I’ve already admitted defeat on this post, as Stan has already explained everything I’m about to write in four words, but allow me to further elucidate, for just like how Dan John has managed to write 3+ books and thousands of pages on a program that Pavel explained to him in just 40 words, it has apparently taken me quite a while to fully grasp the significance of what Stan has spoken. “Compliance is the science” is Stan’s explanation of how success is achieved in the realm of physical transformation. Specifically: we have to actually DO the things that get the results we seek, and if we’re unable to comply, we’re unable to succeed. This seems patently obvious…and yet, it’s probably the most difficult aspect OF the entire physical transformation process. Acquiring the knowledge necessary to achieve physical transformation is honestly an incredibly easy AND simple (because those are different concepts) undertaking, insomuch that we honestly already have all the instinctual properties necessary to achieve the process in the absence of research. Nietzsche spoke of the “will to power”: that drive inherent in us as a species to overcome which, in turn, is crucial to the process of physical transformation, and in analyzing the rites of passage of ancient warrior cultures, we’ve observed physical training in the pursuit of achieving superior strength, speed, athleticism, etc spans across the globe and cultures WITHOUT the need for internet access, peer reviewed journals, randomized control trials, etc etc. As a species, we “know” how to transform ourselves physically, and NOW, with the advent of instantaneous information exchange, we are at no shortage of ability to obtain even MORE knowledge on the subject to fully grasp the material (even though, again, we had dudes bench pressing 600lbs raw in the 1960s…) Which, in turn, indicates that it’s not about KNOWING what to do that holds us back…it’s DOING what it is that we need to do that holds us back. Compliance IS the science…which now means the question isn’t “what do I do” but “HOW do I do what it is that I know I NEED to do?”
Even male models know how to get jacked and ripped
Which, in
turn, is what we REALLY need to be researching when it comes to researching
physical transformation. People
experience analysis paralysis in the realm of physical transformation because,
in their quest to find THE right answer, they are assaulted with MANY methods
that all claim to be the BEST way to achieve their goals. What these individuals fail to understand is
that the presence of so many claims of methods to achieve success is not
indicative of CONFLICTING information but, instead, affirmation that there are
MANY ways to achieve success in the goal of physical transformation. ALL of these people claiming that their one
specific way is THE best are correct: it just now becomes a matter of
determining the best under WHAT context.
And, in the case of those claiming it’s the best, it’s the best under
THEIR specific context. It’s the best
for that one particular individual, or the individuals that this person trains
with their method. To which we must now
determine if WE fit within that context: are WE the intended consumer of this
method.
Because when
it comes to selecting a training and nutritional methodology, the science
remains the same: it’s a matter of finding a way for our stupid lizard brains
to actually inclined to comply with the science. Everyone loves to beat the same drum about
nutrition: “it’s always calories in/calories out, no matter what”. Ok, let’s say that’s the case: how do we get
the trainee to COMPLY with calories in/calories out? Suddenly, NOW, methodology becomes
important. Is a ketogenic diet
magical? Does it break the laws of
thermodynamics? Perhaps not, but what it
MAY do is impact the calories OUT side of the equation to a favorable degree
that suddenly the trainee can actually ACHIEVE the deficit they’ve been trying
to accomplish for so long. Perhaps the
trainee that chained themselves to simply “calories in/calories out” without
any other guiding principle ended up dieting themselves down to 800 calories a
day through continued restriction, totally broke their metabolism, and are no
longer able to achieve the necessary degree of MICRONUTRIENTS in order to feel
healthy, normal and energized enough to be able to train (or simply EXIST) in
order to achieve their physical transformation goals. Perhaps this very trainee, undertaking a
clinical ketogenic diet with a 4:1 fat to protein ratio is able to upregulate
FGF21, resulting in increased energy expenditure, allowing them to take in a
few hundred extra calories a day, allowing for more nutrients and improved
quality of life such that they CAN continue to comply WITH the science.
It's science!
Because we
are human: all too human. We will always
need to contend with the human piece of the physical transformation
equation. But if we embrace this, rather
than deny it, it opens up avenues for ALL manner of successful methods to help
us achieve our goals. Because, in truth,
the science SHOULD be simple when it comes to physical transformation, for it’s
a process that EVERY living organism engages in. It just so happens that FOR us humans, the
majority of us engage in a negative form of transformation:
self-destruction. And this is primarily
a result of the environment that WE have created for ourselves. But, in turn, our capacity to manufacture our
own doom is also testament to our ability to be our own saviors, so long as we
take the time to engage in some introspection and figure out what it takes for
US to comply with the science.
So yes: the
science is the science. We grow bigger
and stronger though progressive resistance exercise, but some of us will only
progress if we KNOW the exact sets, reps and percentages we’re going to perform
before the workout, while others will only do it under Dan John’s instruction
of “use easy weights and nudge it up when they feel light”. Both are accomplishing the same thing, but if
one cannot comply with one set of instructions, they’ll never meet the science
that is necessary to achieve the goals.
“Calories in/calories out”, sure, nothing magical about fasting? Ok, but if fasting is able to finally
regulate someone’s WILDLY out of control leptin and ghrelin hormones to the
point that they CAN exist in a caloric state WITHOUT white knuckling it,
perhaps there IS, in fact, something magical about it. If a certain nutritional strategy can have
someone undereat WITHOUT feeling hungry and weak, or OVEREAT without feeling
bloated and sluggish, perhaps such a method will actually compel a training TO
comply with the science. And perhaps
THIS is why it’s worth spending the time learning, experimenting, tinkering and
questioning: not so we can understand WHY things work, but instead HOW WE can
work within the context OF why these things work. Perhaps every “fad” training program and
nutritional strategy isn’t a fad at all, but instead yet another psychological
hack one can employ in order to actually get them to comply with the goddamn
science.
Because as
cool as you may think you are by LARPING as a robot, the truth is, you’re as
human as the rest of us, and that pesky free will and autonomy that got us to
the top of the food chain is the same set of shackles that is preventing you
from just shutting off your brain and eating your perfectly balanced macro
gruel while training at the exact right intensities and volume to achieve
optimal results. No one is impressed
that you “know the science” for physical transformation: we as an entire
species figured it all out millennia ago.
We’ve climbed up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and are no longer concerned
with food and security levels of logic: we’ve moved on to self-actualization
and are answering questions at an existential level: trying to solve the
“problem” of being human. Try to keep up
and help out, by putting away your stupid “CICO” comment and moving on to
answering the question of HOW do we comply with the science.
