THE FIVE T’s

BY KEITH NORRISof Theory To Practice

CONTENTS

Introduction 3

Overview 10

Elements 18

Time 19

Tools 24

Techniques 29

Trademark 34

Temperament 45

Closing 47

The Author 52

1

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTIONThank you for your interest in the Five Ts. It is my firm belief that your honest

and recurring self-assessment of these five simple principles will propel the

effectiveness of your training beyond anything you’ve previously imagined.

In the spirit of full disclosure (and, so as to spare you precious time in reading

something that might not appeal to you), a word of caution: this book has

very little to do with exercise selection, methodologies, skill sets, application

or specific technique. This is decidedly not a discussion on exercise science,

per se, nor is it a programming template of any sort. The underlying

principles of strength and conditioning are vitally important, yet I won’t cover

them in this work.

So it’s not that I don’t think those things are crucial to your training; they

are. But before a trainee can dive into these topics, he must first take a step

back and assess his current situation. In fact, so as to ensure staying clear of

the weeds, even long-seasoned trainees (myself included) must periodically

perform the same reassessment. Simply stated, the Five Ts reassessment

ought to comprise the backbone of the entire training structure.

Ships at sea must continually reckon their current location vis-a-vis their

destination. The ship’s condition and the current weather must also be

assessed. The state of your physical readiness is no different. However, most

trainees simply drift aimlessly in some vague hope of somehow reaching

their goal. This is no way to navigate training’s high-seas; set adrift on a hope

and a prayer is no way to effectively reach port! Using this analogy then, what

4INTRODUCTION

you are going to read in these few pages should be considered your training

sextant; a simple yet powerful tool that, in skilled hands, is an indispensable

navigational aid.

Personal goals (and ship destinations) change. Once a voyage is complete,

the crew then readies and sets sail for another. Physical status and current

conditions change. In fact, the only thing that does remain constant

is change. How you adapt to this inevitable change is critical. Smart

adaptation is, in fact, the single most attribute that’s kept me in the strength

and conditioning game — in fantastic health, coupled with great body

composition — for going on 40 years. Of this I am convinced:

“Only those who are able to adapt to changing scenarios will continue to

survive and prosper. Success is directly proportional to the degree of positive

adaptation to change.”

― Vishwas Chavan

I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be adaptable than singularly

brilliant. Having both qualities is, of course, most desirable. However, if I had

to hedge one way or the other, I’d side with adaptability.

If you’re like most iron aficionados, training is one small (albeit vitally

important) piece of an overarching, high-quality life. But whether it’s work,

family, or social and professional obligations, we are all bombarded by a

plethora of non-training-related life responsibilities. How we navigate these

distractions in relation to our training will define whether or not we are

5INTRODUCTION

successful in the game of Physical Culture. Physical Culture being that which

includes all aspects of one’s physical being in this plane; those aspects that

I separate (for ease of discussion) into four distinct pillars: exercise, diet/

lifestyle, tools and supplementation. Excelling in, or mastering, each of these

four pillars is, in fact, what my blog Theory to Practice is all about.

GOALS

Think of your goals as the flip-side to the Five Ts. Actually, one’s goals and

Five Ts are in more of a yin-yang relationship, or a proximity / tide symbiosis.

How you choose to consider this relationship, though, does not alter the fact

that harsh realities exist, and tough decisions must be made.

For instance, it’s all fine and well to want to put on some serious muscle,

but what if you simply don’t have access to heavy barbells and dumbbells?

Or what if you want to get serious with gymnastic work, but you don’t have

access to proper coaching? Sometimes your Five Ts will require you to rethink

(at least, in the short term) your goals. Other times, your goals will require

you take a harder look at your Five Ts assessment (are you sure you can only

spare 30 minutes a day to work out? Can’t we squeeze in an additional 15

minutes?). Quite simply, it boils down to what you’re willing to sacrifice to

achieve stated goals. There are few shortcuts in life. Ultimately, success is

derived via smart, directed and consistent work.

This much is clear cut, however: goals determine strategies.

Now, the last thing I want you to do is to get hung up in a purely

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manufactured, chicken-and-egg conundrum. Which came first, the goal or

the Five Ts assessment? In reality, it doesn’t matter where you start as long as

two things are defined: (1) the destination, and (2) the best route, given the

circumstance and mode of travel. That’s it. Sounds so simple, right? However,

it’s precisely the “that’s it” part that ultimately hamstrings most trainees. And

that’s where the Five T’s come in, and that’s also why it’s imperative that you

have well-defined, clear-cut goals.

SMALL CHUNKS, VS THE WHOLE ENCHILADA

Numerous dissertations could (and have) been written on the psychology of

successful goal setting, but here’s the most prevalent take-away: small and

incrementally attainable vs global and overarching.

Not that the big picture shouldn’t be kept in mind (you need to know you’re

headed to Paris, not NYC), but your goals should be more like what the hour-

to-hour progress of that journey needs to look like in order for you to reach

Paris.

So it doesn’t matter if your ultimate destination is 100 lbs of total fat loss,

or adding 100 lbs to your squat PR, the idea is the same: small, incremental

victories on the way to winning the war. In other words, attack each 5 lbs

in the weight loss journey; attack each 5 lb increase in the squat. Because

the thing is this: each of those 5 lb chunks may require a re-evaluation of

your Five Ts. Biting off too big a chunk will ultimately derail you and, in the

process, totally discourage you from attaining your ultimate goal.

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So the take-away is this: small, attainable, consistent steps. Reevaluate your

Five Ts. Wash, rinse, repeat. It’s that easy.

A QUICK WORD ON EXERCISE PROGRAMS

I’d like for you to consider exercise programs the same as sheet music, or

cookbook recipes, if you will. They’re not bad, per se (ok, some are much

better and time-tested than others), and they fulfill an intended purpose: to

provide novice and intermediates with guidance. And that’s a good thing!

But you must understand that even the very best programs are created

(by well-meaning, intelligent coaches) to bridge a specific concern at a

particular point-in-time in either their, or their client’s, training life. This is true

of any popular program. Bill Starr’s 5 x 5 (and many of the popular variants

thereof)? One of my personal favorites. Jim Wendler’s 5,3,1? Excellent! …

if you’re looking to gain grind-it-out strength. But what if you’re focus is

purely hypertrophy? Or what if you’re a track and field athlete? Or if you

need to work around an injury? Or if you’re in-season, and you’re looking to

maintain strength? Either of these programs might work, depending on your

current needs. Or, they might be antithetical to your needs. It depends! And

that’s exactly where the 5 T’s comes into play — to help you answer that “it

depends” question.

