Continuing his presentation at the National War College at National Defense University, Coach Glassman outlines a scientific framework for measuring fitness through human performance. He proposes defining fitness as increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains, using the basic physical units of meters, kilograms, and seconds. In this model, performance can be quantified through power—force multiplied by distance and divided by time—and tracked across a range of efforts, from short bursts to longer endurance work. By graphing power output across these durations, an individual’s total work capacity can be measured in objective, repeatable terms.
Greg criticizes much of the fitness industry for relying on vague claims and physiological markers that are disconnected from real-world performance. Instead, he argues that any training program must be evaluated through measurable outcomes. He proposes three key criteria for assessing training methods: efficacy, efficiency, and safety—what results a program produces, how quickly those results occur, and how many participants are injured in the process. For soldiers preparing for the unpredictable demands of combat, fitness must be developed across many different movements and time domains, and that any program claiming to deliver results should be able to defend those claims with clear, measurable data.
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
Journal Club: February, 2026
Understanding why high-intensity effort can send glucose higher before it comes back down.
