Working the Basics
When was the last time you got frustrated in the gym?
We all want a straightforward upward trajectory toward our goals, but unfortunately, that’s just not how it works. Whether we’re not seeing the progress we feel we should, that an exercise we’ve worked on just won’t get better, or that everyone else seems to be effortlessly sailing through details we just can’t get down (ugh!), workout ups and downs are a real part of the process.
These setbacks happen to EVERYONE.
We all plateau, experience challenging seasons of life, fall out of routines, or simply expect instant gratification because dang, it sure seems like things are happening faster for everyone else! We rarely notice other people struggling, but I promise you—this is not the case. Step one: remember that this happens to everyone. Step two: don’t let a few bumps in the road hold back your long-term progress!
My advice when you’re struggling to hit your goals? Get back to basics.
The next time you hit a wall, I want you to ask yourself if you’ve skipped any steps. Our education system is set up in a step-by-step progression with each grade building on the previous. We get good at our jobs by starting out at the bottom and working our way up as our skills advance. We hopefully learned to drive a car in an empty parking lot instead of while trying to zipper merge (or not) from 394 onto 94E. We should expect the same basic idea to apply to our exercise routine! The best of the best professional athletes sure as hell don’t skip mundane drills, countless free throws, and never ending early-morning practices on their way to the top, right?
Starting with the basics means we:
✅ Know how to support and move our body before adding weights
✅ Have full, strong ranges of motion in our joints before expecting complex performance
✅ Only add quantity to quality as we increase our capacity
Even if it feels like drudgery, after coaching for almost 15 years, I can say with absolute certainty that dedicated work on the basics is both worth your time and energy, and will pay valuable dividends down the road.
What if you’re already well into an exercise routine?
The truth is that, while going back the fundamentals is straightforward on paper, those temporary steps “backward” can take some real humility! Are you impressed by the person who runs dozens of miles per week but who’s stride sends shivers down your spine? How about someone who can lift a ton of weight but also manages to make each rep look skeeeeetchy? Nope, me either. Just think if these folks—the ones who are already pulling off incredible feats—dedicated some of their training time to the fundamentals? Their already-impressive capacity could go through the roof.
The next time you hit a wall (it’s going to happen!), stop and ask yourself if there are any basics you can spend some extra time on. If there are, get after it! If you’re not sure, ASK! That’s what your coaches are for.
Mastering (or even just working on) the basics is always worth your effort. I promise that developing these details will never do you wrong.