Module 8c: Trust and Teams

The whole and its parts. | Module 8 - Wisdom & Trust | Team and Group Fitness

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Environment, culture, and standards all matter. The people we surround ourselves with and spend significant amounts of time with — whether we like them or not — eventually rub off on us. Humans literally adopt each other’s idiosyncrasies and mannerisms if they spend enough time together.

This is called social learning.

On one hand, there are always opportunities to remain “a big fish in a small pond.” On the other hand people who constantly surround themselves with others who are more fit or more successful or better at something they want to get good at, tend to cumulatively be successful.

What do group or community based programs like CrossFit, Hyrox, F45, Orange Theory, etc. all have in common? They capitalize on the convergence of fitness and community. While the culture of those communities varies greatly, the point is that they have all recognized the power of coming together.

Previously, when we’ve discussed strength, we’ve identified that “sometimes you need to push against something until you can push yourself.” This is where good coaches and good training partners come in.

We need equal parts competition and comradery, judgement and support. Recently, I wrote an article on “The Case for Braves Spaces, Not Safe Ones” that is quite relevant here. Rest assured, that this is not to be confused with either fake-commando “man-camps” or “we don’t stop until someone pukes” types of “training.”

One of the major benefits of team-based (fitness) training is that most of us push a little harder when someone is nipping at our heels. Sometimes, even the most ardent and disciplined athletes let themselves off the hook slightly, subtly, psychologically, when they spend too much time alone in a dungeon.

However, this social milieu effect is so strong that we don’t even need direct contact for it to make a difference. The 4-minute-mile (long thought to be impossible) was first accomplished in 1954 by Roger Bannister. In the 70 years since then, over 2,000 people have accomplished the same feat.

Additionally, shared struggle is one of the most powerful ways to bring people together. In a pathological sense this is colloquially referred to as “trauma bonding” — though that usually implies said struggle was not overcome. However, when the struggles is overcome, we see the same mechanisms played out in military selection and deployment, generational adversity (Pearl Harbor, 911, etc.), and group therapy.

Bonds get built, stories worth telling are created, new heights often achieved, and you probably make a few friends along the way too. One of the greatest assets to humanity’s survival and proliferation across the globe has been our ability to collaborate.

Nobody really gets anywhere worth talking about alone. Someone else had to be involved along the way even if it was to get stepped on or to snap the picture.

Candice Burt’s consecutive utlra-marathon record stands at 200 days. What if we turned that into a relay of 3 people alternating “shifts?” My guess is that we’d see well over 500 days. For reference, that’s over 15,000 miles. The Earth has a circumference of about 25,000 miles. Who is going to be the first “team” to “run the circumference of the globe in less under 2 years?”

Lastly, and to come full circle, chemistry and compatibility matter in all partnerships. Musical “super groups” are almost always a flash in the pan despite star studded lineups. Likewise, NFL Pro Bowls (and similar) are beyond cringe-worthy as they never eclipse the halo of individual teams and “dynasty” runs.

Another great example of this is the Dawn Wall ascent of El Capitan. The first free ascent of this route was completed in 2015 by Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson. The project took 7 years of trial and error. At the time, Tommy was already a Mt. Rushmore figure in climbing. Several other climbing superstars chimed in on the Dawn Wall project, but none of them stuck. It was the much lesser known Jorgeson that provided the right synergy of ingredients to complete the project.

Our own training rooms are full of people who are both “training room heroes” — that for one reason or another, maybe don’t choke, but can’t ever seem to hit on all cylinders in the arena — as well as “x-factors” — that somehow always “punch above their weight” and rise to the occasion.

I don’t think either of these are coincidences. I think they’re cultivated and reinforced developments. The real question is, how do we, as coaches and / or autonomous athletes build awareness of these things and train an adaptive response to them?