And here’s a hint: it always “depends”. Context matters. Current situation

matters. Ships don’t reach port without expert navigation.

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So the 30-thousand foot view of the process looks a little like this:

So when it comes to programs, I’d like to see you eventually become a jazz

musician… or a 5-star chef! Riff on the sheet music. With the basic recipe

solidified in your mind, deviate, and make it your own! There will be times in

your training career where, after running a Five T’s assessment, you realize

that (insert popular program) is just what the doctor ordered! But more times

than not, though — especially for more advanced trainees — you’ll need to

riff on an existing program, or create an entirely new program of your own.

Programs are a topic for another time. For now, let’s dive into the Five T’s.

GOALSFIVE T’s

PROGRAM(S)

TWEAKS

TIME

REASSES

SMEN

T

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OVERVIEW

2

OVERVIEWThe science of strength and conditioning is broad and, thanks to an

explosion of credible research since the mid 1990s (much earlier, if we

look to the former Eastern Bloc countries), becoming ever more deep. The

interpretation of this science and its manipulation into actionable, real-world

application is the impetus of what I do at Efficient Exercise and, to a large

extent, define my contributions to ARXFit, Paleo f(x), and ID Life.

This book, however, is not about the latest research. I won’t be discussing

any particular methods, nor will I lay out the latest-and-greatest, guaranteed-

to-put-an-inch-on-your-guns-overnight program. No, this book is less about

science and programs (even effective ones), and more about the ephemeral,

the more philosophical, side of the iron game. This book is written with the

intent of teaching you how to best leverage all of that available knowledge.

Not just today, and into next week — but over a lifetime.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned (and that I am continually fascinated by)

in a life spent in the pursuit of physical fitness, it’s that there is a wide and

oftentimes unnavigable chasm between knowledge and action. The issue is,

quite simply, this: we generally know what to do, but we just don’t ever get

around to actually doing it. Or, we’re struck dumb by the paradox of choice.

So many options! Which one is best?

To be sure there are many reasons as to why this is. And twice as many

proposed solutions. But in my estimation no meaningful action can

ever manifest on a foundation of shifting philosophical sands; no lasting

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blueprint can be drawn with mutable ink. When everything goes to hell in a

handbasket, we need a solid philosophy to fall back upon. We need strong

bootstraps with which we can hoist ourselves back up. Or, as the 7th-century

Greek poet Archilochus said:

“We do not rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.”The “training” that Archilochus speaks of here is physical, yes — but for

the Greeks of that period, “training” also meant mental and philosophical

toughness and readiness.

So this book will not argue the virtues of one fitness protocol, “school” or

technique over another. Really, it is up to the individual to find the best

methodology for his specific fitness goal and how to implement that

methodology (and consistently so) within an otherwise fruitful life. And this

requires being well-versed in the strength and conditioning principles.

But again, knowing the principles is one thing — the leveraging of those

principles effectively in relation to one’s current situation is quite another.

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This “leveraging of those principles effectively in relation to one’s current

situation” happens to be where I have excelled. Putting Theory to Practice,

consistently, over the long haul, is what I do. Consistency, though, requires

adaptability. And I realized early on, the truth in the notion, popularly

(though, as it turns out, erroneously) attributed to Charles Darwin, that

it’s not necessarily the strongest of the species that survive, but the most

adaptable.

So it’s my experience that it is precisely in the consistent integration of

knowledge and implementation where people fail; and fail miserably so. If

you’ve been told that “knowledge is power”, you’ve been lied to. Or at least

not been told the entire story. Knowledge is not power; informed action is

power. Multiply that over time and you’ll win the war by winning, battle by

battle, on the field of consistency.

And let’s not fool ourselves: physical fitness is serious business; it’s not to be

relegated to the “nice to have, but not essential” bin. Pride may goeth before

the fall, but one’s degree of physical fitness is the true “canary in the coal

mine” of life.

Or, as Mark Rippitoe has quipped, “strong people are harder to kill”. I couldn’t

agree more.

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UPWARD AND ONWARD

There are, as you might guess, five elements comprising the Five T’s. Those

elements are:

TIME – how much are you willing and/or able to invest, per week? How much

time per day/session?

TOOLS – what equipment/facilities do you have available to you? A full-

blown S&C facility, or simply nature’s playground and your own bodyweight?

TEMPERAMENT (TENACITY, INTENSITY) – for instance are you more

wood, fire or water? In coaches/trainers, do you respond best to a drill

sergeant or nurturer?

TECHNIQUES – Oly lifts? Gymnastic moves? Can you pull-off a devastating

set of JReps? Can you effectively prescribe and implement a French Contrast

session? Can you effectively mix and match modalities, rep schemes and

tempos according to your goals? Are you simply painting by numbers, or are

you S&C’s version of Jack Pollock?

TRADE MARK (BASECAMP) – Ectomorph? Mesomorph? Endomorph? Ox,

pack mule, or gazelle? John Henry, or Jack Be Nimble?

We’ll dive into each of these elements more fully later, but for now I’d just like

you to become acquainted with them.

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They are, in essence, your strength and conditioning navigational sextant.

And know, too, that volumes could be written on each of these subsections.

My intent here is simply to provide you with the basic idea of the Five T’s, and

to give you an overview of the system.

Notice that these attributes vary in their “mutability”; in other words, one

attribute (trademark, for instance) will remain relatively fixed over a lifetime,

whereas another (tools, for instance) may shift wildly over the same period.

But even those attributes you might think of as being “fixed” have the

potential to change over time. Not that one’s DNA just magically shifts, but

that one’s perception of themselves and of their capabilities can change

over time; sometimes drastically so. I have seen trainees who’d previously

considered themselves ectomorphs or “hardgainers” suddenly begin

to put on substantial muscle once they got a firm handle on the other

four Ts, reestablished realistic goals, then optimized their diet, lifestyle,

supplementation and exercise prescription. In other words, they squared-

away the Four Pillars of Physical Culture alluded to in the introduction, and

quit using the “hardgainer” label as an excuse.

It’s a hackneyed cliche, but also very true: perception is reality. Change your

perception, and you can drastically change your reality and, therefore, your

outcome. One’s Trademark and Temperament may not be as fixed as you

previously thought.

And remember: it’s rarely the “one thing” that triggers a dramatic shift in

potential outcome, but rather a culmination of many small things done with

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the aforementioned consistency. Ultimately, the Five T’s is a method by which

one can maintain a culture of consistent improvement through optimization,

relative to one’s circumstance. This may be a tough pill to swallow in today’s

age of quick fixes. It is, however, a key component of real, and lasting, habit

change.

