In this series, I am telling the story of my quest to create the complete, integral system of applied technoscience of Strategic Fitness and how this drive has taken form in our company StratFit.
In part one, I detailed the full definition of Science in its two interrelated aspects: its' Theoretical and Applied forms, described the nature of the relationship between Science and Technology, and laid the scope of our quest in the form of our brand statements.
In part two, I described the genesis of training science, how it all started with the technological innovation of the Olympic Barbell, and how data storage/analytical technology developments drove an evolution to a complete theoretical science by the late 20th century. I identified the intensity-reps table of A.S. Prilepin as the single most important product of this amazing era.
In part three, I detailed where StratFit came into the picture. In that installment, I described the logic of developing a comprehensive system for defining and calculating the foundational value of physical training: the Internal Training Load. Here the primordial titan of scientific enframing, lord Atlas, began to lay his grid over the world of fitness training and started lifting the world of strength and performance onto his mighty shoulders.
In part four, I brought the loading idea from the Abstract realm into the Actual. I viewed the dominion of the Olympian god of strength, Kratos; the world of elite Weightlifting and Powerlifting to develop a Spatial Form Stress Factor of the major exercises. Combining the Abstract Loading equation from part three and the Stress Factors provided the value we were searching for- the Actual Internal Load; Atlas' grid fully encompassed the kingdom of Kratos- the World of physical strength and power.
In part five, I continued the expansion of Atlas' grid across the other great realm of physical training; the dominion of Hermes- the world of Speed and Endurance- Elite Running. I expanded the idea into a complete system of "Body Across Terrain" performance, including everything from Running to Climbing. Once Atlas Grid grew to fully enframe the Worlds of Lifting for Strength and Power and Body Across Terrain training for Speed and Endurance, it became clear that another realm was now on the titanic shoulders of lord Atlas: the Dominion of the war god Ares- cross training for Combat sports.
In part six, I discussed how every scientific and technological innovation begins as an aesthetic intuition and how my aesthetic intuition for this system was using the competitive events of competitive lifting and running as the basis of a system of Loading measurement for physical training and how these measurement tools give trainers a god's eye view of training from the top of Mt. Olympus, in the seat of Zeus over their athletes' development towards dominance.
Adding the Techno to Technoscience
In parts one through six, we had only begun stealing the fire of training knowledge from Zeus. Creating an applied science is only the first step in the titanic theft. To fully empower ourselves, we must bring the power of knowledge to bear on the physical world.
The next step in the mission is clear. Our science needs a technological product to manifest itself in reality. In this installment, I will describe how we have finally channeled the most important deity of all for the quest; the master of craftsman, the god of the fire of knowledge, Prometheus. The fire of knowledge is essentially the fire of the forge, the cosmic workshop where revolutionary technologies are created. This chapter heralds the Promethean arc of the story and begins with our digital fitness product: StratFit Digital.
Comprehension
The first step in this process was making the Loading calculations immediately comprehensive. I realized that the loading quantities were fantastic from an intellectual point of view, but even for someone steeped in the system, there was still an extra layer of thought required to use them. I solved this issue by turning the quantities into relative values.
I defined the Load of an Ultramarathon/100-mile run in part five. I logically labeled this quantity as 100% Loading (fatigue), at which further physical activity would result in the human organism's mechanical failure (injury/illness from overtraining).
With this primary value in hand, we can quickly transform the Loading quantities of all other competitive activities into values.
A 100-point percentage-based system is naturally intuitive to any thinking mind. Before I transmuted the Loading system from quantities to values, a coach or trainer using the system to create training programs had to first place a value on each Load in their mind and then look at them in relation to each other. The value-based system eliminates this speed bump in the acceleration of creativity in program design.
Loading as a Currency
The fulfillment of any desire is purchased in a particular currency. Since the dawn of civilization, the most common example is exchanging money for a good or service that represents an individual's (or group's) desire.
We all know you must give something to get something.
The concept holds true on the most elemental level of the law of the conservation of energy. The law states that the total energy in an isolated system remains constant over time. To create something new or to change something requires a certain amount of energy, but we must sacrifice an equivalent amount of energy from another activity within the same system to do so.
Any material change occurs only when energy acts upon it. The energy of the forces of nature changes the material of the natural world over vast expanses of time (and periodically in very short periods in the form of catastrophic natural disasters). The law of entropy (second law of thermodynamics) states that a system's total entropy (degree of disorder) always increases. The underlying primordial energy of the universe is always attempting to return our cosmos to Chaos: the mythological void state preceding the creation of the universe.
Nurture never creates a geometrical object or even a straight line. Every intelligent design is the product of human ingenuity, of our redirecting and repurposing of the inherent energy of the universe towards innovative ends. The human race's creative, innovative, and artistic quest to dominate Chaos to perpetually perfect the cosmos is the reason behind Promethues' primordial theft of fire from Mt. Olympus.
When human beings channel and direct a certain amount of energy on materials such as iron ore, stone, and copper, we create incredible monuments to the Promethean victory over Chaos.
When we channel energy in the form of electricity, we call it a "current." It becomes the "currency" we expend towards our creative ends. Money is an abstract representation of this energy; we use direct human power and its products of it towards ever-greater innovation and progress.
LOADING is the currency of fitness development and performance. As a trainer or coach, you prescribe Loading budgets for training "projects" (mesocycles, microcycles/weeks, workouts/days, activities) to achieve your athlete's/client's goals. Goals are critical mile markers to determine how the "business plan" is going, the business being your athlete's quest to be a champion and have a legendary career.
The Trainer as the Sage of Fitness
Before meeting you, your athlete/client is probably a microcosm of the macrocosmic Chaos of the universe, and it is your task to redirect energy to transform them into a microcosm of a higher order, to prescribe Loading to intelligently design them into a creation fit to achieve their purpose; this is a very serious position.
Like electricity, Loading is a potent currency capable of incredible creation and, inversely, great destruction. As all engineers know, when a level of current is applied to a circuit that it cannot sustain, Chaos reasserts itself, and an explosion occurs. The intelligent prescription and control of Loading is the essence of creation in the world of physical fitness.
Our StratFit Digital Loading accounting system gives you the tools to intelligently apply Loads to creatively redesign your athletes and clients into biological mechanisms fit for their purposes. With StratFit Digital, you become the Promethean sage of your clientele's fitness; it is your directed energy weapon against the force of Chaos.
We only want to work with the most creative and driven strength & conditioning coaches and trainers. Join us on our quest to help you achieve yours. Become one of the StratFit Digital "OG 50" now.
