by Dunte Hector
Occasionally someone will remark during or after class that I make a squat clean or a Turkish get-up look easy. If you’ve ever wondered the same, here’s a question: How many cleans do you do every week? And another: how many weeks have you been doing cleans?
It is easy to take for granted things we’ve done day-in, day-out for years. It is easy to forget how difficult it was to learn a skill — how to ride a bike, how to tie your shoes — and even easier to forget how quickly variations were picked up after that. Sometimes you ride standing up. Sometimes you ride with no hands. Sometimes you ride while looking over one shoulder. Those are just variations of riding a bike.
But when you learned to ride a bike, there was that death-grip-on-the-handlebars, teeth clenched, steel-eyed focus on turning those pedals over one by one by one, now wobble for balance, now pedal one stroke, two strokes, three strokes…until one day, BOOM! You had it! It suddenly came together and you were riding. Almost the next day, you were trying to ride no hands like the older kids in your neighborhood.
Movements in our workouts are the same way. As coaches, we have been practicing basic movements every day for years. A squat is no longer a new skill; it is a well-ingrained pattern, a motor habit. The squat never changes, but position the bar just like so and… a front squat, a back squat, an overhead squat. Just like that, 3 variations are picked up almost instantly.
I have easily done ten thousand power cleans in my lifetime. The squat clean is just a variation. In one way or another, every coach has done at least one push-up every single day for 5 or more years. The Man Maker, the shoulder tap, the clap push-up are all just variations.
“If it’s important, do it every day.” Dan Gable, amateur wrestling legend, said that.
If you’re struggling with a movement at the Shop, I suggest you do it every day. Liz practices pull-ups after every class. Hugh does 2 sets of 5 front squats before every workout. Matt sneaks in sets of 10-20 kettlebell swings after Fusion. They might not see it yet, but I see it getting better; I see it getting easier.
Folks, you’ve been tying your shoes every single day for years. At this point, you make it look easy yourself, but there was a time where it was a real challenge. If there is a movement at the Shop that’s holding you back, practice it every day. Practice, practice, practice, and wait for the boom.
For a while, you’ll be clenching your teeth, gripping the bar too tight, and reciting our cues from class like gospel – “chest up,” “knees out,” “elbows high.”
Chris, Alex, and Leann all became coaches after spending time as members; after struggling, after practicing, and after mastering some of our key movements. Just like them, if you practice enough, you can make it look easy too. And, you know, after being a member, coaching is just a variation.
Do some extra reps with Dunte this week! Register for classes here.