Stick to the basics...

Some of Rannoch's comments on recent posts have got me thinking.

He is right. So much of what you read is written as if the average trainee is an elite athlete training for the national championships.

In general that is not true. Most of us are just average guys wanting to keep fit and healthy. We want to be better than average but we also are not elite.

We do not need the routines of the champions. We need to move more, to do the basics and get better at basic movements.

Here are the comments, which are worth a post of their own:

On Craig Ballantyne

Whilst CB's sales pitch is relentless, here offers simple effective methods for average people. And this is the key.

You talk about training enrgy systems and training geared towards specific activities. well I am afraid that applies to a very small percentage of folks out there. In fact ,if I were to identify one thing that stops people making progress it is trying to adhere to routines and protocols that are beyond the average persons reach.

Most people don't have a basic foundation from which to build general fitness and well-being, yet they gravitate to the programs offered in the fitness mags that promise radical results in 28 days.

In truth, the average person will seem greater returns from a simple bodyweight program, done consistently with intensity.

If you are not an athlete, the fastest route to injury and over training is to train like one.

Think general, think foundation. Once you have that nailed we can talk specifics.

On functional training

Good stuff as always Chris. The danger here is we are entering into high performance territory. For those looking to shave milliseconds or add millimetres, the devil really is in the details.

The sports scholarship culture in the US has created an entire industry round perfromance measurement. As a result everyone is under the microscope. In turn these measures become an industry standard of sorts.

But for the other 99% looking to improve their pick up basket ball game,hit the pads a little harder or simply be fit for purpose we will always come back to the general stuff. If for no other reason than it leaves us time to do the specific activity we choose.

Basics are only boring if you can't do them. Otherwise they are the key so sophisticated performance. That is the irony.

People sweat bullets trying to do a one arm push up when they don't have the physical control to do 30 crisp regular push ups. Master the later and the the former becomes possible.

Martial arts is another tgreat example. People get bored so they look for novelty. then they wonder why a guy with nothing more than a solid jab can run rings around them.

There is nothing without foundation.

If you are not getting results, chances are you just aren't training the basics consistently and hard enough.

Marc also commented:

Our teacher always told people that what you saw him do is just the basics/foundation executed very very well. He would then say in his broken english, all of you stink because your basics still stink ;-)

(By the way, my interview with Rannoch is here)