31 Mar Get back to basics

“Don’t miss the forest for the trees.”  I say that phrase several times over the course of the day.  It’s a constant reminder to myself and others that we are not to be distracted from the basics.

Scroll through social media and it’s filled with people looking for their quick fix.  I love seeing kids talk about what shoes they need for squatting, which knee sleeves will help the most, or what secret exercise is the best for getting rid of that “unwanted” fat (right, because there’s “wanted” fat?).

Ugh.  Too often the forest is missed because someone is totally focused on this one tree that will be the be-all-end-all of trees.  Bullshit.  It all needs to be there.  Know what works?  Consistency.  Know what really works?  Consistently working hard.  Know what guarantees results?  Fucking busting your ass day in and day out without a break.  Is it easy?  Hell no.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  It’s not.  If it were easy we’d all be Greek gods and goddesses strutting around with gorgeous six pack abs and full well “toned” muscles.

The basics are what work.  Doing the basics repeatedly.  Over and over and over.  Staying consistent to the plan and always moving forward.  The basics are the root of every endeavor you’ll ever try.  Powerlifting, baseball, jiu jitsu, shooting, etc.  They all have basics that must be mastered.  And you know what?  You’ll never master them.

10,000 hours to be a master, ever heard that?  Bullshit.  How many squats can you do in an hour?  How many swings can you take?  How many takedowns can you do?  How many rounds can you put down range?  An hour is a long, long time.  Even at the end of all that time, you still might not be a master, but you’ll be extraordinarily better off than you were before.  Don’t waste time on anything else when the basics are still confounding.

It’s easy to get distracted and off track.  A large portion of social media is to show you what you’re missing to buy something fancy that you don’t need for something that won’t help you.  Someone is always trying to sell you that new fancy supplement, that new shiny bar or that plush pad.  Are they going to hurt?  Absolutely not, but you need understand that they’re not going to rock your world either.  Hell, they might not help at all if that’s not even where you need the help.  There is no substitute for working hard at the basics.  The basics have always worked and will always work.  Take a good hard look at where you want to improve.  Boil it down to the absolute basic goal.  If you want to squat more – guess what?  Squat more.  It’s not some quick fix or some unilateral movement on the bosu ball or work activation of this tiny-unheard-of muscle.  If you want to have a better baseball swing, understand the mechanics.  It’s not some shiny new bat.  It’s not some new cleat design.  The guys we grew up watching do their extraordinary things were doing it with less than extraordinary things.  The one thing that was extraordinary about them, was their dedication to the basics and hammering the shit out of it.

Bruce Lee said, “I don’t fear the man that practiced 10,000 kicks.  I fear the man that has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”  Stop looking for something outside the basics.  Look to the basics.  Understand those first and foremost.  You won’t get far without them, no matter what the shiny ad on social media says about their fancy product.

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

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.

Latest posts by Low Country Strength (see all)

• LCS Off Season Week 7, Session 1-3 - February 20, 2019
• LCS Off Season Week 6, Session 1-3 - February 20, 2019
• LCS Off Season Week 5, Session 1-2 - February 20, 2019