It’s Not What You Do, It’s How You Do It. (OPINION)
Programming and training have been talked about to a high degree. People are dropping programming left and right and following different coaches, athletes, brands and sites. If there’s a certain flavor you’re after, you can find a program for it. I say this not to bash or discredit any program, or even to lift another (Full disclosure: As most of you know I’m a coach for Brute Strength.) but just to share my thoughts.
The thing is, training is more simple than you realize. There are coaches out there who will lead you to believe there is an exact formula or a specific method that will get you to the CrossFit Games. This is not true.
Here is what works: to do constantly varied, functional movements, executed at varied intensities while focusing on the basic foundational skill sets that others overlook and moving like a professional. As you do these things, weaknesses will become apparent and as you find them, obsess over them until there are no longer any weaknesses.
Also, when you are not in the gym put fuel in your body that meets the demands of your training and spurs recovery. Understand that at home is where the hardest work must happen to train well all year. We’re running a marathon here, not a sprint.
This works because the magic isn’t in what you do. The magic is in how you do it. Fitzgerald, Khalipa, Salo, Holmberg, Froning, Smith, Fraser (If you don’t know who each of these men are, you don’t know the sport, stop here and go study.) could each release a training program listing exactly what they did to win the title of Fittest on Earth, yet you’d never beat them.
They could provide you with all the info on their diet, their sleep, their rest intervals, their recovery protocols, their favorite workout music, warm up, supplements and clothing line and it simply would not matter. Why?
Because it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.
If I have the opportunity to help mold and shape an athlete’s mind and character and yet never get to program one single workout for them all year, I could still influence them. I say this to point out how important your mind and character are in this sport and in life. Even on the best program, a soft-minded, driven by emotion athlete will quit, find a way “out”, and not seek growth in times of duress.
But even on the worst program a mature, hungry, growth-minded logical athlete will have a chance to succeed on the world stage. A champion sees progress in struggle and in failure, and not an ounce of it is influenced by their selection of movements, rep schemes or rest intervals.
Following someone else to a “T” will not get you what you want. Having a team of the best specialists in the world won’t cut it. But when you have a fire inside burning so bright that a light emits from your soul, you can have it.
When you have bravery to find weakness and face it, you can have it.
When you own each and every action you take, you can have it.
And when you can fully commit to a purpose or a task unapologetically, with no fear of the consequence, you can have it.
Because this isn’t about just fitness, this is about how you achieve anything, and it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.
God bless,
Adrian Conway
Get the Newsletter
For a daily digest of all things CrossFit. Community, Competitions, Athletes, Tips, Recipes, Deals and more.
"*" indicates required fields
