Reverse Engineering

Reverse Engineering

Bringing complex to a 5th?grader

With each day spent in the sports performance industry I become a bit more immersed in improving my own methodologies. Primarily because our industry is constantly evolving and with progression comes the notion of ‘steady improvements’. What I remind myself is that with close to 12-years of hands-on experience aiding fat-loss clients, postpartum clients, professional athletes, and now division 1A athletes at the University of Massachusetts Amherst that?I still do not know anything.

In my world it is expected that you should spend time on your craft developing the way you articulate, enhance your programming, communicate with your sports performance team, and above all increase your value for the student-athletes your service.

Try not to become a man of success, but a man of value. Look around at how people want to get more out of life than they put in. A man of value will give more than he receives. Be creative, but make sure that what you create is not a curse for mankind

~Albert Einstein~

In a recent article written by Kumar Mehta, Ph.D. Harvard psychologist says humans have 8 types of intelligence. While this is very fascinating when you think about how limitless the brain is and the various ways, we can go about expressing our thoughts, art forms, and so much more. So, in our industry they're some gifted individuals who have contributed systems for training. Companies have brought about tech that has closed the gap on recovery and list goes on.?

When faced with an intricate topic, the latest software, or even a system that our sport performance team uses to enhance athletic performance my thought process comes back to?‘Reverse Engineering’.?So, to reverse engineer implies that you?disassemble and examine or analyze in detail (a product or device) to discover the concepts involved in manufacture usually to produce something similar. From my vantage point when a coach can take subject matter that has been well researched, documented, and published. Process it then break it down well enough for a 5th grader to follow along you my friend are a asset. In the world of dealing with people / athletes this form of intelligence is super helpful.

Often, we hear amazing orators discuss matters in their field of expertise and depending on how well-versed the speaker is their can be moments of the presentation or the speech where you become engulfed in terms that cause you to lose total track of the presentation. Contrarily, when listening to someone that’s a ‘Guru’ you’ll notice that they delicately go down the rabbit hole of explaining a complex area while wrapping it up with an illustration that the audience conceptualize. This is what I’d like to call ‘bringing complex to a 5th?grader’.

Seeking Mastery?

The first place you should begin your self-assessment is by taking a close look at your routine. A routine can?be as simple as, every Tuesday and Sunday I am going to write about my dream of owning a restaurant for?70-minutes. Your routine could be as complex as to have a google calendar reminder set for several ‘self-help’?practices on various days of the week.

Next, focus in on areas that you seek to gain mastery. Once you have done that the process towards mastery?has begun. The amount of time you place on task will be a direct reflection on your learning curve. This is?where you will need to be rewired. The way your brain works as it pertains to hard work and rewards will?require some humility. Far before you acquire the ability to regurgitate complex topics and subject matter,?you’re going to need to toil over the details of what you??are aiming to reverse engineer.

Mastery comes only?when you’ve struggled, emotionally exhausted yourself, and glazed over the subject matter for enough time?for you to eventually have ‘aaha moment’.