The one thing you're NOT doing that's holding you back

Whats the ONE thing that most people don't do?

There's a great book called The ONE Thing (link below) that is written as a kind of self-help/business motivation book. I found it really useful for life in general but especially so in my training and my programming for others.

The book centres around the main message:

"What is the ONE thing you could do that will make everything else easier or unnecessary?"

Waking up every day with this is mind very effectively prioritises your 'to do list'

In the context of training I like to rephrase it slightly:

"What ONE thing do I need to improve that will make all other things improve"

Now let's be clear, I'm not by any means saying I or anyone else needs only to improve ONE thing. What I am saying is; by improving this one thing, I will get better in many areas. Then I will improve ONE other thing, then ANOTHER, and so on.

There is no silver bullet in lifting. Just because someone squats huge doesn't automatically mean they snatch a lot, but it does help. So, for each phase of training I will place a lot of emphasis on just ONE thing. Really nail down improvements in that area, build strength, capacity, speed or whatever it may be. Then I identify the next big priority.

Prioritising is, in my opinion, the ONE thing most people don't do on their own. They want to get good at everything, right away, right now and all the time. They can't see the wood for the trees.

It takes a little analysis, a little introspection and honesty. That's why usually a coach is better at doing it than yourself. We are a step away, with less personal attachment to what you like and dislike, whether your ego can handle working on something that is hard and you suck at.

A practical example might be that if you were stronger in your first pulls (for both lifts), you wouldn't be rushing and on your toes early in the second pull, you wouldn't be inclined to arm bend so much so early and you'd prevent the chance of missing forwards or jumping forwards. For you then, a phase of prioritising your first pull should be a priority. Loads of work on first pulls, halting pulls, deficit pulls, maybe even going back to deadlifting and RDL's. Your squats (which you love) are down to once a week if that and your full lifts are scaled back to bare minimum. 

You wont forget how to snatch if you've been doing it a while. It also wont fix everything over night. BUT it will make you better at your first pull, which will likely fix everything else afterwards meaning no need to spend hours on your second pull, on fixing your arm bend, on timing the catch and learning not to jump forwards.

This is just one example and may not be YOUR ONE THING. Spend some time or ask a coach to help you identify the key to your next big steps forwards.

Prioritising should be your priority.

Here's the book link if you're interested: The ONE thing