Black Belts & Breakfasts 🥋

---

Confessions time — I can't catch or throw to save my life and I'm pretty useless with a football too. So as you might imagine team sports were not my thing but martial arts and kickboxing? That was my jam. There I found my rhythm, discipline, and my love for fitness.

Through years of training in martial arts taking more kicks to the ribs than I care to remember one key message stuck out...

Black belts do white belt stuff better than everyone else.

It sounds pretty simple but when you start training, you look at black belts like they're performing magic. Spinning kicks, lightning-fast combinations and untouchable in the ring …

But here's the twist: the deeper I got into training, the more I realised they weren't doing anything fancy. They were just doing the basics with exceptional precision and consistency. Sure they did the odd cool-guy move but 90% of what kicked my butt was the basic done to an exceptional standard!

This lesson has stuck with me ever since—especially when it comes to health and fitness.

The Basics Aren't Boring—They're Foundational

We're easily seduced by flashy techniques: intermittent fasting, barbell complexes, heart rate zones, high-tech sleep trackers and gadgets… but are you mastering the fundamentals?

Before worrying about your fasting window or tracking our glucose response to a bean, are you starting each day with a protein-packed breakfast?

Before planning your next 6-week lifting cycle, are you taking a consistent 15-minute walk each day?

Black Belt Habits Start With White Belt Discipline

It's tempting to skip the basics. But they're where real progress happens. If your foundation is weak, everything built on top will be unstable. You'll burn out, plateau, or simply spin your wheels.

It's not about never doing advanced techniques—it's about earning them by showing up and executing the simple things correctly, day after day.

Real Strength Comes From Reps—Not Tricks

A protein-rich breakfast and a daily walk won't earn you many likes online. Nor will they transform your health done in isolation. But if you can't find the time to improve just one meal, what are your chances of changing a whole diet? If a 10-minute walk feels too demanding, how will you find time to get to the gym multiple times per week? Learning happens sequentially, and rushing ahead before you've mastered step one is a false win.

This week, examine your basics. Are you skipping them? Rushing ahead? Perhaps it's time to slow down and get your white belt dirty again.

---

P.S. If you enjoyed this week's Thursday Three, please share it with a friend.

Thanks,

Jamie