In 2009, during a seminar in Murrieta California, Coach Greg Glassman shares a fundamental concern about the fitness industry: there’s too much talk and too little proof. At the center of the problem is a failure to clearly separate narrative, data, and method.
Narrative is simply a story. Saying “I’m the best trainer in the world” is narrative. Without data and method to back it up, a story is just that—a story. Too often, conversations about fitness start and end here, offering nothing more.
Data refers to what’s measurable, observable, and repeatable. For example: “All 35 members of my gym, including 20 women, can do muscle-ups.” That’s data. But even when data exists, not everyone is willing to share it.
Method is the specific approach taken—the “how.” What exactly did you do to get results? For instance, implementing the Zone Diet would be a method.
The most powerful structure is to start with data, explain the method, and end with narrative. Unfortunately, too many discussions work in reverse: they lead with a story and try to stretch or invent data and method to match it. That kind of reasoning has no real weight—don’t fall for it.
This video, by BSI’s co-founder, was originally published in The CrossFit Journal. While Greg Glassman no longer owns CrossFit Inc., his writings and ideas revolutionized the world of fitness, and are reproduced here.
Coach Glassman named his training methodology ‘CrossFit,’ which became a trademarked term owned by CrossFit Inc. In order to preserve his writings in their original form, references to ‘CrossFit’ remain in this video.
Greg Glassman founded CrossFit, a fitness revolution. Under Glassman’s leadership there were around 4 million CrossFitters, 300,000 CrossFit coaches and 15,000 physical locations, known as affiliates, where his prescribed methodology: constantly varied functional movements executed at high intensity, were practiced daily. CrossFit became known as the solution to the world’s greatest problem, chronic illness.
In 2002, he became the first person in exercise physiology to apply a scientific definition to the word fitness. As the son of an aerospace engineer, Glassman learned the principles of science at a young age. Through observations, experimentation, testing, and retesting, Glassman created a program that brought unprecedented results to his clients. He shared his methodology with the world through The CrossFit Journal and in-person seminars. Harvard Business School proclaimed that CrossFit was the world’s fastest growing business.
The business, which challenged conventional business models and financially upset the health and wellness industry, brought plenty of negative attention to Glassman and CrossFit. The company’s low carbohydrate nutrition prescription threatened the sugar industry and led to a series of lawsuits after a peer-reviewed journal falsified data claiming Glassman’s methodology caused injuries. A federal judge called it the biggest case of scientific misconduct and fraud she’d seen in all her years on the bench. After this experience Glassman developed a deep interest in the corruption of modern science for private interests. He launched CrossFit Health which mobilized 20,000 doctors who knew from their experiences with CrossFit that Glassman’s methodology prevented and cured chronic diseases. Glassman networked the doctors, exposed them to researchers in a variety of fields and encouraged them to work together and further support efforts to expose the problems in medicine and work together on preventative measures.
In 2020, Greg sold CrossFit and focused his attention on the broader issues in modern science. He’d learned from his experience in fitness that areas of study without definitions, without ways of measuring and replicating results are ripe for corruption and manipulation.
The Broken Science Initiative, aims to expose and equip anyone interested with the tools to protect themself from the ills of modern medicine and broken science at-large.
Support the Broken Science Initiative.
Subscribe today →
recent posts
‘Black box’ safety warning to be removed from hormone therapy for menopause
The link between oxidative stress, adaptation, and performance
