knowledge is power. Everyone has heard this.
I’m here to say that knowledge is power output.
Knowledge, or at least the pursuit of knowledge, is the dividing line between the mediocre and the good, and definitely the good and the great. It isn’t really hard to understand if you apply the principle to the outside world. If you know more than the man or woman next to you, you are more likely to succeed. You are more likely to execute your task in a timely manner therefore demonstrating that you have the capacity to take on greater work loads. In the business arena, this is usually the ingredient to longevity and overall success, giving you entry into higher levels of management and responsibility. When applied to the pursuit of physical excellence, these higher workloads can be found in increased capacities to move large loads long distances quicker and quicker. It means that you increase your power output. The pursuit of knowledge in the realm of human performance is directly linkable to increases in capacity and power output. Or more simply, the more we know or attempt to understand the better we perform and the quicker we progress. This theory evolved out of the observation of the standings from the 2008 CrossFit Games. While admittedly I cannot associate all names with certifications and experience levels, I can guarantee that 4 out of the top 5 men’s finishers are not only highly skilled athletes but possess a wealth of knowledge in the realm of human performance. Jason Khalipa, the Men’s overall champion, is an L1 or higher and owns his own gym, CrossFit Santa Clara. Jeremy Thiel, 3rd Overall, is a very experienced trainer and co-owner of Crossfit Central. Pat Barber, 4th Overall, is a seasoned trainer with HQ. Dutch Lowy, 7th Overall, is a trainer with HQ as well as being an owner of CrossFit A&M. James Fitzgerald, aka OPT, 11th Overall, is an owner of CrossFit Calgary. The correlation between personal knowledge and performance continues throughout the results. There is an undeniable pattern here. That being said, there must be a disclaimer. Are these guys fire breathers? You bet. Their levels of physical capacity possibly surpass the genetic potential of many members in the CrossFit nation. And the endurance of their abilities to execute under stress have been cultivated over long periods of exposure to this type of programming. But that being said these athletes would not have attained their levels of physical performance had they not pursued additional knowledge through continuing education.
Pursuing education on how the human body works, how movements affect it, what hurts, what helps, different ways to be more efficient, all must be counted into the pot when assessing one’s own personal performance. These various tidbits of education coupled with the ability to apply them in real time is the formula for higher levels of performance. You can have all the raw natural physical gifts in the world and maybe can even apply them in real time pretty well, but if you don’t learn how to maximize those gifts you will never reach beyond the levels of average. And if average itself appears to be an unobtainable goal, not pursuing avenues that will lead to success is the equivalent of refusing your own rescue, simply sitting down to die. The work cannot exist solely within the confines of the gym, the learning cannot take place from 4pm-5pm when you show up for your daily dose of CrossFit masochism. If all you want is the suck factor then…go slam your hand in a door for a while. You’ll get plenty of physical pain and psychological anguish. But if you truly want to become a better athlete, a more functional participant of life, once the sweating is over, go online and sign up for some form of certification or seminar or even a competition (competition is its own variety of education) in any form of functional physical endeavor. If that is unobtainable or fiscally irresponsible, get a subscription to the CrossFit Journal or at the very least the Performance Menu and print copies of articles off.
I’m here to say that knowledge is power output.
Knowledge, or at least the pursuit of knowledge, is the dividing line between the mediocre and the good, and definitely the good and the great. It isn’t really hard to understand if you apply the principle to the outside world. If you know more than the man or woman next to you, you are more likely to succeed. You are more likely to execute your task in a timely manner therefore demonstrating that you have the capacity to take on greater work loads. In the business arena, this is usually the ingredient to longevity and overall success, giving you entry into higher levels of management and responsibility. When applied to the pursuit of physical excellence, these higher workloads can be found in increased capacities to move large loads long distances quicker and quicker. It means that you increase your power output. The pursuit of knowledge in the realm of human performance is directly linkable to increases in capacity and power output. Or more simply, the more we know or attempt to understand the better we perform and the quicker we progress. This theory evolved out of the observation of the standings from the 2008 CrossFit Games. While admittedly I cannot associate all names with certifications and experience levels, I can guarantee that 4 out of the top 5 men’s finishers are not only highly skilled athletes but possess a wealth of knowledge in the realm of human performance. Jason Khalipa, the Men’s overall champion, is an L1 or higher and owns his own gym, CrossFit Santa Clara. Jeremy Thiel, 3rd Overall, is a very experienced trainer and co-owner of Crossfit Central. Pat Barber, 4th Overall, is a seasoned trainer with HQ. Dutch Lowy, 7th Overall, is a trainer with HQ as well as being an owner of CrossFit A&M. James Fitzgerald, aka OPT, 11th Overall, is an owner of CrossFit Calgary. The correlation between personal knowledge and performance continues throughout the results. There is an undeniable pattern here. That being said, there must be a disclaimer. Are these guys fire breathers? You bet. Their levels of physical capacity possibly surpass the genetic potential of many members in the CrossFit nation. And the endurance of their abilities to execute under stress have been cultivated over long periods of exposure to this type of programming. But that being said these athletes would not have attained their levels of physical performance had they not pursued additional knowledge through continuing education.
