How do I get good at everything?

'If I said, I’ve got a strong bench press, back squat and deadlift and can run a relatively quick 10km, is that good at everything?'

During lockdown online training become more popular than ever with Instagram being hit hard for inspiration or live classes. I enjoyed checking out what other trainers, fitness professional and gyms had to offer. Many I was really impressed with and it made me up my game. Interaction with others that wanted advice had never been so important but one question put to another successful fitness specialist has stuck in my mind. This question has since popped up in a few comments sections I’ve viewed.

‘How do I get good at everything?’

First of all, what is everything? If I said, I’ve got a strong bench press, back squat and deadlift and can run a relatively quick 10km, is that good at everything? What about handstand walks? What about swimming? It’s going to be very difficult to be excellent at every exercise but you can definitely prepare yourself for a lot of them.

As mentioned above, there are so many exercises out there that it’s difficult to be good at everything. Even the CrossFit games where we witness extremely well rounded athletes compete through a variety of different events for the title of ‘Fittest on Earth’ sometimes have their weakness. You’ll hear from time to time the commentator say, for example, ‘He/She is onto the handstand push ups, an area in which he/she has always struggled.’ This athlete has probably just done a marathon on the rower, deadlifted 230kg, been swimming in the sea and done 100 gym ring muscle ups over the last few days.

To be ‘good at everything’ is a question that comes down to the person. What areas matter to you the most? Make a list as there will be a strong possibility you won’t be able to train for everything in a week, month or even a year. To get good at anything takes time and dedication over a period of time. Also to be ‘good at everything’ may mean your body composition may have to take a back seat. The guy/girl on the front of that fitness magazine you bought may not be the strongest or fittest.

I would always suggest you get good at bodyweight exercises before anything else. If you struggle with bodyweight squats, lunges, push ups and chin ups then this is the best place to start. Once you get better at these then move onto dumbbell and barbell work (I’ll interrupt myself and say that for push ups and chin ups the weights might improve your strength before getting these nailed down).

Being ‘good at everything’ would probably suggest using free weights over the resistance machines in the gym. The machines have a purpose and were originally made for bodybuilders to focus on particular muscle grounds. But to be strong through a variety of movements then these may be too restrictive due to the nature of their one plane movement.

If I had to make a list of areas to cover to be an all rounder when it comes to fitness then I’d suggest focusing on getting comfortable with bodyweight exercises. Strong at weighted exercises like the squat, deadlift and the bench press. Then work on your cardio. The two different types of cardio are HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and LISS (Low Intensity Steady State). Try to either do both or vary each week which one you do. This way you’ll be best equipped when asked to do either. If you think a handstand walk is a something that should be covered then check out local gymnastic gyms but as I said before, being ‘good at everything’ can only be answered by the individual asking the question.