Why we All Need the X Factor
First, let me alert you to a few emails I have gotten asking about massive discounts on certain products that may or may not be familiar to you. Some have said, “It seems too good to be true! What gives?!”
May I suggest you request the expiration date of the discounted products before you purchase them. You may be in for an unpleasant surprise. I can say no more.
Onward.
You may not know this about me but for quite some time I was a personal trainer. I did not do it as a living, I did it for my own knowledge and development although I found myself in demand for this more often than you might think!
One thing that I always found frustrating was the way athletic performance books were written. Now I am NOT talking about weight loss books. Weight loss books have become extremely formulaic for the simple reason that editors and book companies are convinced they know what sells.
If you write one differently than the formula which is: problem agitate solve you usually are asked to re write it. To add some meat to those bones the problem is stated more or less like this:
The government, doctors or some other agency that we’ve allowed to usurp our ability to make our own decisions is either dumb, brain washed or deliberately keeping a secret from you that “They” don’t want you to know. If it sounds like everything ever written by Kevin Trudeau you get the idea.
Agitate: This usually involves a personal story about how everything that the author tried either didn’t work or made things worse followed by the question, “Has this ever happened to you!?” The answer for anyone who is older than 16 years old will always be “YES!” simply because sooner or later we are all disappointed by something we bought or tried. Trust me these people are anything but clairvoyant!
Prior to the solve phase it is often typical for the author to invoke some deity or higher power that “Gave me the secret but I had to promise to share this amazing discovery with YOU!” In so doing the author is now above criticism because he/she/zis/zer is doing it for YOU, and who can criticize a higher power.
I mean do you think you are better than the ruler of the universe! It also abrogates any issues of greed because again something higher was at work here. *
Solve: Ah yes! The magic elixir/diet/supplement/exercise program/sex aid etc. etc. that will solve everything that ails you and only I have it!!!
You may be wondering what all this means in terms of my experiences as a trainer, doctor, healer, athlete etc.
Well here is the rub!
Most of the athletic performance books are written by performance athletes and/or their coaches based on elite experience. After all, if it made world class sprinters, lifters, body builders, endurance athletes out of said individuals it is good enough for you. Even worse is the winning athlete who wrote a book on the topic for you.
Now why might this not be useful and why might you want to listen to a talented amateur or even some schlub who actually did what you want to do without any magic of genes, enhancing drugs or surgery or incredible coaching.
Well let me give you an example of the above argument in a nutshell. A while back the hottest ticket in sprinting was Michael Johnson. One of my friends who happens to be a world class trainer in his own right read us a chapter by a world famous trainer on the parameters every single sprinter should shoot for. He (the author of the chapter) then used Michael Johnson as an example. My friend happened to have obtained some footage of several of Mr. Johnson’s totally dominant races and showed us those films while reading off the list of “musts” the elite sprint trainer said were absolutes.
If gauged by the requirements of the book that cited him as the perfect example of all things good, Johnson did NONE of those things. Every single one was wrong according to the gospel of sprinting.
It would not surprise me if Usain Bolt showed similar “flaws” in his biomechanics.
So how did these guys win? Well genetics played an undeniable part. And that is not just heritage. Johnson was 6’1” Bolt is 6’5’ and 207 pounds. Both men are very muscular and very strong. Sprinting success boils down to stride length and turnover which gives stronger taller men a huge advantage. Then there was coaching.
But the bottom line is that both men were naturally made to do the sport they chose.
In most cases you and I are not. So, reading the book by “experts” and world class athletes has created a problem agitate solve situation for those of us less gifted and on top of that aging!
Problem: Every single program on speed, endurance, strength etc. etc. has to be written by a world class leader or someone who can make a plausible claim to being an expert or it will not sell. We have been conditioned to believe that if we just do what the experts do we will get similar results (we don’t admit this, we add phrases like, I just want to be the best I can be!). Somewhere in the justification we harbor dreams of grandeur of some sort or we would simply lay on the couch and sip lattes!
Agitate: It’s not YOUR Fault. The big secret of the industry is that most of this stuff won’t work for you even if you had personal sessions with the world class trainers and athletes at your side. Reason: The training is there to maximize an already incredible top 1% potential and you probably couldn’t do it for all kinds of reasons including- injury, biomechanics, need to work play and spend time with your family etc. Not to mention your genetic potential. And then there is the dirty secret that most of the tip top athletes just do their thing the way they do without much training influence anyway! So, Stop The Insanity!!!
Before I go on to the “Solve” part I will tell you that the above is my story and my conclusion from my personal experience and the experience gleaned from decades of taking care of people of average genetic, motivational and financial/time means.
Solve: My magic elixir has been Energy X MAXX referred to in the title as the “X factor”. I am going on 4 months of usage now and there seems to be no end to the increase in stamina and strength I am experiencing compared to pretty much everything I did in my previous life. I have not really changed my workouts as I have done the same variations for years. I am running more miles, but its because I CAN, and this is a new development to. Previously I would just get over trained or injured.
Now my expectations are pretty reasonable as I get very close to the start of my 6th decade. I will keep you posted when I achieve the goals I set forth but let’s just say it will allow me to compare my performances favorably to 20 years ago during similar training stages.
This may or may not matter to you but it is kinda cool to have the young bucks sincerely compliment you as well. Ego aside, hanging with young people is a good measure of how well you are doing and whether you are successfully anti-aging! **
The X Factor has helped me immensely in these achievements! ***
Doc
*For students of history the Problem Agitate Solve Formula along with deification, heroic journeys, and magic elixir was adopted from Aristotelian Poetics- one of the oldest treatise on writing.
**The recent clamp down on age reversal claims in spite of the fact that aging is NOT classified as a disease is a real thing. This is apparently so even if top level scientists are used and RTC studies are published. Vague terms like “accepted experts in the field” “accepted numbers of studies of the correct design” leave all kinds of leeway for attack.
***I am slowly getting around to writing down my own prescriptions for success for the genetically challenged aging individual. Keep in mind Energy X is not an “instant” reward kind of supplement. It usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to kick in and change your physiology. That is why we make