The North Star Of Health & Performance

Principles are fundamental truths that stay true no matter the context.

Methods are something that work in certain situations and under certain context.

The world is full of “methods”…

Methods aren’t a bad thing at all. Methods are important because they are iterations of ideas or concepts we’ve had that essential push the needle and help us innovate.

With that being said, methods are something that do not work for everyone. Methods are things that are utilized with a specific intention or outcome in mind.

In health & performance methods are everywhere and new ones are created everyday. What doesn’t change are the principles that support them and allow them to be created.

Whats the difference between a principle and a method?

I’m not here to debate what methods are better than others, but lets give some specific examples of the two;

Resistance Training

Resistance training is a concept of utilizing external resistance to create adaptation in the body, a.k.a Getting Jacked

Principles: Utilizing external resistance to create a stimulus that causes adaptation and growth.

Methods: Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, CrossFit etc.

As you can see, principles are what make up the foundation of what we believe in a given topic. In this specific example, resistance training. The methods, are what we use to achieve the goal.

You might be asking, why is this important? Well, here’s why:

Principles will rarely change. The idea of resistance training will never change, but the way we go about achieving it will. This is important to understand because principles will always guide us to the point where we can understand what our desired outcome is, the methods will help us get there.

Lets give a nutrition example:

Brandon wants to lose weight

Principle: Brandon needs to be in a caloric deficit so his body utilizing his energy stores (aka body fat) for energy.

Method: Carb Cycling, basic diet/calorie restrictions, carnivore, veganism etc.

Again, the principles of a given topic will stay the same. At the end of the day if Brandon wants to lose weight, he needs to be in a calorie deficit. How he gets there can change based on his lifestyle and what works for him.

Now, methods can be dangerous because they can easily be perceived as principles. Many coaches in todays world just assume because a method worked for them, it works for everyone.

This then gets fed into the world as “education” and many people are lead to believe these methods are principles. If we go back up to the definition of this post, we can see how that isn’t true.

Principles are the main underlying reason something is the way it is. It’s the main things we believe that no matter what, we stay true to. I think of principles as our “north star”. Whenever we go out searching for new methods or techniques, our principles are what guide us back home and allow us to come back to what we know and believe.

How can we tell which is which? (principle vs. method)

This is something that comes with experience, time and true high level education.

Principles are those things that no matter what keep coming up and stay true no matter what. Things like My 5 Pillars Of Health & Performance (you should go check that out).

Methods are things that work or have worked, but don’t work for everyone. Think of training styles that have come and gone, diet fads and things that aren’t sustainable in the world of fitness.

When are methods useful?

Although most methods aren’t 100% sustainable, methods are innovation at its core. New ideas, thoughts, theories and ways that we can pursue better principles.

Methods come and go because they are ideas. Take us back to the idea of resistance training. There are many ways to resistance train, but the best ways have withstood the test of time and have and (we currently believe) will always be true.

Methods are ways that make people think outside the box and can truly have great results in very specific context or settings. This is when they are most useful.

The thing we want to avoid and why i wrote this essay is to make sure we avoid building our practice on methods and make sure we are focus in on principles that will help solidify our practice and allow us the foundation to go seek new information.

Summary

At the end of the day, principles are what drive our thought and build our foundation. Principles are what create our base and what allow us to become great coaches.

Methods drive innovation and allow us to ellicit specific stimuli and adaptation contextually for individuals.

I hope this essay serves you

To The Highest Standard Of Coaching,

Brandon