Recently I took a course in NeuroKinetic Therapy, which was a great weekend of learning.  Not only did I get to experience a great new modality to help my clients but I found out some things about myself.

As practitioners we often overlook little flaws in what we do because we think we know everything.  My strength levels are good, my mobility is excellent and I have a great amount of power and endurance.  A funny thing happened though.

When I got my deep abdominal layer tested it was a MASSIVE fail in one area.  Having the humility to analyze that made me realize that I had to go back to the drawing board and rebuild what I had been working on for my own workouts.  And this meant going right back to some very basic exercises that I had been overlooking for years.

One of my roles as a coach is to remind people of basic fundamentals, and I spend a lot of my time during sessions doing just that.  Reminding people to slow down, focus on form, even adjusting loads constantly to create the ability to control muscles and joints.  More often than not my athletes have overlooked that if they can’t do A properly, then they have no business doing B.

So here’s the question I ask people – are you good enough at the simple fundamentals before you jump into more advanced things when it comes to your training?

I’ll give an example of my runners.  So many runners are notorious for simply strapping on their shoes and going out for runs without having strong lower limbs or backs and then wonder why they are constantly getting hurt.  My runners get trained like powerlifters in the gym because their bodies HAVE to be able to take a large amount of load constantly.  This means they need to be able to have strong backs and hips which means great form during heavy lifting.  Then, they need to be able to run short distance consistently day after day with good form and recovery principles in place before expanding their distance and speed.  This takes months for many of them, not days or weeks.

If your goal is to deadlift heavy weight, can you even get into lifting position (ie a fairly deep squat) without compromising your spine first?  Have you worked on basic position fundamentals enough to then be able to load the bar and try some controlled repetitions?Practice this first and make sure you have it down.

If your goal is to play a sport, can you do the basics like push hard anaerobically for 45 seconds without getting completely winded repeatedly and losing form during your movement?  No?  Maybe you need to focus on just doing hard repeats before getting back on the ice or track.

Or, if your goal is simply to get into a good exercise habit, can you perform some basic bodyweight movements – at home – for 10 minutes every other day and establish a habit before you even think about joining a gym?  This can also take weeks for some people.  And before you say an excuse, remember that it’s only 10 minutes.  Drop one episode of Netflix or don’t hit the snooze button.

If you have tried to change things in the past and keep going back, sometimes it takes a complete step back to the very start and beginning there again before you move forward.  for many this requires some humility, but if it will get you to your long term goal faster and without hurting yourself then it is worth the investment.  Nothing in life comes without some hard work over time, and this is usually months, not days or weeks.

So my lesson today is to take a look at your program and maybe take a step back if you’re not seeing progress or you have gotten out of a good habit.  Break down what you’re really trying to accomplish and begin with the simplest parts.  Once you have mastered that, then you have the right to move onto more difficult parts.

I’m already applying this to my own exercise practice and seeing improvement even after two weeks.  You can easily do the same.

By the way, this doesn’t have to apply to exercise only.  Whether it be work goals, life goals or even family goals starting with simple fundamentals is always the best course of action.

If you need help figuring out where to get started, I’m happy to help.  Reach our at strengthrehabottawa@gmail.com, on Facebook or on Twitter or Instagram @strengthottawa.  I look forward to the opportunity to help you move forward.