SciCoh’s Hierarchy of Fitness

Over the last 6 months we developed something that has redefined how we will serve and change the lives of our members.  We call it – SciCoh’s Hierarchy of Fitness.

Essentially, this a prioritization of the things that are most important to our fitness.

Throughout the next several weeks, we will talk about how this impacts our service, but for now we are going to answer the question that every single person has ever asked themselves – “I have very little time to dedicate to my fitness.  What’s the most important thing(s) I should do?”

SciCoh’s Hierarchy of Fitness

1. Motivation/Purpose/Goals

 

 

As we talked in our goal setting piece, without a specific motivation, there will be no action.  Something has to push you over the edge to finally decide to make a change.  It could be a wedding, a doctor’s visit, or seeing the bottom of the ice cream you just brought home from the store.  Sometimes this motivation just happens to you, but ideally it’s something you consistently redefine.  So the question is – are you going to wait for it to happen to you? Or make it happen?

2. Nutrition

 

 

When it comes to fitness, nutrition is 75% of the battle. Honestly, I tell members that if they were to choose between eating perfectly the rest of their lives or buying a lifetime membership to my gym, I’d tell them to start the nutrition quest immediately.  Now let’s be clear, you will eventually pay the price for little physical activity, but if you have to choose one over the other, nutrition is your prize horse.  There is no one size fits all when it comes to nutrition, but if you eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no processed sugar, then you will be in good shape.

3. Physical Activity

Specifically Constantly Varied, Functional Movements, at High Intensity

 

 

Nutrition will move the needle big time, BUT it can’t keep you perfectly healthy.  Without physical activity, you will inevitably be severely limited physically. Now let’s be clear there is certainly a right and wrong way to workout, but anything is better than nothing.

Between screen time and work time, our bodies spend hours a day in terrible positions.  Head and neck forward, shoulders forward, back rounded, and hips constantly closed. Days, weeks, months, and years of this will at least severely limit your quality of life and at most assists in earlier death. We must combat this by continuing to work basic functional movements – think sitting and standing, picking things up, and putting things above our head.  This builds the strength and mobility we need to continue to lead a quality life.

4. Coaching & Planning

 

 

The most common issue occurs right here. Let’s see if you’ve experienced this before.

“You are finally motivated to make a change. You get a membership to the local gym, pull up a workout routine on the internet, and even find some sort of meal plan. Week 1 is amazing! Week 2 is ok.  By week 3, you are bored, no longer sore, and can already tell it’s no longer working.  By week 4, you quit and fall right back where you started. You’ve failed again and man that sucks.” Here’s why…

You did not have the right plan because you don’t have the expertise!

There is a reason I bring my car to the mechanic.  There is a reason I go to the doctor when I’m ill.  They are the professionals and can make things improve faster.  The same is true with your fitness!

People like us dedicate our lives to helping people like you. Let us do our job so you don’t waste your time!

5. Accountability

 

 

So you have a motivation, received a plan, crushing your nutrition, and pushing it at the gym.  Things are progressing and you feel amazing.

Then Little Johnny gets sick so you get thrown off your rhythm.

As soon as Johnny is better, there is a family vacation. Suddenly you’ve gone a week and half without working out.  Your nutrition has slipped a bit and mentally you feel negativity creeping in.

You get back and know you are supposed to get back to it, but you are afraid to see just how much you have fallen back. Perhaps it’s only a little, but your mind tells you its back to square 1 and you don’t want to face it.

So what do you do? The worse thing you could do…don’t show up.

I ask one simple question – what pulls you out of the black hole and back in to the good habit? The answer is simple…accountability.

It might be from a scheduled weigh in, a friend, or in our case a Coach.  We aren’t perfect and to expect perfection is in itself imperfect.  You will slip and that’s ok. Have the right accountability system in play and that slip will stay a slip instead of a mighty fall.

6. Reward

 

 

We aren’t machines. We are emotional beings.

This means we can’t just keep grinding day after day after day, doing what we are supposed to do, if there is no emotional gratification.  As they say in Parks & Rec – ” Treat yo self!”

This brings all other components full circle and makes everything worth it.  Set that goal, plan for it, do the work, and freaking enjoy it!

Then, get back on the horse find a new place to go, and repeat.

Those temporary rests and celebrations are 100% necessary to keep us inspired for the long haul.  By now you know you aren’t perfect. Allow yourself a little celebration and then get back to work.

The Full Pyramid

 

Much like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we must cover off on the basics before we can reach the self-fulfillment at the tip of the pyramid.  The challenge is that hitting all 6 of these is simply impossible on our own. I own a gym for a living and I need help to get there.

That’s where we come in.  At SciCoh it’s our responsibility to be your Coach, not just a trainer.  We aren’t just here to give you a fun class, we are here to be your answer.  In a day an age of information overload, we sift through the BS and show you what’s right for YOU.

It’s with this in mind that we now proceed forward. Stay tuned to see how we’ve adapted this hierarchy to both jumpstart new members and continuously propel current ones.

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