In the concluding question-and-answer session of his presentation at the National War College at National Defense University, Coach Glassman addresses questions about trainer qualifications, program design, and effective methods for improving performance. He explains that the most meaningful qualification for any trainer or program is results, evaluated through three criteria: efficacy, efficiency, and safety. A program must produce measurable improvements, deliver those improvements quickly, and do so while minimizing injuries. While safety is essential, he cautions that prioritizing it above all else can lead to ineffective training. Properly coached strength and conditioning, he notes, generally carries lower injury risk than many traditional sports.
Coach also emphasizes the importance of functional movement, arguing that complex, natural movements—such as squatting—produce far greater benefits than isolated exercises. A knowledgeable trainer can identify and correct weaknesses through these movements without relying on separate assessment tools. He also highlights the motivational value of camaraderie and competition in training environments, describing simple methods that use friendly rivalry to push participants to perform at a higher level. In closing, he stresses that physical fitness is valuable for individuals in every role within the military, not only those in combat positions, and that improving foundational fitness across the force represents a significant opportunity for enhanced performance.
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.
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