Zen and the Art of Functional Fitness
Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has launched the “career” of a thousand insufferable motorcycle hipsters. I should know, I’m one of them. Whether you ride or not, you’ve probably come across one of these folks in the wild: sipping artisan cold brew, clad in some perfectly worn leather jacket, and blabbering on about the meaning of life while adjusting their throttle cable. They’ve read Pirsig and, thus, they are philosophers on two wheels. And, honestly, after reading Zen a few times myself, I can kind of see why. Robert Pirsig doesn’t just talk about motorcycles; he talks about Quality. Big Q. And if you’ve read it—well, congrats—you’re probably also destined to wax poetic about the virtues of carburetor tuning at your local coffee shop. (Editor’s note: ignore the second half of the book, in which Pirsig kind of loses the thread.)
But what is this elusive concept of “Quality” that Pirsig devotes so much of the book to? According to him, it’s something you can’t quite define. It’s not just excellence or high standards—it’s something that exists at the intersection of classic understanding (all that technical knowledge and data) and romantic understanding (your gut feelings and instincts). Pirsig says, “Quality is the result of a careful fusion of what you know and how you feel.” It’s both the technical precision of tightening a bolt on a motorcycle and the satisfaction you get from feeling the smoothness of the ride afterward.
So how does this relate to fitness, you ask? Glad you did because, weirdly enough, Pirsig’s idea of Quality is exactly what you should strive for in your workouts. Too many people get caught up in one side of the equation or the other. They’re either obsessed with perfecting their form down to the last detail or they’re chasing some emotional high, but they’re missing that essential balance Pirsig talks about. In fitness, Quality isn’t just following the programming to the letter or feeling accomplished after a workout. It’s the blend of both—the perfect harmony of doing things right and feeling it at your core.
Here’s how this plays out in real-life fitness:
1. Quality in Movement
You ever watch someone squat with a 100% technical breakdown of how deep they need to go, where their knees should be, and where their hands should land on the bar—but it still looks off? That’s someone stuck in the classic understanding of Quality. They’ve got the details, but they’ve lost the essence. Now, take someone else who’s just feeling their squat, going deep because it feels good and powerful, but their form is, frankly, a disaster waiting to happen. That’s romantic understanding without structure. Quality in movement happens when both collide—when you can squat deep with your knees in line, spine straight, but it also just feels right. You’re moving the way your body was designed to move, and you’re doing it with attention to detail. That’s Quality.
2. Quality in Programming
Ever hear someone say, “Just show up and do the work”? It’s solid advice, but it misses the mark if the programming is garbage or if there’s no thought behind it. Pirsig would tell you that good programming is a perfect fusion of the data—the reps, the percentages, the progressive overload—and the art of coaching—when to push, when to pull back, and how to adjust based on how you’re feeling that day. You can have the best spreadsheet in the world, but without the Quality of mindful coaching and an athlete’s own sense of readiness, it’s just numbers on a page.
3. Quality in Rest and Recovery
Here’s where a lot of people get it wrong—especially in the CrossFit world, where more is always more and resting feels like you’re wasting time. But Quality, as Pirsig puts it, is about understanding when to push and when to let go. Your body’s romantic understanding of rest is that sometimes you need to recover. It’s telling you to back off, and the classic side of you should know this from the data—muscle repair, cortisol levels, etc. Quality in fitness is knowing when to take a day off, not just because you feel like it but because your body needs it for optimal performance later. Like Pirsig’s motorcycle, you can’t just run it into the ground without some time in the shop.
So, how do we embody Quality in our fitness lives? It’s all about the balance. You’ve got to bring both sides of yourself into play—the technical knowledge you’ve gained from years of training and the instincts you’ve developed from knowing your own body. Like Pirsig tuning his motorcycle, it’s the little adjustments in your workouts, the fine-tuning of your movements, and the attention you give to recovery that all lead to something bigger than just a PR or a six-pack. It leads to a deeper connection with yourself and your goals.
In the end, Pirsig would probably tell us that fitness, like life, is less about the final destination and more about the quality of the ride. So, whether you’re tweaking your squat form or figuring out the perfect balance of volume and recovery, remember it’s not just about doing it right—it’s about doing it with Quality.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a motorcycle to pretend to maintain.