Why Simplicity Has Its Perks

 It's funny how we tend to complicate things when it comes to exercise and fitness. The problem with the complications mainly is how workouts are done or interpreted from the magazines, the overwhelming feeds on social media and the "influencers" that think they know fitness but don't have a damn clue what the hell they're doing.

Some look at the basics as boring and actually believe they don't do much after mastering them. The question is, have you really mastered them? The basics not only lay the foundation but they're a guide to build true mastery which in terms of today's fitness enthusiasts, doesn't seem to be the nature of what it means to truly master something. If you get the basics down, it doesn't mean you don't need them anymore, there's always a way to make the basics harder but also to reflect on how you can successfully develop a solid program or workouts that gives you success in your goals.

Basics however, doesn't mean they're easy and how we see as basic, at times may be too advanced for some people, so we modify them to suit us and make us better. Many just want to jump into the advanced variations of workouts and exercises because they feel cocky and think they can handle it. If anyone can advanced so quickly and handle it without hurting themselves and have a clear head, they might as well be superman or wonder woman. We have to look at the basics objectively without overthinking the idea that they're too basic or simple.

Let's look at the Jedi as an example, even the most powerful were once padawans and had to learn how to control their movement, emotions and way to look at things from a perspective. Some advanced quicker than others but very few ever made it to Grand Master or even a highly advanced Jedi Knight if you look at how many Jedi have trained throughout the eons. Another example would be the Wizards of Harry Potter, all Wizards (and even moguls) started out learning basic spells, flying on the broom (like a nimbus 2000) and had to understand the difference of what to defend or attack. If they didn't have these basic skills, those like Dumbledore, Voldemort or even Harry for that matter wouldn't be able to pull off some of the amazing (and terrible) things they can do.

Simplicity takes on a life of its own when they are mastered and understood how to apply them for the individuals needs and goals. You wouldn't think picking up a heavy bag of flour is a big deal and doesn't do anything but in reality, you're using all sorts of muscles to pick it up and either hoist it over the shoulder or Bear Hug it and carry it to a destination such as the back of a truck, stacked up against other bags in a warehouse, going up a flight or two of stairs to deliver or whatever. Doing something so simple can actually kick your ass depending on what you do.

The perks of doing simple things from a fitness perspective is....

1. Mastering a skill 

2. It doesn't take a ton of thinking

3. Learning your body's mechanics to handle other tasks

4. Developing a sense of timing 

5. Working the body to advanced to other areas of either workouts or labor (or both at the same time)

6. It makes other methods interesting to learn once the basics are in your brain

Be simple in what you do as much as possible. Learn certain skills that give you an advantage in what could be useful down the road and use simplicity to avoid injuries as much as possible because if you get hurt, you're no good to anyone.