Are you Practicing the Fundamentals?

Yep...it's that simple...WORK! You have to work hard if you want to succeed at your goals - or anything for that matter. However, just working hard alone is not enough...YOU HAVE TO WORK SMART. I'm a big believer in Fundamentals. It's what sets you apart from the crowd, and turns average into extraordinary. It's all about how you DO FUNDAMENTALS.

Have you ever heard the adage..."Practice makes Perfect"? Well, I don't agree. I believe "Practice with Perfection makes Perfect". You can practice/train in something over and over again, but it's the quality of your practice and technique that determines the outcome and the difference to being just good or being outstanding.

I love the way Michael Jordan explains Fundamentals....

"Fundamentals were the most crucial part of my game in the NBA. Everything I did, everything I achieved, can be traced back to the way I approached the fundamentals and how I applied them to my abilities.

They really are the basic building blocks or principles that make everything work. I don't care what you're doing or what you're trying to accomplish; you can't skip fundamentals if you want to be the best. There are plenty of people with great abilities, but if they don't know how to apply those skills to a particular situation, then what good are they? So what if you can jump out of the gym. Can you shoot well enough to score if you're not in position to dunk? So what if you can memorize an entire book for the test. Did you learn anything?

But some guys don't want to deal with that. They're looking for instant gratification, so maybe they skip a few steps. Maybe they don't practice ballhandling because they don't handle the ball that much. Maybe they don't develop proper shooting techniques because they rely on their size to score. You can get away with it through the early stages, but it's going to catch up with you eventually.

It's like they're so focused on composing a masterpirece that they never master the scales. And you can't do one without the other. The minute you get away from fundamentals - whether it's proper technique, work ethic, or preparation - the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you're doing."

"That's what made Larry Bird such a great player. He essentially mastered the fundamentals to the point that he overcame any physical limitations he might have had. It sounds easy, but it isn't. You have to monitor your fundamentals constantly because the only thing that changes will be your attention to them. The fundamentals will never change.

It comes down to a very simple saying: There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way.

Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise."

- from the book, "I Can't Accept Not Trying" by Michael Jordan

So whatever it is that you're trying to achieve, do you have the fundamentals down pat?

The fundamentals are the simple things...the basic things, repeated day-in, day-out. But if you don't focus on these things, you'll stray off course - it's inevitable - don't kid yourself, it's only a matter of time.

For me, I've learnt the following FUNDAMENTALS, to achieve fat loss and improve my health and fitness levels:

1. Have a detailed plan of how you are going to achieve your goals, and assign a time period or date to achieve it by. This is the first step (once you've set your goals of course).


2. Record everything in a journal! The longer I do this, the more I understand that this is one of the most important keys to not just achieving your initial goals, but maintaining and staying on-track. This one habit alone works to keep you focused throughout the day, every day. I've made note of the periods when I've diligently recorded my training and nutrition in my diary and when I haven't, and rest assured, the periods where I haven't recorded everything in my diary, is when I get off track in both training and nutrition. It's a must! (says Kerry, as a current reminder that she's gotten off track a little...lol...)


3. Beat your best, every time you Train. This one alone will see you achieve things others haven't. This is where you will see real change. It's great to be training regularly and consistently, but if you're not putting your heart and soul into it....not giving it your all, you're selling yourself short. In the earlier days (of my Ideal Bodies Online programs), I used perceived exertion until I could afford a heart-rate monitor. My HRM told me how it was in black and white. But deep down, you know if you're giving it your all. If you do 10 push-ups in one session, aim to improve it by 1, the next session, and the next, etc. You don't need a HRM to know if you're giving it everything you've got!


4. Plan & Allow for Recovery. I found this out the hard way when I overtrained and ended up having to taking a couple of weeks off from pure exhaustion. I know I said give it everything you've got - well that includes rest and recovery too. If you don't, you're body is going to give out, and you'll end up being forced to take time off. And if you do so under duress, then you're not going to perform as well. This includes taking time off for sickness and injuries. If you're sick, it's also a sign your body is not functioning at 100%, and that something is wrong. So listen to your body, and give it the nurturing and care it needs, when it needs it! It will reward you tenfold with improved energy, performance and longevity. Of course, once you've overcome these hiccups, then don't waste any time getting straight back onto the saddle (so to speak).


5. Dream Big...that's where all the fun is! Dreaming big is about where you see yourself 6 months, 12 months, 2 years from now. It's about seeing the possibilities, not about being realistic. And I don't mean realistic in the sense of the technicalities of how you train, because you have to set small, realistic goals along the way to achieve your bigger goals. I mean seeing something...a vision of your ultimate self! It can be crazy, out-of-this world, superhero sought of stuff. Because quite frankly, anything less won't get you out of bed or excite you when the going gets tough. Anything less won't keep you motivated weeks, months, years from now. And this vision doesn't have to remain static...it can change as you change and your belief grows as you start to realise that what you didn't think possible, over time, becomes the possible. This is also about setting and renewing your goals on a regular basis. You must strive for something bigger than yourself right now! It's like you never reach your goal, but you keep looking back and seeing the changes, and then you look forward and it excites you still, about what you can achieve next.

Hope this helps any of you struggling out there. So remember...work on your FUNDAMENTALS and dream big you SEXY BITCHES! :P