Truth in Principles

I’m a pretty diligent note-taker. Anytime I’m at a seminar or a continuing education course, I basically try to take down as many notes as humanly possible so that I could review the content again in the future and keep it fresh. I don’t trust things to be committed to memory; I know how fallible recollection can be. I prefer notes, numbers, and things that can’t be corrupted with the passage of time and imperfect memory.

I have stacks of notes in my Evernote account from athlete camps, seminars, and courses dating back since the inception of CFD. Hundreds, if not thousands of pages, pictures of slideshows, scanned handouts, you name it. I like to periodically brush through them, and I am always picking up on nuances I missed or finding new purposes for things that may have gone over my head initially. It’s just my method for collecting and retaining information—everyone has their own way, this is just what I prefer.

Something occurred to me the other day while I was reviewing notes from years past. I’m becoming more and more aware of a pattern—things change, science continues to unravel the mysteries of the human body, and we are continuing to progress for the better as an industry. However, the core principles have remained almost completely constant for quite some time.

What WORKS in a food profile is an individualized, measured approach, and what DOESN’T work are all the one-size-fits-all templates that promise fast results.

What WORKS in a program design is thorough assessment, meaningful program design, and consistent execution. What DOESN’T work in a program design is some meaningless template that is executed poorly and/or irregularly.

The GRIND is and will always be king.

The principles behind progress—hard work, dedication, sacrifice, perseverance, and purpose—will never change. HOW it’s all packaged up has always changed and will continue to change. Whatever the diet fad of the moment is—whether it be zone, paleo, whole foods (whatever the F*** that means), counting calories, IIFYM, keto, intermittent fasting, vegan, vegetarian, the list goes on—it all doesn’t matter if there’s no plan or purpose to what you’re doing.

Are you doing it because it seems to be what everyone else is doing?

Keep doing what everyone in the middle of the bell curve is doing, and you’ll end up in the middle of the bell curve.

We are constantly, as an industry, getting smarter about how we’re going about things, but no matter what comes out of the research, we’re never going to come upon a day where it no longer matters to work hard, be dedicated, sacrifice, persevere, and train with a purpose. All of those life hack bullshit empty promises are just out to rob you of your time and money.

Train smart, and train hard. Don’t be fooled into the idea that it will come easy.

Stay the Course <1>

—Coach Phil

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