When I look at the trajectory of my own life, optimal physical fitness has

always been a major component of what has made me who I am. However,

“optimal fitness” has been defined and redefined by my story’s various

stages and chapters. In other words, it was defined differently when I was

a competitive athlete vs when on military deployment. Different in my 30s,

and engulfed in a corporate career vs in my 50s and embroiled in serial

entrepreneurial efforts.

In other words, the same workout protocols and programs that helped shape

me into a savvy collegiate football player were not what I needed to become

an effective, deployment-ready service member. The techniques and tools

had to change according to my goals, environment and available time. What

was once a full-time job (and make no mistake, playing collegiate-level

football is exactly that), now had to be squeezed-in whatever possible time I

had available. Quite a chore, when a typical day’s “time off” boiled down to a

couple tough decisions: grab some sleep or a bite to eat? Because the reality

was, there’d not be time for both.

In my own case, those periods of extended military deployment stymied

any progress in absolute strength I may have gained if I’d remained stateside

and with access to a full-on S&C facility. My simply not having access to

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the proper tools (in this case, heavy barbells, racks and the like) directly

and negatively effected my ability to attack that quality. However (and in

spite of some pretty abysmal conditions) I made some spectacular gains in

bodyweight elements — bar work, ring work, floor work and the like — that

then catapulted my absolute strength gains once I was back stateside and

had access once more to heavy barbells and dumbbells. Though during

deployment, my access to certain tools and available time was diminished,

other options appeared. My mindset and approach (and what would later

became The Five T’s) kept me on track, in the game, and ever progressing.

Remember this: principles trump programs, every time. Learn the

underpinning principles of strength and conditioning, and you’ll never be

limited by mere programs alone. Because the fact of the matter is, no matter

how good the program -- and there are some pretty damn awesome ones

out there (5 x 5, for example) -- you (or your life’s circumstance) will eventually

outgrow it. This is the basis of the Five T’s.

And finally, remember that it’s not the mountains ahead, but that niggling

grain of sand in your shoe that will ultimately defeat you. Clear the shoe, and

the mountain is just another obstacle that can be focused on and overcome.

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ELEMENTS

3

THE ELEMENTSTIME

Of all the elements, the available time to devote to fitness pursuits is the one

factor that limits or completely derails training with the greatest efficiency

and frequency. Time is, if not properly managed, the training destroyer.

Now don’t get me wrong — all of the Five T elements are vitally important in

nailing one’s goals and objectives. However, for just about everyone beyond

college age, time becomes the major factor in constructing a meaningful

and effective exercise program.

In fact, time being the “trump factor” that it is, my partners and I at Efficient

Exercise have built not only entire training concepts around optimizing that

single, critical element, but an entire business model. At Efficient Exercise, we

address the “what’s the one element most responsible for keeping you from

training” question first, then move on to the other 4 elements.

In a training modality sense, my personal answer to the time constraint is

HIIRT (High Intensity Interval Resistance Training). But my Efficient Exercise

clients also have access to some amazing tools that we’ve developed and

incorporated into our studios precisely to help address the time factor.

And we’re constantly shaping, refining and evolving these answers. Ossified

thought is not an option for us. And because goals and life situations are

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constantly morphing, if there is a better way forward for any particular client,

we’ll find it. It’s up to our trainers to find that better way, and help each client

better navigate their Five T’s.

But in most situations, time is still the trump variable. Because the simple

fact of the matter is that you have to be realistic when balancing your goals

relative to your available time commitment. Want to be happy, healthy, have

decent body composition and still have time for demanding work and family

commitments? Yeah, I can give you that in as little as a couple of hours per

week.

But conversely, if you’re looking to be a DI athlete and you’re not willing to

give me 12 hours a week in dedicated commitment, I’m going to have to tell

you to re-think your priorities.

It’s as simple as that.

These are extremes, of course, and there’s plenty of room to operate

between those extremes. There are also plenty of tricks to “sneaking in”

activity that will both increase your fitness and your productivity. For

instance, I like to use my own version of what is essentially the Pomodoro

Technique when I’m in an intensive writing or desk bound period. During my

breaks I can take a brisk “lunge walk”, swing a kettlebell, or knock out a few

reps on the ARXFit. The intent here being to maintain sharp mental focus and,

at the same time, clock some physical work.

My personal workout time expenditure is usually, in an average week, 8 or so

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total hours. But of that 8 hours, only about one-and-a-half hours of that (in

two, forty-five minute sessions) is spent in what I consider to be the upper-

intensity ranges. The balance is what I would consider varying degrees of

lower level intensity, or “play”. Waving intensities and weaving modalities

(training styles/types) is how I like to define this.

But then again, my “play” is what someone else might consider “higher

intensity” work, which leads us into the realm of “Temperament” and of

“Trademark”. For instance, a recent low intensity day for me consisted of

8 rounds of 5 tire flips + 2 broad jumps over the tire, with 1 minute break

between rounds I followed that up with a vast assortment of bar work —

muscle-ups, monkey bars, parallel bars, etc.

But here’s the key as it relates to time and intensity levels: you’ve got to place

a priority on high-intensity work. If all you have is an hour a week to devote to

exercise, make sure that hour is spent doing the highest intensity work you

can handle. Back-fill with lower intensity work and “play” as time permits

(here’s where the Pomodoro Technique can really help). And high intensity

work doesn’t always have to include heaving iron; sprints can work well, too.

But iron heaving is hugely effective, time efficient, and safe. And here’s where

HIIRT-type workouts can really boost your return-on-time-investment.

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So, a few key take-aways as they relate to the Five T’s element, Time:

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR HEALTH? PERFORMANCE? OR SOMETHING IN BETWEEN?

The required amount of intense (and low-level) exercise required to be

healthy is surprisingly little. Move towards the performance side of the

spectrum, however, and things begin to change. High performing athletes

still have to train smart, of course, and they’re still beholden to the same

Five T elements as the rest of us. However, even though there is a definite

diminishment of return on their time investment (they’ll realize 80% of their

end results from the first 20% of time smartly invested), they still have to level

up to keep pace with the pack.

PLACE EMPHASIS ON INTENSITY

In essence, you’ve got to prioritize the highest intensity work you can perform

for the first 30 minutes or so of available weekly time allotment. This is going

to be dependent, too, on the available Tools and Techniques you have at

your disposal. HIIRT and utilization of the Pomodoro Technique throughout

a busy day is my go-to prescription for my ever-under-the-time-gun, Efficient

Exercise clientele.

ALL-OR-NOTHING WON’T WORK

Putting your entire weekly time allotment into one all-out exercise session

is… well, better than nothing, but it’s far from optimal. Try to do something

every day, even if it’s just sneaking in a few Pomodoro sessions throughout

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a long workday. The survival of our species was predicated on daily activity

— to procure food, secure shelter, stave off predators, etc. Our modern lives

are built around the ideals of convenience and comfort, which is in direct

opposition to what we require for health. We just have to realize that modern

life is set-up this way, and extract the good from this arrangement, while

devising best-practice work-arounds to avoid the negative effects.

So now that we have a good feel for managing Time, let’s move on to the

next element: Tools.

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TOOLS

Imagine you’re a gifted carpenter. A true craftsman. Do you have access to

a full-on, newly equipped workshop? Or are you stranded on-site, with little

more than a handsaw and framing hammer? You may be the most skilled

carpenter around, but what tools you have access to will greatly affect what

projects you ultimately undertake, and what that end product looks like.

So we covered time in the preceding section, and this section we’ll take a

look at tools. In other words, what S&C equipment you have (or don’t have)

at your disposal. Because the reality of life is this: if your goal is to be, say, an

elite-level power lifter, but all you have access to is bodyweight and monkey

bars, you’ve got a serious disconnect to contend with.

Now, maybe your answer to this disconnect is to “do whatever it friggin’ takes

to gain access to the proper equipment”, and to that I say, rock on. Don’t let

anyone tell you anything is impossible. In fact, this is an integral part of the

Five T’s assessment — determining how and to what extent you’re willing to

change your life’s situation in order to reach your goals.

But what you do in the meantime is also very important. Because the ol’

“I’ll get started when…” mentality is death itself to any dream. “I’ll get started

when (fill in the blank)…I have a real squat rack, my job lets up, the kids are

older, it’s not so hot / cold / wet / windy outside…”

You get the idea. No more direct route to dream kill than “I’ll get started

when”.

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But remember: your goals are meant to be viewed through the lens of your

Five T’s. There’s a natural give-and-take, here; Yin and Yang. In other words,

the internal discussion may go something like this -

My ultimate goal is to be an elite level power lifter. However, right now I

simply don’t have access to the proper equipment. My first vow is that this

is a temporary situation for which I will find a fix. But until then, I do have

access to my own bodyweight, a grass field and rudimentary bars and such.

That being the case, I’ll give serious effort toward building full range-of-

motion strength and joint health, mobility, stability (i.e., core strength); I’ll

become a master at controlling my body in space.

Sometimes the goal needs to be reduced to more manageable pieces —

something the Five T’s can help you with for sure. Because, remember:

the goal + Five T’s union is meant to be an on-going conversation, not

just something that you revisit once a year. I continuously (though I don’t

even realize that I do it now) run through this check-and-balance daily.

And so should you. Life is gonna throw you some curve balls, my friend;

pure, unmitigated junk, actually. You can either be nimble and navigate

accordingly…

Or…

…quit training entirely, waiting for the next “I’ll get started when…” scenario

to come together. And we both know that’s never going to happen. Ever.

Here’s a bit of “I’ve been there before” wisdom: something will always be in

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the way. Your training situation, relative to your goals, will never be ideal. Deal

with it.

Skyler Tanner clued me in to the fact that this continual evaluation / re-

evaluation process is very similar to Toyota’s “5 Whys” of problem solving.

And so it is. And my Efficient Exercise partner Mark Alexander suggested

I should add a 6th T — Trajectory — to cover the wash, rinse, repeat nature

of this evaluation/re-evaluation process. I like it, but damn! Musashi wrote

The Book of Five Rings…not six! Ughhh! I’m not built to deal with branding

problems…

And as a further aside, Ann Wendel suggested I add a 7th T — Tequila — to

facilitate the all-important thinking outside of the box that’s required during

the evaluation / re-evaluation process. Right on! An astute call, I think!

Ok, back on track, now.

Listen, I feel your pain on this “lack of resources” dilemma. I’ve had the

privilege of training in some of the finest S&C facilities of their time anywhere,

and have either worked along side, or been coached by, the finest in the

business. But I’ve also trained with scant equipment aboard an underway US

Naval warship (USS South Carolina, CGN 37) and continued training (months

at a time, while on military deployment) when all I had available was my own

bodyweight, rudimentary chinning bars, and a crude approximation of what

would later be called a TRX system. The food sucked, the stress was through

the roof, and sleep was essentially non-existent. I’ve got a nice little story of

picking up the “mother of all bad-ass parasites” while in the Middle-East, a

26ELEMENTS

bug that nearly killed me. Buy tequila rounds sometime and I’ll tell you all

about it.

Anyway, the point is this: I used what I had at my disposal, re-adjusted my

goals, and kept on training. Where there is a will, there is a way. It’s hackneyed

all-to-hell phrase, but it’s true. Through it all, I kept…friggin’… training. I kept

the table set, and I adjusted my goals to get good at what my tools dictated I

could get good at. These deployment periods weren’t the time to fret about

upping my deadlift max. It wasn’t going to happen. But I could sure as hell get

better at bodyweight exercises, and that’s exactly what I focused on. And you

know what? Even though gymnastics is well outside of my wheelhouse, I got

pretty damn good at bar and strap work. And when I did get back to a real

gym, not only did I appreciate the hell out of it, but I found that I’d lost very

little conventional strength. How the hell did that happen?

By keeping the table set, kiddos. It works. Really, it does.

And get this: to some extent, having narrow choices is a good thing. Flip this

around to the positive view that you won’t be stymied by excessive choice

paralysis. Less can be more. Embrace that idea, and prosper.

Below is a nice little “time and tools” example. Even though I have just about

every imaginable tool available to me at Efficient Exercise (and time, these

days, is not so much an issue for me), occasionally I do run into a jam. Today

my partner trainer, Lesley, was training clients during the only window in

which I was going to be able to grab a quick workout. I didn’t want to be in

the way, so I relegated myself to a barbell and our ARXFit horizontal machine.

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I could have gone a million ways here, but taking into account what I’d done

the last couple of days, I did this very simple — though highly effective —

combo. It took all of twenty minutes, left me taxed, and put a big smile on my

face.

▶ A1) ARXFit horizontal chest press x 2 (think decline press)

▶ A2) barbell hang clean: 205 x 5

▶ 3 rounds

And by the way, I’ve done the same workout subbing weighted dips for ARXFit

presses.

In rounding out this section I’d ask you to consider this thought, from Robert

A. Heinlein:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher

a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build

a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act

alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a

computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is

for insects.”

