You're on the floor again, the cold surface under your sweaty body, a reminder that you should be better than you are right now. Your mind annoyed at making no progress for months, the endless plateau preventing you from moving forward. Challenging your self belief, as you think should I quit?
What Are Basics?
Defined as
"Forming an essential foundation or starting point; Fundamental: Certain basic rules must be obeyed"
Basics are often only thought of as the starting point of a discipline and are all too often overlooked when people struggle to progress further. As human beings we hate having to move backwards, most of us struggle forward trying to force our way through. What if we are looking at things wrongly and the only way forward is to move back? To the basics?
"Just because they are basics, Dosen't mean that they are easy"
{ Coach Sommers - Former American Competitive Gymnast Coach }
In my opinion basics got a bad name. Or possibly its just our connotation of the idea, that makes people feel like they aren't good enough. Whatever your discipline, the basics are always the fundamental foundations that everything is built on. Not just the start but the path to becoming more proficient in all respective disciplines.
Analogised basics can be compared too when you see a new housing development starting. It might seem that for weeks, months, maybe even years, nothing is happening. You drive past regularly only seeing fences and signs. There is plenty of activity but not much progress, then one week goes by where you haven't driven past. This time though there stands a dozen buildings, not complete yet but they have appeared almost over night.
The foundations (basics) take time because they are what everything else is built on. The basics of all disciplines will take a long time to install. Get them right and you will become stronger, faster and better than you can imagine.
"Patience is all that separates those who fail and those who succeed"
Without foundations or basics, no good structure or progress can take place. A lot of people never even attempt the basics, they just jump straight in at an intermediate or advanced level. Maybe this is because people don't know where to start? This is something you will see a lot, the more you train the more apparent it becomes.
"It is not your fault. You don't know, what you don't know and if you haven't been taught how can you possibly know?"
Working with someone like a professional coach or a personal trainer is a great way to have your technique assessed and critiqued. I have been training in martial arts for over 28 years and fitness / movement training daily for 3 years. Yet I still work on the basics every time I train, often with the world's best teachers, that I can get access to on a regular basis. Many people believe that because they have been training a long time they know the basics and no longer need to train them.
You should always find new ways to train the same basics. Don't fear trying new things, especially if it challenges you, your beliefs or you struggle with it. You're struggling because you are not strong enough in that area. Be open minded to exploring new and difficult tasks. To get better you can take advice or guidance from someone that can spot you. Like a weightlifter often has someone to catch the weight, that is often far too heavy in the first place.
In the beginning it might be difficult to self critic yourself. As you start to pay attention to your areas of weakness, it should slowly become apparent. Indicators of weakness will identify areas that need work.
Common Faults
- Bad structure - Your body is not in a healthy or strong position, unable to generate consistent force where you intend to. You are moving with a one sided dominance, often seen due to left or right handed preference. This should be worked on to create a balance.
- Bad Form - Without starting world war 3 in the gym, CrossFit is a prime example. Swinging for momentum, bending at the waist to lift those bicep curls and going as fast as possible to compensate form for numbers. A few examples and of course not just CrossFit related.
- Bad Movement - Ever seen some one training in the gym and thought to yourself, that looks so awkward? If it isn't a natural movement or flow then A. it probably isn't achieving anything and B. is likely to result in injuries, which can put people in the best case scenario out of training for weeks.
Basics are always discipline specific but fundamentally the same rules apply. What rules should we be looking to apply to our training? Here are 5 rules I think would be useful, implemented as a base for working on any exercise you want to get better at.
Do it slow - All too often you'll see people thrashing it out. A desperate attempt to get it over and done as quick as possible. Enjoy the process and remember 5 good slow, full range of motion movements will yield better results than 20 poor, fast and incomplete ones. "If you can't do it slow and controlled, then you need to work on it". It will be harder and often I see people getting frustrated because they cant do 20 any more.
"Remember Quality Beats Quantity"
Use a mirror - In most movement arts, for example dance, the studio walls are clad with mirrors. This is because form and attention to detail can be the difference between 1st and 2nd place. Similarly in most training facilities, those selfie taking areas that you might have to fight to get in front of can be put to good use! Look at your position, observe the way you move. Imbalance will be obvious, work on creating clean fluid movement. (If there are no mirrors, you can set up your phone to record your movement. Something I do personally, great if you're doing movement exercises!)
Full range of motion - You see many people pulsing through their workouts, the worlds slightest movement pushups and squats etc rather than full repping. Maybe they think or have been told that is the correct way? To make real progress you have to be able to move through the entire movement whether it is a bicep curl, squat or benchpress. Don't shorten the movement because it is hard, get low and get slow. All the way down and all the way back up. As you get better you'll be able to increase speed, also add + and - factors to your movements, creating an even greater and more impressive, range of motion.
Drop the weight - Every gym goer does this at some point, completely stacks the machine to maximum or picks up the heaviest dumbbells. When I talk to weight lifters about this they look at me with contempt, "But I can dead lift 180 Bro". Remember if you are compromising your structure or form and can't move well with flow, then you're not only getting very little benefit from the exercise, but you are also running a high risk of causing injury. Learn to be strict with yourself, using the basics you can significantly increase your maximum lift. Only when you get the basics right!
Watch the experts - If you are completely lost and aren't sure what to do, seek professional advice, that isn't your average YouTube channel. If they are doing it wrong, then you most certainly will. Then anyone watching you will also do it wrong (see the self perpetuating problem in the fitness world?). Lost in translation can be a giant game of Chinese whispers, the further it gets from a credible source instructor, the less likely it is to be any good. My advice in choosing an instructor is, do your homework on them. An instructor is only as good as their instructor and the information available to them. This is why I look to train with elite coaches themselves when possible or 2nd generations, the elite coaches top students (Stay close to the source).
Remember the basics are intrinsically connected to everything that you do. I would even go as far to say there is only basics because without them you will never progress. Keep striving, keep studying and keep moving.
Please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments and I'll be sure to get back to you shortly.
By Craig W.
Follow me on Facebook for future posts and updates ===> Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment