Be Coachable & Adaptable
One of the things I love about working with CrossFit athletes is that they understand something fundamental about performance: progress rarely happens alone.
This week I stepped out of my clinician role and into the athlete role to highlight three things that I see make the biggest difference when athletes get stuck:
Getting coached
Getting assessed
Addressing the whole athlete
These lessons came from my own training this week while working on my snatch technique with a CrossFit coach.
And honestly? The same things I preach to athletes in the clinic showed up in my own lifting.
The Value of Coaching (Even When You’re the Expert)
For #MentoringMonday, I worked with Coach Chris Bodman at CrossFit 737 to refine my snatch.
In the clinic I spend my days breaking down movement, identifying inefficiencies, and helping athletes improve performance. I understand the biomechanics and physiology behind performance.
But when you're under the barbell, something changes.
You can't see yourself.
You can't always feel the subtle timing errors.
And you certainly can't analyze every movement in real time.
That's where a coach becomes invaluable.
A skilled coach provides the external eye and the technical cues that turn knowledge into execution.
No matter your credentials or your PRs, you never outgrow the need for coaching.
In fact, the athletes who improve the most are usually the ones who are most willing to be coached.
When Olympic Lifts Stall: Look Under the Hood
One of the most common things I see with athletes is trying to train around pain or plateaus instead of figuring out why they exist.
The answer usually isn't simply “try harder.”
Instead, we need to evaluate what is actually happening in the movement and where are the breakdowns.
In my assessments I look at several key areas:
Movement and Mobility
Where is the kinetic chain breaking down?
Olympic lifts demand coordinated movement from the ankles, hips, thoracic spine, shoulders, and wrists. Limitations anywhere in that chain can disrupt technique and power transfer.
Strength and Force Production
Athletes may have the mobility to get into the right positions but lack the strength or stability to control them under load.
Symmetry
Asymmetries between limbs can cause compensation patterns that eventually lead to stalled performance or nagging pain.
Rate of Force Development (RFD)
This is where things get especially interesting for Olympic lifts.
RFD describes how quickly an athlete can produce force, not just how much force they can generate.
And this matters tremendously during the most explosive part of the lift.
Why the Second Pull Matters So Much
In Olympic weightlifting, the second pull is widely considered the most powerful phase of the lift.
It occurs when the bar moves from mid-thigh into the explosive extension of the hips, knees, and ankles.
Research consistently shows that the highest power outputs during the snatch and clean occur during this phase, when athletes rapidly accelerate the bar through triple extension.
High-performing lifters demonstrate:
Greater peak power
Faster bar velocity
More efficient force transfer from the hips
In other words, the second pull is where athletes truly turn strength into speed and power.
If an athlete lacks mobility to reach an efficient position, or lacks the rate of force development to explode from that position, the lift breaks down.
This is why simply adding more weight to the bar rarely solves the problem.
Instead, we need to understand why the power isn't showing up when it needs to. (FYI this is where Coach Chris and I worked a lot on my technique)
Sometimes the Limitation Isn’t Muscles or Mobility
During my own training session this week, something interesting came up.
A limitation in my snatch position wasn’t caused by muscle tightness or joint stiffness alone.
It was related to neural tension.
This is something that often gets overlooked.
Many athletes assume every limitation they feel is a muscle that needs to be stretched harder.
But nerves behave very differently than muscles.
If you feel sharp, tingling, or “zingy” sensations during a stretch, forcing deeper range may actually irritate the nervous system rather than improve mobility.
Instead, we use nerve gliding techniques.
The goal isn't to stretch the nerve.
It's to gently encourage the nerve to move and slide through surrounding tissues.
When done correctly, neural gliding can reduce sensitivity and restore more natural movement without provoking symptoms.
Performance Is a System
What this week reminded me of is something I emphasize with the athletes I work with:
Performance problems are rarely caused by just one thing.
They usually sit at the intersection of:
Movement mechanics
Mobility limitations
Strength and power development
Nervous system function
When we evaluate all of these pieces together, we can identify the real bottleneck.
And once we find the bottleneck, progress tends to happen quickly.
Stop Guessing. Start Assessing.
If you're a CrossFit athlete who:
Feels stuck in your training
Has nagging discomfort when lifting
Feels like your mobility work isn't translating to performance
It may be time to stop guessing and start assessing.
Sometimes the solution isn't more volume or more intensity.
Sometimes it's simply identifying the one missing piece that's holding everything else back.
Ignite Your Recovery. Elevate Your Performance.