Boring Wins: Why I’m Going Back To Basics

Why are you making your fitness routine so complicated?

Have you mastered the fundamentals before researching the advanced class?

Think about it.

I’ll often see people talking about how they’ve discovered this new amazing diet that is doing wonders for them, Keto this, vegetarian that, vegan who, intermittent fasting what.

Or they have found this new revolutionary exercise that has absolutely changed the game for them, running backwards on the treadmill, hot/volcanic yoga, and backflipping consistently into a perfect downward dog.

Let’s not forget those that hail AI like it’s the second coming of the messiah, are doing every test and bio hack under the sun whilst preaching that their healthy lifestyle is only possible now because of the wonders of LLMs.

In each instance, I always think to myself, why are you making things so complicated?

People managed to get and stay fit before AI.

New diets go in and out of fashion like seasons.

And fitness fads last about as long as milk from Iceland.

But you know what doesn’t change?

The basics. The fundamentals.

The things people have been doing consistently for eons to live healthy lives long term.

No AI. No fancy diet. No unique exercises.

Just the basics done right, over and over again, for a very long time.

1. Sleep well. Get your 8 hours.
2. Don’t eat shit.
3. Exercise regularly.

Yes, you can go into a bit more depth on some, but take out all the fancy salad dressing and that’s the nuts and bolts of what it all boils down to.

I can’t tell you how many people I know who haven’t even mastered the basics but are super excited about all the new fancy gizmos or routines or hacks everyone is talking about.

You don’t need hacks.

The basics will work just fine for most people.

They work just fine for me.

And unless you’re an elite or professional athlete, they’re probably just fine for you too.

The real problem is often people don’t keep doing them for a long time.

Or aren’t even doing them right in the first place.

So ask yourself:

Have you got your fundamentals locked in? Week in, week out?

Or are you trying to run before you can even walk?

Let me know what you think in the comments.