Stop Sweatin' the Small Sh!T: Principles Trump Methods

Ask a client that I have worked with and they will confirm it. At some point I asked them to execute a very critical action; “Forget what you’ve read or heard about fitness, exercise and working out. Let’s start from scratch.” I explain that everything I ask them to do will have a specific purpose, but because of a lack of foundational knowledge (and to avoid a 4 hour lecture) you may not understand its purpose immediately. Although, I assure them that in most cases I will be able to express the purpose of what we are doing to a comfortable level of understanding. It is over the course of weeks, months and years that clients understand how the pieces of the puzzle have fit together: The “Ah Ha!” moments take place.

It’s hard for someone to let go of what they thought they knew, but it’s important to remember like any other discipline such as business, medicine or teaching, fitness and exercise is not something that you can simply just “pick-up”. There is a learning process and like the other disciplines listed above it takes coursework and studies to comprehend the principles that govern the intricate systems of our bodies. These systems and sub-systems interact among each other in a web-like fashion, and that is an understatement to their true complexity. Most experienced and successful professionals recognize there is always more to be learned. I realize that I will never have all the answers to the body, but I stress that my education and experience has given me some of them. And, when I don’t know the answer I usually know where to look.

The reason I make such an extreme request and have taken the time to explain this is because it always seems that people are placing too much emphasis on what needs much less and neglecting what needs much more. I have heard it said in many different ways to many different effects, but I find it key to accomplishing any goal:

Methods are many,

Principles are few,

Methods will change,

Principles Never do.

Below are the definitions of principle and method from dictionary.com in the context to which I would like you to understand.  

A principle is a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from which others are derived.

A method is a procedure, technique, or way of doing something, especially in accordance with a definite plan.

The principles I am referring to dealing with the human body are found within science. They have been tested and proven true. For example, the law of conservation of energy states “that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. However, energy can change forms, and energy can flow from one place to another.” Thus, the energy that we consume in calories (for ease of understanding I will use “calories”) does not just disintegrate when it enters our body. It is transformed and either used or stored (in different forms). As I explained in the previous post atoms and molecules have a weight and when they enter the body their weight will contribute to our scale weight. Considering the most common fitness goal is losing weight, appreciate the principle of conservation of energy or “calories in vs. calories out” governs success or failure. The method that you choose or in essence the “route” you take to achieve your goal is another matter. When you group all the methods (i.e. crossfit, running, dieting, etc.) for losing weight (strictly decreasing your weight on a scale) they fit within three groups; restrict the energy going into your body, increase the energy being expended by your body, or a combination of the previous two. Some methods may be more effective than others, but they are all governed by the same principle. I too often see people focusing on the minute details of a method before they have realized and accepted the overarching principle.


Below are a few examples of when a minute detail or method is over glorified to the point that the overarching principle is ignored:

“I stopped eating carbs because it just turns into fat.”
“I started taking [X supplement] because it makes you lose weight.”
“I eat two extra small meals a day because it will increase my metabolism.”
“I stay in my fat burn zone because it burns more fat.”

Oh, boy! The list goes on (Can you tell there is something horribly wrong with every one of the above statements?!?!), but I have to stop myself. All of the statements above overemphasize the method while neglecting the principle. If a person were to tell me they were trying to lose weight and then repeat any of the statements above I would go right back to the principle and ask how many calories they are eating on a daily basis (I realize this method does not work for everyone, but unless there are pre-existing health concerns I always start here). The miniscule details that people blow out of proportion astound me every day. Always go back to the principles. Devise your method or course of action in accordance with those principles. Relating back to the weight loss example simply eat less calories and burn more (Yes, which means YOU will have to keep track somehow). Want to get a little bit more effective start to figure out the methods that allow you to burn more calories and the methods that allow you to eat fewer calories (while still being safe and healthy).

At the bottom of this post is a simple hierarchal diagram to illustrate this idea. The boxes that could be added are infinite, but for now take notice to the order. If you are of the majority because your goal is to lose weight, lean out or get ripped and you feel like something is missing, guess what? It’s probably one of those fine details that I was talking about and in a completed and vertically extended version of this diagram (it doesn’t exist, because the methods are infinite) your precious detail is probably located far below the bottom of this webpage. 

So I ask you, the reader, to execute a very critical action; forget what you think you know and allow yourself to start from scratch. While reading posts, forget minor details and understand the principles. Like the castle that represents your body, realize and consider the principles when building your its foundation. Then you will be able to differentiate methods that make sense and methods that are nonsense for yourself.