Now, let’s not get totally hamstrung by cognitive dissonance here. If you’re a

competitive athlete, you’ll have to specialize. But for the remaining 99.9% of

us out there? Build a bigger tool belt. Specialization is, in fact, for insects.

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TECHNIQUES

So we’ve discussed the Time and Tools portions of the Five T’s, and now it’s

time to consider the next aspect: Techniques.

What exactly do I mean by “techniques”? Well, in broad stroke terms,

“techniques” covers one’s proficiency in a wide range of applications;

essentially, a distillation of knowledge into application and execution. For

example:

▶ Proficiency in executing various movements (Oly lifts, as an example, or a

solid squat)

▶ The ability to target / isolate a particular muscle group (the “mind / muscle

connection”, if you will)

▶ Proficiency in various exercise modalities and techniques (the application

/ integration of JReps is a good example here, or utilization of various pre-

exhaust techniques)

▶ Knowledge and application of proper programming in general, or efficient

and effective “surfing the curve”

▶ Maintaining a proper balance between flexibility, stability, and mobility

There is much, much more of course, and this is not to be taken as an

exhaustive list by any means; rather, just something to get you thinking in the

right direction. I’ve been at this 38+ years and still come across things I could

add to this list. And so an additional bullet point here should be:

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▶ The ability and desire to continue learning

And too, it’s more than the nuts-and-bolts specifics of those items listed

above; it’s the knowledge of when to apply those methods and methodologies.

In other words, 5 x 5, 531 and APRE are fantastic programs, but when is it

time to move beyond those? And the better question might be, when is it not

time to move beyond? “Program hopping” is a huge detriment to progress.

Sometimes the answer is more about grind, and consistency, and less about

the next new thing. Even if that “new thing” is actually, technically, a better

thing.

For example, a new trainee may be better off following a simple linear

periodization program, and not muddy the waters by jumping too early into

an Autoregulation format. And this from “Mr. Autoregulation” himself! One

must keep in mind that, oftentimes, what looks like a more “progressive”

program is really just an a needless over complication of a simple to

understand (and apply) truth. Again, principles always trump programs.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: a lackluster program pursued

consistently, and with unbridled passion, will out perform the best

programming available pursued half-heartedly.

And here’s something you should know as well: Techniques is the most

diverse and all-encompassing subdivisions of the Five T’s, and covers, as well

in-the-gym techniques, a whole host of lifestyle issues that are a must to

get a handle on if one is to make the most of his genetic hand. For instance,

a trainee also needs to be very adept at recovering following a workout

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— primarily via ample rest and proper nutrition. And not just following an

individual workout, mind you, but over an entire training lifetime. What’s

more, the trainee must be able to properly recover even while juggling real-

life stress as well. And that, my friends, is no easy task. Ironically, recovery

requires, well… hard work and dedication!

Proper use of heart rate variability (HRV), sleep monitors, relaxation

techniques (float tanks, biofeedback, etc.), if properly used (and not obsessed

over), can greatly aid recovery and, hence, one’s progress and overall health.

Again, if you can add these tools without obsessing over them, then use

them. Don’t let the curation of data further undermine you, though! You are

the master of the technology and data, not the other way around!

Which is the perfect segue into proper use of biohacking techniques. And

properly dosed supplementation. You can see how this rabbit hole rapidly

expands; a rabbit hole that is, by the way, well beyond the scope of this

particular piece. And really, exploring these rabbit holes in depth is what the

Theory to Practice blog is all about.

Techniques, then, is a very broad category, and I’ve designed it to act as the

bridge Five T subdivision for all the Five T subdivisions. Think of it as the root

that the other four flower from. As such, it acts as the conduit of my Four

Pillars of Heath ideal (smart exercise, proper lifestyle / dietary choices, proper

leveraging of technology, and intelligent supplementation) into the Five T’s.

And a quick word about the Four Pillars: I believe so fervently in each of these

pillars that I’ve either created or aligned myself — not only in heart, body and

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soul, but financially as well — with businesses that encapsulate, individually,

each one of those four pillars. Those are:

▶ Efficient Exercise – intelligent exercise programming and prescription

▶ ARXFit – leveraging 21st century technology to achieve the pinnacle of

performance

▶ Paleo f(x) – the optimization of diet and lifestyle for health, fitness and

longevity

▶ ID Life – pure, ethical and scientifically supported supplementation

So, again, many particulars fall within the domicile of Techniques. Actual

lifting and modality technicalities are there, for sure, as well as programming

acumen. But Techniques also houses the more esoteric, hard to grasp issues

such as recovery, supplementation and, above all, compliance.

And what do I mean by compliance? I mean consistently putting all that vast

amount of knowledge that is available (and most of it, for free) to work for

you. Because, let’s face it: all the knowledge in the world will do nothing for

you unless you can actually implement that knowledge consistently. You’ve

got to actually execute the game plan, every day.

In fact, if I had to find the one factor that is imperative to success in all things

Physical Culture it would be just that: smart work, performed consistently;

executing the game plan, everyday.

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Quite simply, you’ve got to do the work, my friend. And do it intelligently.

Excellent health is much like freedom — you have to be ever vigilant and

willing to fight for it.

That said, the tenants of excellent health are not hard to master. In fact and,

especially so in the case of health and fitness, complexity is the enemy

of execution. If there are too many dials to turn, you’ll simply default to

turning none at all. Master the basic deadlift before worrying about banded

speed deadlifts. Progress through a basic 5 x 5 before delving in to undulating

periodization. Get some blackout curtains before dabbling with a sleep

analyzer. You get the idea.

Remember: knowledge does not automatically, confer wisdom. Wisdom is

the ability to leverage the correct knowledge at the appropriate time, and the

ability to repeat that action with consistency, over the long haul.

Now, let’s move on to Trademark.

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TRADEMARK

The other key (in addition to consistency) to mastering any endeavor

— and maybe the key to mastering life itself — is finding the proper

balance between Socrates’ dictate (paraphrased) to know thyself, and the

epistemocratic ideal of holding one’s own knowledge in greatest suspicion.

Enter, then, the Five T subsection Trademark; the trademarked material being

you. The blood, guts, muscle, ligaments, connective tissue, CNS wiring, you.

And, yes — there is enough difference here to separate this subsection from

it’s more ephemeral sister, Temperament.

And we’ll get to Temperament a little later. For now, let’s focus on the

material you; essentially, how you’re built, wired, and what you’re good at

from a biomechanics, engineering and adaptive point of view. Are you an

endomorph? Ectomorph? Mesomorph? Or are you (much more likely) some

hybrid thereof? Are you a sprint / power tiger, or an endurance bunny?

