11 Things I learned by watching ‘Stephen Curry: Underrated’ & ‘Hot Ones’

Steph Curry had a big week. That makes like… 854 big weeks in a row for him.

Here are 11 takeaways from his new documentary & his appearance on Hot Ones (it’s the show with hot questions and even hotter wings).

1. Learn by doing.

Steph says, “The brand of basketball that I play now was predicated on a system that Davidson College, Bob McKillop mastered, and the only reason I think I’m this successful at it is cause I got to learn with reps. So having gone to [Virginia] Tech or Duke or whatever, maybe I like, ride the bench my freshman year and I don’t get that experience. I don’t known if i’d be the same player.”

[For the record, I think he would’ve somehow found his way into the rotation at any school, but you get the point.]

You can read about health & fitness all you want, watch all the Rocky training montages, and come up with the “perfect” nutrition plan. But all that knowledge is useless unless you’re putting it into practice, rep after rep, day after day.

You know what I like better than knawwwledge? Actually putting it into practice.

2. Shine the spotlight on others.

Steph is always quick to give credit to others. And he does it sincerely.

3. You can be insanely successful AND be a great human bean.

He’s mastered his craft. He’s at the top of his profession. He’s an incredible person. Steph’s the best reminder that we can be both.

4. Do your homework.

Throughout the documentary, Steph does his Davidson homework so he can graduate. That’s a great message for all you kids reading this but it’s not what I’m referring to.

On Hot Ones, Steph makes a callback to one of the show’s all-time great moments with Paul Rudd:

Who woulda thought??

I don’t know if Steph watches Hot Ones religiously. But he spoke directly to us diehards with a perfect delivery of the line. He also made Sean (and whoever else was off-camera) genuinely laugh.

5. Baggy shorts are hideous.

These are only slightly baggier than the 2008 Davidson shorts. You got a fireplace? Throw those baggy shorts in there, man.

6. Listen to coaches and experts.

During Hot Ones, Steph shouts out Rick Celebrini, Director of Sports Medicine and Performance for the Warriors. Rick looks out for players’ longevity & overall well-being.

Am I your Rick Celebrini? Should you listen to me?

Who knows…

I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to read her blog.

I might not be am not the smartest guy. But I promise I’ll always be the truth.

7. Steph’s got your back…

Steph went out of his way to defend NBA players who get criticized for load management and not wanting to play 82 games.

"Hey, Steph, I need your help. I can't tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it later, and we're gonna help some people…”

- Steph

8. Live in the moment.

On Hot Ones, Steph basks in the sensation of burning lips and does so with laughter & a smile.

On the court, he’s completely locked into the moment.

In person, Steph makes you feel like you’re the only person in the world. He’s completely present and gives you his full attention. He remembers small details about your life, asks about your family, and, once again, genuinely cares.

9. "Choose as a guide one whom you will admire more when you see him act than when you hear him speak." — Seneca

Is it even a Steve article if there’s no Stoicism reference?

Steph’s not the most vocal guy, but his actions speak louder than anything he could ever say. Steph walks the walk in all areas of life. Consistently.

10. College Steve thought he was GQ…

Earrings? ✓ Bowl cut? ✓ V-neck argyle sweater with a t-shirt underneath? ✓

11. “Before winning your fourth NBA championship; chop wood, carry water. After winning your fourth NBA championship; chop wood, carry water.”

The final scene of the documentary gave me chills.

Two months after winning his fourth NBA title, Steph is back in the gym working on his game. Back to the basics. Always leveling up, but hammering the same fundamentals that got him here.

Chopping wood & carrying water. Lifting weights & carrying groceries.

Steph focuses on the daily work. He wants to win, but he knows the championships & accolades are byproducts of following the day-to-day systems & processes.

Just like you know that having a nice little body is a byproduct of your systems, processes, and choices.

Earlier this week I made a video…

7 things that helped me improve my chin-ups/pull-ups over the past year

While it was written specifically with chin-ups/pull-ups in mind, the principles are more or less applicable to any exercise…

1. I accepted that I sucked and made a conscious effort to improve.

2. I embraced that they suck to do but I was going to get better at them anyway [spoiler alert: they become a lot more fun when you get decent — I find this to be true about a lot of things].

3. I did them first in my workout. This allowed me to focus in and really push myself. And, obviously, my back/biceps/rear delts were fresh and ready to rock.

4. I alternated between bodyweight, weighted, band-assisted, switched up grips, etc… but I always focused on getting more reps or adding more weight as often as possible.

5. I took long rest periods. I never time my rest periods, but I’d guess I rested AT LEAST 3 minutes between sets (basically made sure I was feeling fully recovered before starting the next set).

6. I [almost] never went to failure. I usually stopped 1-2 reps short of failure (you learn what this feels like by doing it). Instead, focus on making sure every rep is as close to perfect as possible. Remember that all exercises are learned skills and you get better at a skill by mastering the fundamentals and practicing with perfect technique. This translates into getting stronger.

7. I lost some body fat. Dropping 10-12 pounds made it that much easier to move my body through space. [note: losing fat may make you weaker on certain exercises like the bench press, for example]