WARNING:  Quote carpet bombing incoming

"...scientific theories are not 'derived' from anything. We do not read them in nature, nor does nature write them in us. They are guesses - bold conjectures." - David Deutsch, "The Beginning of Infinity"

"how can knowledge of what has not been experienced possibly be 'derived' from what has?" - David Deutsch, "The Beginning of Infinity"

'Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to understanding ourselves" - Carl Jung

“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” - Carl Jung

“We’ve arranged a society on science and technology in which nobody understands anything about science and technology, and this combustible mixture of ignorance and power sooner or later is going to blow up in our faces." - Carl Sagan

Hopefully that gratuitous use of quotes has primed your mind to relate where I'm coming from with this desperate attempt at collecting my thoughts on programming.

I remember the first time I read into Carl Jung I immediately connected to his work. The book read into how when he was still young he had suddenly realized that his parents were not as novel of individuals as his perception had led him to believe up to that point. He saw them, more or less, as the culmination of events and environments from their lives almost void of conscience intent on the currently expressed persona. In a nutshell, his mom and pops were zombies on auto pilot. Ever feel like that about others as you scan the vacant faces in public places? Getting back on track, Carl realizes that your past can serve as the pallet for which you can choose to create who you are, but only if you awaken to consciousness.

I promise this is about programming, just bear with me here, it's my blog!

Jung's epiphany serves as a segue to another Carl, that of the Sagan. Towards the end of his time Sagan became increasingly aware and repugnant of the blind authority the public gave to scientific bodies led by the government. No one was asking questions yet everyone felt secure in what they knew. Even today we see this. Check any social media page and you will bear witness to everyone preaching the gospel of several hundred "news" websites. Not only did Sagan warn of us not be like the lemming, he also hit the nail on the head how we would rather live with a lie than wrestle with the truth.

           “One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken."

This has gotten to the point in our industry that I have started drawing the parallels we share with religion. You've got your powerlifters, your strongmen, runners, cyclists, sprinters, etc. all born and raised in their gyms (churches), having claimed progress by following the gospel of their coaches and internet gurus (religious authorities), and quick to point at their idols and champions (deities) as to why they are on the righteous path and all others are lost.

So where am I going with all of this? I want you to start asking questions! However, this is incredibly difficult for any developed adult to do despite it's deceptive simplicity. We have been conditioned to not ask, but to simply research, learn, and memorize. Our questioning ability has become very superficial. Relative to the field of exercise we may ask why a coach may program something for 3 weeks instead of 4, why drop 10% off each set instead of 25%, or why 2 rest days instead of 1. These are not real questions as they lead to no better understanding of the subject matter you're wishing to master, they only imprint the instructions on your brain more clearly which furthers hindering you from asking the real questions.

A good question will help you answer the why more so that the what. Being able to answer what makes a good fat loss program only makes you a better employee. However, when you start asking why something makes a good fat loss program then you are taking your first steps towards the journey of mastery.

     "This is what a good explanation will do for you: it makes it harder for you to fool yourself" - David Deutsch, "The Beginnings of Infinity"

*You see me quoting this book a lot here, The Beginning of Infinity. Although it may seem like a book on math, or numbers, it is in reality an entire book on how to ask a question as knowing how to ask questions will keep you on the path of infinite learning, and therefore infinite knowledge*

Anyone who has been present in the same class or seminar with me can testify that when it's time for questions no one asks more than I do. It's even become sort of a joke that the questions portion of the seminar is really just my 1 on 1 consultation time that everyone gets to listen in on (I'm no ass hat though and always make sure no other hands are up before I ask my next question.) I've been chasing down coach after coach for nearly a decade now doing this all in the vein of mastery of this simple craft of writing exercises down on paper. While like anyone who has common sense, which seems to be an uncommon virtue today, I will not say I am anywhere close to mastery I do feel I have asked enough questions to gain a working knowledge of several crucial principles concerning program design.

Not only have I complied my library of books and notes, I also have a history of applying the data to myself. I don't want to start listing out criteria needed to be met for this to be considered meaningful, but I do want to stress that this is a part of the scientific process that a lot of people seem to be missing out on. Make observation, form hypothesis, make prediction, TEST PREDICTION, reevaluate, form theories (which, by the way, are beliefs. Scientific and testable beliefs, but still beliefs with a p-value just waiting for something with a more meaningful p-value to come along and make your belief false....but I'll get on that later). I've had many world class coaches ask why I haven't done something sooner with what I know and my response has always been the same. "I believe to have an opinion, you need to earn an opinion." ....and then I get online and see everyone yelling from the top of their Mt. Sinai....but hey, that's them.

My big picture goal with this blog is to describe the programming I'm using for myself while pursuing progress in a strength sport like strongman, a power sport like the highland games, and an endurance and work capacity sport like crossfit all at the same time.

I can almost feel the number of eyes rolling at that statement

However, if you're still with me, I would like to elucidate on how I do this, what I do, but more importantly, why I do these things. Even if you have no desire to do any of those 3 activities I mentioned there is a good chance you want to do something that requires, or could benefit, from something I do here. Be it how I use the GAS principle in structuring my weeks, the length of my training cycles, how I prep and taper for a contest, or one of the many other aspects that goes into increasing athletic performance I am sure there is something here for everyone. Be that as it may, I would like point that first and foremost this book is for myself, although I would be ecstatic to hear what you take away from it. Likewise, I'm also always up for hearing your (constructive) criticism.  

This will be an evolving blog too. I continue to both host and attend seminars, several of which are in the near future and that will no doubt have an impact on my training philosophies. My training journal will also be posted separately so you can follow along, hopefully coming to understand and appreciate them more as I continue to publish this blog.