We all tend toward some direction here. The key is to find that direction and

exploit it for all it’s worth — if (and again, we’ll get to this in a bit) — your

temperament supports it. But we also need to be mindful of what we suck

at as well, so that we can better armor that weak underbelly. Because in

doing so, we’ll become even better at our natural inclination. It’s a hackneyed

phrase, but all to true: we’re only as good as our weakest link.

It’s safe to say though that, across the board, everyone — no matter how

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they’re put together, wired and motored — could better themselves in a

physical sense by becoming stronger. Yes, even endurance athletes. And, too,

work capacity is something you could never have too much of, even for sprint

/ power / strength types.

Eventually though, improvements in such things as even basic strength

come down to a maximum return on time investment question. I’d like to

have 10 more pounds on my squat, but (a) how much is that going to help

me in reaching my overall goal, (b) how much time is that going to require

per session and per week to accomplish, and (c) what’s the recovery cost

of me making a run for that additional 10 lbs? Maybe I’ll have to settle for a

subpar squat in order to maximize mobility (or speed, or quickness, or grip

strength…) and that is, vis-a-vis my goal, the biggest return on investment I

can make.

A quick aside: from what I’ve seen, work capacity (or lack thereof) is the

other most prominent (along with basic strength) weak underbelly of most

trainees. Workout frequency is a function of recuperative ability (and workout

intensity, of course), which is positively effected by increasing levels of work

capacity. The problem is that building serious work capacity takes time, and

time is something that most folks beyond college age are either unwilling

or unable to part with. I get that. In fact, and as I’ve mentioned previously,

my partners and I have created a whole business model (Efficient Exercise)

around circumventing that issue.

Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell likes to say that the base of the

performance pyramid is made of strength and work capacity, and on this

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note he is exactly right. And in my mind (but to a lesser degree), strength and

work capacity form the base of the health pyramid as well.

But again, and as covered in the Time portion of the Five T’s, you’ll have to

pick your battles wisely. Being a professional athlete is one thing. Your job,

24/7 is to be just that — an athlete. And this is something that I still struggle

with. Prioritization is tough for me, even now, because I do remember, and

fondly so, when it was my job (for sure in college, and to a slightly lesser

extent, in the military) to be the best athlete possible. Ok, so I was supposed

to be a good student as well, but let’s face it — my priority at that time was

on being the best athlete possible. Most of us beyond college age are slaves

to another grind, though, and don’t have unlimited time to spare (hence our

Efficient Exercise HIIRT protocol). Nor do we have unlimited recuperative

ability or a sky-high work capacity. Just as in coaching exercise technique, we

have to pick the most glaring error and concentrate on mixing that — while

not letting the “corrected” stuff degrade.

Toward that end, I don’t mind stealing a few riffs from Louie Simmons and the

boys at Westside, and conjugate my own training, and that of my clients. And

no matter what your particular Trademark is, you should too. To be whole

physical specimens, we need to mix things up. Max effort and dynamic effort

work. Bodybuilding, conditioning, corrective and, if need be, skill work. We

need adequate mobility and we need to address limitations there. Waving

intensities and weaving modalities ought to be our number one priority. And

we’ll need to include exercises and modalities we don’t particularly care for.

Because the real danger is doing, over-and-over again, the things you are

good at. What’s the danger in that, you ask? Biological accommodation, kids.

36ELEMENTS

Which means you’ll eventually stall, and even backslide. You have to learn to

train around your strong suit and through your weaknesses.

I’ll use myself as an example. My trump card has always been work capacity,

recuperative ability, and strength and power endurance. I’ve said before

that I’m never the strongest in the group, nor the fastest, but that I can grind

at a pretty high level of both qualities, without dropping off the map, for a

long period time. This, together with “nose for the ball”, made me a fairly

respectable football player. If I were a fighter, I’d just wear-out the strong/

explosive types, and over-power the endurance guy in the later rounds.

Work capacity is something that I love to train. Prowler pushing, farmers

walks, repeat sprints, repeat strength and/or power bursts at 75 – 85% 1RM?

Hell yeah, all friggin’ day long. That’s right smack-dab in my wheelhouse.

But relatively speaking, what I lack is (primarily) absolute strength, and

(secondarily) instantaneous, explosiveness. These are the two areas I need

to train through. And I don’t always do it because I don’t have a coach forcing

me to do the things I don’t particularly like doing because I don’t excel at

them. And, I can use the excuse that I’m no longer competing, so why work

that stuff? Why not do what I enjoy doing now? Things that I’m good at?

Precisely because something is holding your progress back. And more than

likely, that something a weak link that you’re not particularly comfortable

training. Now, I’m not saying not to train your strong suite — absolutely not

— hit it, and hit it hard! I’m simply saying that you have to have the mental

fortitude (or will; dedication to craft) to identify and bolster your weaknesses.

Yes, because a modality’s not being in your “trademark’s wheelhouse” is all

37ELEMENTS

the more reason why you ought to not to shy away from it. Placing, instead,

an emphasis on training those qualities.

Here’s an example of Trademark in practice:

My calves have always been pretty big, even without ever really emphasizing

them in training. Hell, to be honest, I rarely, if ever, isolate them in training.

Relatively long muscle bellies with shorter tendon attachments make for

that. The same holds true for any muscle in the body, but in the calves we

can see this most radically played out. The downfall of this design? Less

“springy” tendon material for speed production.

Conversely, I have a good friend I played football with in college whose lower

legs were (and still are) mostly tendon, connective tissue and bone. What

scant muscle was there lay balled high above the ankle — the classic high-

calf, sprinter’s look.

We took great jock-joy in making fun of his spindly little pogo sticks in the

weight room, or when just hanging out wearing shorts. On the field though,

where those long lower-leg tendons made for super-efficient springs; he was

one of the fastest, most explosive backs in the nation. He went on to make

money on Sundays, and bagged a Super Bowl ring with the Redskins while I

went into the military. Enough said.

So this “high calf” trademark is common with elite sprinters, of course; and

for good reason. Check out Usain Bolt’s calves sometime. Longer tendons are

38ELEMENTS

a HUGE advantage for sprinting and jumping, which is why the lower legs of

fast animals like cheetahs are also mostly tendon.

However, a low muscle / tendon ratio is a huge DISADVANTAGE for growing

bigger, more muscular calves. There’s just less raw material there to work

with from the start.

