CrossFit Athletic Group

“You’re brilliant, Hermione. Truly.”

“Actually I'm highly logical which allows me to look past extraneous detail and perceive clearly that which others overlook.”

This quote came after the pivotal point in Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s epic Horcrux quest. At the time, they were bombarded with information from endless sources regarding how many Horcruxes there were, where to find them, and how to destroy what they found. In the middle of this chaos, Hermione calmly took a step back to find a solution.

…then Ron had to ruin it by going I’M NOT SAP on everyone. But you get the idea.

Lately things have really been clicking for me from a coaching perspective (better take advantage of it now before I go brain-dead from concussions). I have been noticing that I can find quick solutions to any problem I see in the world of CrossFit – whether that is at the Champions Club, the Day Care, or Mott. Not only that, but this is also starting to translate to the basketball court while coaching the kids at Groves or The Family. I will concede that some of it comes from experience. But I think the predominant reason has been my execution of what I like to call Hermione’s Law – which states that a continuous search for the foundation is the best way to solve problems. For me, this process was ignited by Carl’s book free+style in the Summer, but it really came to fruition during the In-Season Training Manifesto.

The Great Pyramids helped me see a connection between the chaotic world of sports and the formal, structured setting of the weight room. I remember trying to think of something, anything, better than a pyramid to illustrate what I was getting at, but I guess that’s how I see it the best. Pyramid structures can be very contradicting. My two favorite ones (The Family’s and Coach Glassman’s) are read in exact opposite ways, but somehow still get the message across. Aside from the directional confusion, they’ve become horribly cliché because countless writers resort to using a pyramid to cover up for the fact that they are too lazy to come up with something original. But stupid writers aside, the goal for anything is to 1) find the foundation of the pyramid and then 2) develop the best possible understanding of it. Finding the source helps you establish a hierarchy. And seeing a hierarchy and understanding it is critical for finding quick solutions to problems.

Here are some examples of hierarchy in the Champions Club.

Position > movement > purpose

Movement > programming

Excellence > money

Real world > website

Coaching > movement > community

Real food > fake food > supplements

Regular attendees > new attendees > part-time attendees

Here’s a related case study that some might see as confusing, or even offensive – depending on whether or not you are Aly Baringer – but I have thought long and hard about this and I truly believe Ryan Richard is the smartest person I have ever worked with. Not school-wise, or spelling-wise (obviously), but in terms of creativity, quick problem solving, and practical applications nobody come close. It seems to me this is the case because he always thinks at the most primitive, basic level. In fact, I doubt his neocortex has even developed anything beyond that stage – which would explain a lot really. After spending so much time there, he got really good at mastering the basics, and those basics have translated downstream to many other more complicated things. But how does he get there?

10-person GHD? Of course I can make it.

Back in January I was getting ready to take the three-year-olds outside at the Day Care for what was going to be the last time before a giant snow storm. As I was helping with shoes and jackets, I heard the worst possible thing an adult at a day care could hear:

“Is that a fire alarm?”

I turned and saw Johnathan within arm’s length of the red alarm. Son of a…

Me: “Yup, sure is”

Johnathan: “Why?”

This has me all types of confused. First off…who the hell moved the book shelf blocking the alarm? If I ever find out, they will have heck to pay, heck I tell ya. Secondly, as the kid who set if off a few months ago, he should remember damn well that it’s a fire alarm. And thirdly, “why” did not seem to be the proper question there. “What,” “how,” or even possibly “where” could all pass to inquire further explanations. So as to avoid further conversation, I just pretended he wasn’t there and continued on wrangling the minions before they ran into something sharp.

But the entire rest of the day that never left my mind. Why…would he ask why? Then I thought, how else would a kid learn new things? I also remembered hearing from a few adults that kids go through a why phase. Along with other factors, this is how they get to the bottom of whatever it is they are trying to decipher.

Of the trillions of words that’s in the world, “why” may be the most important. Knowing why, in my opinion, is more important than knowing what. Knowing what gives you the answer to one specific thing. Knowing why gives you the answer to one specific thing and tons of other related things.

In the case of Hermione’s Law, it is essential to keep zooming out to find a universal truth. To do this, you simply ask yourself the question, “Why?” Then once you answer that, do it again. And again. And again. Do this until you can’t do it any more – or until the topic no longer relates even remotely to what you are dealing with. When you hit a mental block, one of two things have happened: 1) you have reached a universal truth and the fundamental layer or 2) you can’t answer why, which means you have found the next thing you need to learn. A rule of thumb: if your idea is not a true 100% of the time, you are not at the foundation yet.

Another example could be Dr. Barry Seas and his work with the Zone Diet. He originally started his career as a person that prescribes drugs to cancer patients and developed new medications. But he started to ask the question “Why was this stuff happening in the first place?” In the process of zooming out, he found the central issue for nearly every problem the human body encounters: inflammation. Cancer, arthritis, diabeetus, a sprained ankle, you name it, inflammation is behind it. So this led him to his breakthrough; the only way to truly manage inflammation levels without risking side-effects is through the diet. And the Zone was born.

Lastly, the mental journey of searching for the foundation will give you a much better perspective of what you are doing. With a better perspective you will make better decisions. For instance, when trying to write the In-Season Training Manifesto I kept getting stuck on the issue of running. So I asked myself, “Why is running such a demanding skill in the gym and yet pretty much an afterthought in sports?” Then once I understood that it was the specific setting that made the difference, I asked myself ”Why is running more difficult than a clean?” and “Why is running in a marathon easier than running in a football game?”  As I kept doing this, the hierarchy naturally laid itself out for me. This understanding has helped me look at an athlete and be able to see what they suck at in the grand scheme of things. It’s about setting priorities and understanding the relationship of whatever hierarchy you are dealing with that allows you to make quick decisions and find solutions.

Hermione’s Law is not a real thing (obviously). I just called it that because I am a Harry Potter nerd and Hermione is… well… Hermione. But think of it as a cue. Hermione was not only able to realize a Basilisk fang could destroy a Horcrux, but also the Sword of Gryffindor. She did this by ignoring what was not the actual problem. In a situation where a lot of things were going wrong, this was not easy. This is a skill that can help in things like fitness, sports, school, family life, and social structures. When people get so sucked into their little world, it’s easy to get lost in all of the minor details (in fact, movies and books do this intentionally. If they started at the foundation, there would be no mystery.) Instead they need to zoom out and understand the bigger picture.

When you are in a situation like this, ask yourself, “If I fix this one thing would it fix everything else?” If not, then you need to keep searching. Another way to get it on a smaller stage is to take something random and find a way to make it relate to your category of emphasis. Once you find a similarity, that point is a universal truth. An example would be this mini-editorial where I related Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 1 with CrossFit coaching. Doing this on a larger scale will give you the ability to identify universal and underlying principles and truths and apply them to a unique solution.