Psychology

I watch “trainers” nut punch their clients from the top rope again and again, yet if they had just an ounce of data, for example: a way to track volume over time or a $50 heart rate monitor, it would make them think - dear tiny infant Jesus in a CrossFit Onesie what am I doing to this person. This ineptitude or failure to care or grow is the biggest reason I find it hard to train or work in most "S&C" facilities. Don’t get me wrong I think this is part of the evolution of quality coaches.

High Intensity Training might be a cliche choice of words. It’d be more appropriate to reference it as ‘intensity within sport specific conditioning’.

A growing trend emerges the more we consult with athletes and coaches: finding balance between volume and intensity (with intensity being the missing piece).

This title is just not true, but I had to get you here because you probably think athlete monitoring is super cool, but have no idea how it will help you if you don’t have a PhD in Metabolomics and Human Physiology.

1. Unwillingness to Break Habits.

People are habitual. We run on auto-pilot, and when we do we are able to use more brain power for fancy stuff like critical thinking, learning, introspection, and increasing our skills. The problem is habits tend to be deeply engrained and very hard to break, and we are the summation of our actions over time, not one meal or even one fantastic week.

My buddy Jason took me surfing yesterday at Playa Hermosa. He gave me the necessary fundamentals and threw me to the wolves. The result - I got absolutely thrashed by the ocean. I am stubborn as shit so I stayed out there until my arms couldn’t move anymore and in that time I pretty much only caught three waves. But when I paddled my little face off and felt the wave crash behind me I felt the possibilities. I could feel what it was like to harness that power and in that instant I got crushed.

My father takes fishing seriously, he has always had a close-to -insane amount of lures, depth finders, even fish scents, and other fishing gizmos. He catches a lot of fish and is rarely unsuccessful, even in the toughest of conditions. He's been in a boat since before he could walk so there is also alot of intuition there, but when he carves through a river or lake he has never been on his face changes to a serene focus and the tools and tactics come out. Fishing isn't about putting more bait on the hook. It's about watching, listening, and constantly adapting to your surroundings.

Your Psoas and QL are not juvenile delinquents that need to beat with a club and receive 1999 Motorola Razors for Christmas. Muscles just do the job you give them. They take when they have leverage and they get long when they are wrenched out of position. Your tendons hop along for the ride, yet, many think you need to beat them into submission because they are not allowing you to look cool in front of your friends. These therapists search and they destroy. Not exactly who I want touching my body, let alone my psoas. Eeeek.

1. Buy the highest quality ingredients you can find - Eat. Enjoy it. Be Thankful.

• Purchase an Organic Free Range Turkey from Natural Grocers or a Farmer’s Market in your area.
• Use Grass-Fed Butter. It’s delicious.
• Don’t buy canned Pumpkin or canned Cranberries – instead make it from fresh organic ingredients. All can linings are riddled with BPA (derived from synthetic estrogen)

* 2003 National Championship Team (Derek York, Cele Rodriguez, Mohamed Aden, Enrique Guerrero, Josh Merrick, Matt Levassiur, Jesus Solis)