Pursuing education on how the human body works, how movements affect it, what hurts, what helps, different ways to be more efficient, all must be counted into the pot when assessing one’s own personal performance. These various tidbits of education coupled with the ability to apply them in real time is the formula for higher levels of performance. You can have all the raw natural physical gifts in the world and maybe can even apply them in real time pretty well, but if you don’t learn how to maximize those gifts you will never reach beyond the levels of average. And if average itself appears to be an unobtainable goal, not pursuing avenues that will lead to success is the equivalent of refusing your own rescue, simply sitting down to die. The work cannot exist solely within the confines of the gym, the learning cannot take place from 4pm-5pm when you show up for your daily dose of CrossFit masochism. If all you want is the suck factor then…go slam your hand in a door for a while. You’ll get plenty of physical pain and psychological anguish. But if you truly want to become a better athlete, a more functional participant of life, once the sweating is over, go online and sign up for some form of certification or seminar or even a competition (competition is its own variety of education) in any form of functional physical endeavor. If that is unobtainable or fiscally irresponsible, get a subscription to the CrossFit Journal or at the very least the Performance Menu and print copies of articles off.
You can read them on the shitter.
If becoming a better athlete, achieving levels of human performance that those still stuck in the “Land Before CrossFit” only dream of and read about in asinine magazines like Men’s Health, is your goal, act like it and take the initiative. Don’t sit around and wonder why someone is passing you on the whiteboard. Why their loads are getting heavier and yours are not, Why their times are dropping and yours are not. Who knows what they’re doing, if I was you, I’d ask them. And I guarantee that either experiential education or some various episode of learning will be brought up in that conversation. If you are still asking, “What is a medicine ball clean?”, “What is a Push Jerk?”, “What kind of stance should I have when performing certain lifts?”, “What are the points of performance for this movement?” you have no right to bitch moan or complain about why you are not progressing. In fact you deserve to be flogged with a large heavily bound book filled with all the answers. It isn’t like these answers are locked up in a secret hidden vault, trapped in a mystical land guarded by wicked clowns named Pukie and Rhabdo. This knowledge is easily accessible, more accessible than almost any other form of education on the planet. There are no excuses.
I am not saying that you have to be a trainer in order to be a badass athlete, I myself am in no way a fire breather, or even at best a mediocre athlete. But that being said my pursuit of knowledge even just in reading articles from the CrossFit Journal and the Performance Menu has been directly attributable to increased levels of performance in measurable and observable ways. Certifications show you how to teach people and correct others sure, but the biggest thing they do is give you an intensive insight into how you move your own body, and a fire hose approach on how to move it better. But just because you have the alphabet soup after your name doesn’t mean shit, in this endeavor you can learn loads of applicable information without ever having to set foot at a certification. I am also not advocating that you all become some pseudo-philosopher/ scientist on the facets of human performance. But if you want to truly get better and continue progressing, you have to delve deeper. Leave the superficial half assed approach of merely showing up and working out and start actually giving a shit instead of just talking like you do. Start learning, challenge your capacity for understanding human performance and you will find your own levels of physical capacity increase.
The pursuit of knowledge equates to higher power output.
If becoming a better athlete, achieving levels of human performance that those still stuck in the “Land Before CrossFit” only dream of and read about in asinine magazines like Men’s Health, is your goal, act like it and take the initiative. Don’t sit around and wonder why someone is passing you on the whiteboard. Why their loads are getting heavier and yours are not, Why their times are dropping and yours are not. Who knows what they’re doing, if I was you, I’d ask them. And I guarantee that either experiential education or some various episode of learning will be brought up in that conversation. If you are still asking, “What is a medicine ball clean?”, “What is a Push Jerk?”, “What kind of stance should I have when performing certain lifts?”, “What are the points of performance for this movement?” you have no right to bitch moan or complain about why you are not progressing. In fact you deserve to be flogged with a large heavily bound book filled with all the answers. It isn’t like these answers are locked up in a secret hidden vault, trapped in a mystical land guarded by wicked clowns named Pukie and Rhabdo. This knowledge is easily accessible, more accessible than almost any other form of education on the planet. There are no excuses.
I am not saying that you have to be a trainer in order to be a badass athlete, I myself am in no way a fire breather, or even at best a mediocre athlete. But that being said my pursuit of knowledge even just in reading articles from the CrossFit Journal and the Performance Menu has been directly attributable to increased levels of performance in measurable and observable ways. Certifications show you how to teach people and correct others sure, but the biggest thing they do is give you an intensive insight into how you move your own body, and a fire hose approach on how to move it better. But just because you have the alphabet soup after your name doesn’t mean shit, in this endeavor you can learn loads of applicable information without ever having to set foot at a certification. I am also not advocating that you all become some pseudo-philosopher/ scientist on the facets of human performance. But if you want to truly get better and continue progressing, you have to delve deeper. Leave the superficial half assed approach of merely showing up and working out and start actually giving a shit instead of just talking like you do. Start learning, challenge your capacity for understanding human performance and you will find your own levels of physical capacity increase.
The pursuit of knowledge equates to higher power output.
The proof is in the performances.
-whit.
1 comment:
knowledge is not enough, we must apply...willing is not enough, we must 'do'
- bruce lee
having the know-how, know-it-all doesn't do anyone a damn good if you can't/won't display or show it...its the application of knowledge that is powerful.
Post a Comment