Take 10 Steps Forward by Tidying Up

Forward advancement isn’t always better. That statement is true across specific disciplines, too. This is true in adult development and positive psychology just as well as weightlifting and gymnastics.

In the more esoteric sense of conscious complexity, it’s quite possible (and common) for individuals to operate largely a certain more advanced stage of development with holes in their development in previous instances. These weaknesses, traumas, and precepts can limit overall development and a case could be made that the best way forward is to go back and address these points. 

The development of movement skill works similarly. You could see how sequentially understanding how to front squat, then to hang clean, then to clean and jerk would mean the athlete in question can go on his/her merry way to unlimited development of the clean and jerk.

This, of course, isn’t true if the athlete isn’t strong enough or competent enough to own the various positions of the clean. If, instead, they can make a clean of a certain weight bypassing a position like the “pockets” or “high hang” position, we can’t argue that they don’t have the ability to clean a barbell. But, it’s only through tidying up these underdeveloped positions that he/she can go forward in a more complex skill like the clean and jerk. 

Can you imagine the places in your development where going back to “tidy up” is the best path forward? 

Logan Gelbrich 

@functionalcoach