28 Aug It’s OK to Be Wrong

By: Will Kuenzel

It’s okay to be wrong.  I never realized how often I was wrong until after I got married.  Haha!  But in all seriousness, things that I was doing before don’t apply as a couple.  So was I really doing something wrong?  Probably not, but things change.  Training is the same way.  What worked once upon time may not work anymore.  Compromises need to be reached as schedules change, training age evolves, and weak points shift. 

[wa-wps]

Don’t be so hard headed to believe that as we grow as athletes that what once worked will continue to work.  The basics have always worked and will always work.  They create our overall foundation of training, but as our bodies change, weak points shift, we have to be fluid enough to realize that what once worked might not anymore.  To another point, as our knowledge base gets bigger our understanding of training grows.  We realize that why something worked wasn’t for the reason we thought.  For example; box squats.  When first teaching new clients how to squat, I use a box.  Why?  Just to get them to be comfortable on their heels.  It has less to do with getting them to sit back.  Getting a new trainee to sit on the heels is weird for them.  Most folks think “squat” and they push into their knees and toes.  Just getting them to sit on the heels generally fixes the whole “sitting back” thing.  It’s awkward though to stay on the heels and most feel like they’re going to fall backwards sitting on their heels.  The box is a nice security blanket and gives them confidence. 

Here’s where the discrepancy lies.  As they get stronger, they’ll believe it was the “box squats” that made them stronger.  When in reality it was a simple change in technique and greasing that groove.  As progress stalls, they’ll think, “I need to do more box squatting because that worked before.” A simple evaluation can determine whether that to be the case or not.  The box squat was a means to an end.  One solution out of many.  But now to think that it’s still the solution is wrong.  Re-evaluate and be okay with being wrong.  Be okay with change and figure out the next weak point that needs to be addressed.  You weren’t wrong in that it worked well before but you’ll be wrong in thinking that will continue to work. 

Plenty of times I’ve been wrong.  Both in training and in life.  Nobody likes to be wrong but learning from our mistakes is huge.  If we aren’t learning, what’s the point?  To get better we have to have a stronger understanding.  Some of training is trial and error.  Without an exceptional coach or even a general plan, it’s easy to haphazardly careen through training hoping things work but never knowing why if they do. 

For a deeper understanding of the training be sure to pick up the 10/20/Life book here.

You also have the option of a training template from one of our coaches to give you a more planned approach. Check it out here.

One of the absolute best options though is to reach out directly to one of our coaches here.

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Low Country Strength

Will Kuenzel is the owner of Lowcountry Strength (www.LowcountryStrength.com) in Charleston, SC. Will started his athletic endeavors as a pole vault; finishing up his collegiate career with a best vault of 16’9” at a whopping 160lbs. He the track and field world to pursue bodybuilding, his first show in 2005, he won 1st place in Men’s Novice as a middle weight. One year later he took 2nd as a Men’s Junior heavy weight. Since 2007 he has been a competitive powerlifter and totaling elite as a 220lber. His best lifts in multiply equipment are a 710lbs squat, a 605lbs bench press, a 615lbs deadlift and a 1930 total. In 2008 Will started Lowcountry Strength out of his garage. Since then it has moved into a 16,000 sq/ft facility and shares space with a mixed martial arts studio. With all disciplines of powerlifting, strongman, MMA, jiu jitsu and other sports in the Charleston area getting trained under one roof, Will heads up the strength and conditioning for a wide variety of athletes and clients.

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