Which is not to say that you can’t increase the size of a short-bellied muscle

— you most certainly can! But consider doubling the size of a golf ball vs

doubling the size of a softball and you can begin to appreciate the relative

size increase of a muscle given it’s starting mass and volume.

The point to all of this? Make the most of the talents and raw material you

have. Assess your strengths and weaknesses, and train accordingly.

So the above example speaks to the ratio of muscle belly to tendon length

when considering the entire muscle / tendon complex. Essentially, more

beginning raw material (muscle), the more size potential. More tendon

equates to more “spring” potential.

But that’s only one piece of a much larger puzzle. We also have to consider

the fiber makeup of the muscle and the characteristics of the central nervous

system.

For our purposes, we can classify four different basic combinations of

fiber and neurological (CNS) characteristics, and those combinations go a

long way toward determining one’s athletic and / or growth (hypertrophy)

39ELEMENTS

potential. For instance, people with more fast twitch muscular systems

more easily gain strength and mass, and do so at an accelerated rate.

People with more “excitable” nervous systems move faster, and make better

power athletes — if, that is, they have the supportive muscular and skeletal

structure.

I’ll use the term “excitability” here to refer to neurological characteristics that

tend toward an ability to speed rate coding and accelerate the rate of force

development (RFD). Athletes with unusually fast hands or feet compared to

their peers are in this group. In layman’s terms we’d say these athletes have

exceptional central nervous systems.

So ideally, a power sport athlete would come equipped with a fast-twitch-

dominant muscular system, an “excitable” nervous system and solid, well

proportioned skeletal structure / lever system. This group (depending on

the more ethereal “temperament” qualities) are your natural power / repeat

power athletes. These folks make easy hypertrophy gains, and also tend to

be naturally explosive and “graceful”.

The following are the various basic combinations of muscular / nervous

systems and the traits of each:

Note: rare indeed is the person who falls completely into a single category.

Think of these more as a spectrum than defined boxes.

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FAST TWITCH MUSCULAR SYSTEM, EXCITABLE CNS

We discussed this combination a bit in the previous paragraphs. This is the

realm of the natural athlete: that individual who responds exceedingly well

to weight training and who readily transfers added strength into increased

power production. Both instantaneously, and with repeatability. The majority

of professional athletes fit into this rarified group. As the ratio of potential

improvement is lowest with speed work, these types typically benefit the

least from things like plyometric training because they already move so

fast and the room for improving these qualities (increased RFD, movement

proficiency, agility) is narrow compared with potential sporting performance

gains that come with added strength. Which, by the way, they’ll also gain

readily. Hate them already, right? On a serious note, the main training focus

with this group eventually becomes identifying / fixing imbalances, and

injury prevention. With an ability to make such rapid progress, this group’s

weight room return-on-time-investment is exceedingly high. This means that

(all other things being equal) they have even more time than the “average”

athlete to invest in skills acquisition and honing, thereby lending to an

exponentially compounding dominance in their sport of choice.

FAST TWITCH MUSCULAR SYSTEM, NON-EXCITABLE CNS

Here we find the oxen of the sporting community. Football offensive linemen

and strongman competitors; the strong and muscular, though (relative to

the above group) slow. These individuals likely will have a very easy time

gaining the required strength they need, but will need to spend more time

(depending on their athletic goals) working on various speed-strength and

41ELEMENTS

plyometric drills to improve rate of force development. For those concerned

with body composition or making competitive weight classes, this group will

be challenged with cutting body fat and staying lean.

SLOW TWITCH MUSCULAR SYSTEM, EXCITABLE CNS

Exceptional dancers, martial artists and “movement specialists”. These types

are naturally frail, yet possess good natural quickness; thin and not very

strong (in a traditional sense), but potentially very explosive (excellent power

/ bodyweight ratio). As an extreme, think Bruce Lee. They may not actually be

skewed toward being slow twitch at the fiber level, they just don’t have much

natural muscle fiber to work with. Here is an extreme example of the small

muscle belly / long tendon friend of mine discussed above. The challenge

with these people is getting them strong without overtraining them. Even

though they may be naturally good at longer sprints, middle distance and

endurance activities, they have good nervous systems, so tend to respond

really well to increased strength and size. However, they tend to have weaker

endocrine profiles (specifically, testosterone and stress hormone profiles),

and may have issues recovering from strenuous / frequent intense workouts.

Interestingly, many elite high jumpers fall into this group and it’s a good

example of how a favorable nervous system and skeletal structure can

compensate for a lack of favorable fast-twitch fiber content. I’d also put the

Olympic sprinter Allyson Felix in this profile group. And it’s also the realm

of the “shocker” athlete — that pudgy guy or gal who looks entirely non-

athletic, but who can friggin’ MOVE and MOTOR with style, grace, and fluidity.

These people can respond very well to strength programs, but need to be

consistent and very patient over the long haul.

42ELEMENTS

SLOW TWITCH MUSCULAR SYSTEM, NON-EXCITABLE CNS

Lastly, one can have a slow twitch oriented muscular system with a slow

twitch oriented nervous system. Despite shortcomings at both ends, these

types have a relatively easy time staying lean, and they respond favorably

to a well-rounded strength and conditioning program. Most distance

athletes reside in this group. Also, it is possible to have predominantly

slow twitch fiber characteristics, but still be relatively “big”. Some larger

NFL quarterbacks (Philip Rivers and Tom Brady, for example) and many

NBA centers. These types require frequent exposure of movement work

or they simply won’t move well at all. That said, this group needs more

sports specific movement work than other types. Essentially, if they want to

compete, they’re going to have to put in a hell of a lot more work than the

other types.

SO, HOW DOES ONE DETERMINE HIS TRADEMARK?

Again, it should be stressed that most trainees will be a predominant mix,

rather than a “pure type”. And too, we can’t forget about skeletal structure

and the skeletal system as a whole; favorable lever arms relative to the sport

/ activity of choice. 5’9” basketball players and 6’5” Olympic lifters are rare

indeed.

On the CNS side of things, if you tend to be “more strong than fast” you’re

most likely more slow twitch at the neural end, with a favorable muscular

and skeletal system. Take a look at how your strength, speed and agility

compares to real world performances in sprints, jumps, agility tests etc.

43ELEMENTS

Looking for some real-life standards? Here’s a great place to start:

http://paleofx.realfitdata.com/

In the muscular composition realm, just ask yourself a few questions:

1. How much muscle do you carry naturally?

2. How strong are you naturally?

3. How quickly do you make strength and size gains relative to others?

Fast twitch dominant people make significant strength gains with less effort

than most and don’t lose their strength or overtrain easily.

Still not sure where you fall? Select a couple basic compound exercises

(squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, etc.). Put 85% of your max on

the bar, and do as any reps as possible. If you get more than 8 reps you’re

more likely to tend toward slow twitch dominance. If you notch less than 5

you’re more likely to lean fast twitch.

But in the end, placing yourself in one of these four categories is not

nearly so important as knowing yourself. Get a grasp of your strengths and

shortcomings, and train accordingly.

Which leads us to Temperament, the subject of the following section.

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TEMPERAMENT

When folks hear the word “temperament” associated with strength and

conditioning, they immediately think of qualities like tenacity, doggedness,

want-to, desire, intensity, and the like. And these qualities are important, no

doubt. Especially so if someone is leaning more toward the competitive side

of things. But these shouldn’t be the exhaustive list we need to consider

when rolling through our Five T’s assessment. Because the fact of the matter

is, our overall style of training is (or ought to be) dictated by our underlying

being, our nature; in other words, yes; our temperament.

Charles Poliquin speaks of the five elements when assessing a client/athlete’s

phiso-psychological make-up. And within that vein, it is vitally important

that I make a connection very early on with a client to learn what they need

from me to help them achieve their goals. Some need a rah-rah cheerleader,

some need cold logic and facts. Some need an in-your-face challenge and

drill sergeant, while others need gentle coaxing and self-assurance through

each baby step along the way. And before we stereotype, let me just say that

I’ve worked with plenty of athletes who were in the gentle coaxing / in need

of self-assurance camp, and plenty of soccer mom’s who’d fire off a “is that all

you got mutha f*ucker?” following a particularly tough session.

Side note: I’d recommend anyone wanting to study the human condition

get the hell out of school and train / coach or bartend. There is no better

education in practical psychology. Conversely, I’d advise anyone wanting to

delve into the training / coaching profession read all you can in the field of

psychology and habit change. For instance, one of the best books I’ve ever

45ELEMENTS

read regarding coaching (although it was not necessarily intended for that

field) is Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow.

And, too, a client’s wheelhouse training method needs to be in alignment

with his particular “element”. This type of element casting may sound very

woo indeed, but I can tell you it plays out in every client I train. By the way,

personally I seem to be a mix of fire and earth...and my training methods and

style reflect this mix. This is part of the art of coaching that perplexes those

who insist that every aspect of this game can be reduced to logic, science

and numbers. It can’t, because human beings are these damn bewilderingly

complex entities.

Teaching by way of myth and analogy (shameless self promo, here) also

get’s the woo-averse to nearly lose their lunch. But the fact of the matter is,

it works -- for certain types. I get a hell of a lot of good mileage out of “Grok”

and “Milo”, “metal” types be damned. Of course, these “metal morons” are

the same type who will gladly trade gym time for inane internet argument

over “the best” lifting protocol, or hoover Twinkies while rounding-up

evidence that Grok might have endured a handful of wild grain from time-to-

time. These types somehow can’t fathom the idea of staving off starvation vs

optimal nutrition.

So yes, this health and fitness game of psychology...and, like life itself, it *is*

a game of inches. It’s about stringing together a series of small positive steps

that result daily wins. And it’s the job of the trainer / coach to navigate that

process effectively.

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CLOSING

4

IN CLOSING…So there you have it. You now have the blueprint for longevity in the iron

game.

Remember this: Your goals will change, your life situation will change and

yes, your body will change. Programs, tools and methodologies abound

and these, too, will continually flow into and out of vogue, and into and out

of your life. In short, the only constant in your life will be change; how you

respond to that inevitability will ultimately determine your long-term success

in the realm of physical culture. And, I would argue, in life itself.

Tides and seasons, rain and drought; the inevitabilities of life.And, if we’re not mindful, this inevitability of change carries with it the

potential to create serious distress in the type-A, driven, goal-oriented beings

we are, as it flies in the face of our need to design for the future, to forecast,

to predict and plan. We want to manipulate the environment so that we can

better affect the future. We want control. Trouble is, any control we may have

over the current situation is fleeting at best and, at worst, any semblance of

control is simply an illusion. But not to worry; here, too, the Five T’s can help.

48CLOSING

Think of the Five T’s as the north star pointing to the kernel of truth that lay

at the Venn diagram intersection of the following 3 statements. Each of them

“true” in their own way… just not, of their own, the entirety of the story:

If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.- Benjamin Franklin

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.

- Dwight D Eisenhower

Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.

- Mike Tyson

Personally, I square the Venn intersection of these 3 bits of wisdom with a

little bit of my own:

“Plan seasonally and according to your unique latitude. Work according to

the day’s conditions and immediate needs.”

49CLOSING

But just like every great tactician who has ever lived — be they general,

coach, politician or CEO — we have to be ready and willing and able to

alter our plans as need be. Remember Vishwas Chavan’s quote from the

introduction?

“Only those who are able to adapt to changing scenarios will continue to

survive and prosper. Success is directly proportional to the degree of positive

adaptation to change.”

Now this puts us squarely in the realm of programming and program design

(which, again, I won’t delve into here), but it does illuminate how the Five T’s

acts as the “point guard” for the two power forwards of Team Fitness; namely

goals and program design. And I’ll give you a hint on the program design

side of things: autoregulation trumps periodization in all but a very select few

cases.

In fact, once you fully absorb and come to know the Five T’s, you’ll see that

autoregulation must supersede periodization. There can be no other way.

But that’s another story for another time.

So, in closing, I’d like you to consider this: I’ve studied philosophy in general,

and Eastern philosophy in particular, for a great many years. And while

I’m certainly no expert on the subject, what I can tell you about it is easily

reduced into two complementary ideas:

50CLOSING

Dissolve the ego, and

Roll with the punches

Or, as the famous Bruce Lee put it:

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup,

it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle.

When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and

it can crash. Become like water my friend.”

Yes, become like water, my friend.

Perform. Assess. Adjust. Carry on. Wash, rinse, repeat. And above all, enjoy

the ride.

51CLOSING

THE AUTHOR

5

ABOUT THE AUTHORKeith Norris is a former competitive

athlete, and current elite strength

and conditioning coach with over

35 years of experience. He’s the

co-founder of the largest Paleo

conference in the world, Paleo f(x),

and is a partner in one of the most

innovative lines of boutique training

studios in the nation, Efficient

Exercise. He is also a partner in

ARXFit training equipment, and a

founding member of ID Life. In his

spare time, he authors one of the

top fitness blogs in the health and

wellness sphere, Theory To Practice.

THEORY TO PRACTICE