expertise vs. accountability Part II

A slightly more succinct way of saying I meant to say in my earlier post:

When your engine is on fire, and you're out of gas, and your windshield is broken, you need to:

• put the fire out
• fill up the gas tank
• replace the windshield

in that order.

You don't need to know why method ABC of replacing the windshield is superior to method XYZ at that moment.

Adherence trumps programming most of the time. Poor people typically make less-than-optimal financial decisions, say, on payday when they spend it on beer (rather than saving up so that food doesn't run out at the end of the month). You can TELL people how to manage their money better, but if you can't get them to actually do it, you're useless to them.

Adherence trumps programming. It doesn't matter whether I tell my client to do conventional deadlifts or sumo deadlifts or Romanian deadlifts. It matters more that my client freaking show up twice a week, every week, for the next 12 weeks.

It doesn't matter (as much) if my client optimizes her vitamin K2 intake or her serum vitamin D levels. It matters whether she avoids processed junk, 90% of the time, for the rest of her life.

expertise vs. accountability

I've been at my internship at IFAST for just over six weeks. The amount that I've learned is a bit overwhelming, and I think it's a great stepping stone on the path to becoming a world-class coach.

As I pause to reflect on my time here, though, I can't help but think that expertise is not the most important thing. The guys at the gym are among the most knowledgeable in the field, but that hasn't made them millionaires in the industry. Why not? Part of the problem is that they know TOO much. When you need to get an oil change, you don't need to hire a Ferrari engineer at $500/hr. All you need is some guy who can do the oil change for $24.95.

The truth is that I know more than I will ever need to know -- to help most people change their lives for the better. Do I know enough to train Olympic-level athletes? No, and I probably never will. Do I know enough to treat acute dysfunctions and orthopedic issues? No -- I'd need to invest about 3-5 years in PT school for that.

But I do know enough to help people lose fat, gain muscle, get some relief from chronic pain, feel better about themselves, and live better lives. It's not that hard. All you have to do is eat real food, avoid processed crap, do some mobility work, do a little lifting, do a little conditioning, find/build a great community. The hard part is not so much figuring out what people need to do, but rather, getting people to make behavioral changes that stick.

I think the real future for me lies in efficient and intelligent lifestyle coaching. Step-by-step, or even better, day-by-day procedure manuals for people to follow.

For example: 

Day 1. Throw out all the vegetable oils in your pantry and go buy some butter and coconut oil.
Day 2. Walk around the block. Twice, if you can.