Cutting Edge Physical Development
An integrated approach to maximizing performance

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Wow, I tell you, the people that read this site and often contribute to it never cease to amaze me. Such is the case with a new ebook submitted to us for publication from Chris Crowell, our profile from Issue 31.

Chris and I have been in regular contact since he began his recovery from leukemia. It was the second time he had faced it and this time he would recover, once and for all. During his illness and the constant battle to stay alive whilst researching, administering and surviving a recovery protocol Chris has been writing.

In the past he has written poetry, once piece in particular was very touching in relation to my mother’s death from ovarian cancer in 2007. But he came to Brutal because he trains, and trains hard. His experiences in training and in cancer recovery have been documented for the benefit of others. His first training manual entitled ‘Cutting Edge Physical Performance’ is now available for purchase from our web site.

Chris begins by introducing exercise science and looks closely at the art of asking the right questions when it comes to your training. Next comes a profound look at the large topic of strength training. Everything from theory and principles to the best exercises for various components of strength development are covered. From there the book delves into the body’s energy systems as distinct from the general term ‘conditioning’ and provides ways of developing these systems.

Bad Question #1: “Is it better for me to train with high repetitions or low repetitions?”

Better question: “Why would someone train with higher repetitions as opposed to lower repetitions?”

No holistic training manual would be complete without a covering nutrition and Chris’s ‘performance nutrition’ section is an extremely valuable resource. Other than providing advice on macro nutrient consumption it deals at length with the largely misunderstood topic of supplements in training.

“At one time I was very confused by the concept of eating. My body wanted food constantly and

I didn’t have much control over it. The whole idea of ‘just listening to your body’ to determine what you need to eat is great for someone who has control over the way they eat or who has an idea how to listen to their body. But that doesn’t apply to many people, and it didn’t apply to me for some time.”

My favourite part of the book is without doubt the section on mindset.

“I don’t know anything except that being afraid to find out is not the way I want to be. We live in a world where we have been taught to suppress rather than to express. So many times life is lived completely repressed. But when you live a repressed life, do you really live at all?”

The final paragraph of the book is the clincher. After reading all the material presented and beginning to assimilate it into your own needs Chris cuts it all down to the most basic of truths. If you only take one thing away from this book let it be this final truth left in your lap.

Last but not least, Chris includes appendices that deal with some of the most common goals of training including weight loss, training tips and developing powerful striking. The bibliography is a worthwhile read too, and not only highlights the depth of Chris’s research but provides useful resources to further your own understanding.

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