the.com/slog
work that fights back the whole way, one heavy step at a time.
means a long, tiring effort with no shortcuts, where progress is slow and grinding rather than fun.
from originally 19th-century slang for a hard, heavy blow in boxing or cricket, before it drifted into meaning any relentless, exhausting effort.
boxing rootfirst meant a hard punch, not effort
military slangsoldiers used it for marching through mud
double dutyworks as both noun and verb