The Highly Effective Man

The Power of 1% Improvement: Transform Your Life with Marginal Gains

• JP Bolwahnn

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Imagine transforming every aspect of your life with just a 1% improvement each day. That's exactly what the British cycling team did under Sir David Brailsford, evolving from underperformers to Olympic champions. In this episode, I, JP Bolwahnn, unpack how this powerful strategy of marginal gains has influenced my own life journey from being a Navy SEAL to embracing roles as a college football player, firefighter, and coach. By focusing on small, manageable changes, anyone can achieve monumental success over time. Whether it's perfecting a push-up or making healthier meal choices, these incremental improvements can make a significant impact on your fitness, mindset, and nutrition goals.

Join me as we explore the importance of discipline, focus, and unrelenting self-improvement. This episode isn't just for elite athletes; it's for anyone ready to elevate their life and become the best version of themselves. I invite you to subscribe to the Highly Effective Man podcast for ongoing inspiration and to join our community for support and accountability. Together, we'll embrace the spirit of continuous growth and purposeful living. Your feedback is more than welcome—it's essential as we strive to reach and positively influence more lives.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Highly Effective man podcast, hosted by former Navy SEAL turned life and fitness coach. I'm your host, jp Bolwan. This podcast is your resource for unlocking the healthiest, most productive and highly effective man within you. Let's go. Productive and highly effective man within you, let's go. Welcome back to the Highly Effective man podcast, the show where we break down strategies to help you become your best self, stronger, sharper and more effective in every area of your life. I'm your host, jp Bolwan, and today we're going to dive into game-changing principle that has transformed one of the most underperforming sports teams in history into a world-class powerhouse. Yes, I am talking about the British cycling team and their 1% improvement strategy, but I want you to know this isn't just about cycling okay, because I really don't know much about it, but I know this story and this principle is something that I've used in my own life, and I'll show you how you can apply it to yours so that you can dominate your fitness, improve your mindset and take control of your future. So grab a cup of coffee, get ready to listen, and we're going to talk about how small changes lead to massive success.

Speaker 1:

Let's start with the story, all right, so for decades, the British cycling team was a joke on the world stage, okay. So from 1908 to 2003, they only won one Olympic gold medal One. Enter Sir David Brailsford, who was a visionary coach with a radical approach. His philosophy at that time was marginal gains and he believed that if you could improve every aspect of cycling performance by just 1%, those small changes would lead to compound and monumental improvements. And some of the things that they did was they redesigned bike seats for better comfort, they cleaned the floors in their workshops to reduce dust affecting equipment and they even brought in a surgeon to teach riders how to properly wash their hands so that they can avoid illness. So what was the result? Well, between 2008 and 2012, so about five years later British cyclists won eight out of 10 gold medals in track cycling at the Beijing and London Olympics. In the Tour de France, they went from complete obscurity to dominating the podium. They even had some guys take home the yellow jersey. So how has this strategy shaped my life? Well, one.

Speaker 1:

I like this story a lot because it resonates deeply with my own journey and some of you know my background 13 years as a Navy SEAL, where attention to detail and constant improvement they're not just nice to haves, but the requirements for survival and success. And after leaving the SEAL teams, I faced a bunch of other challenges. Ok, so, trying to balance college football at 33 years old, and then, you know, only being 5'6 and playing rugby, and you know, eventually I found my six and playing rugby, and you know, eventually I found my calling as a firefighter and a coach. And here's the thing I didn't suddenly wake up one day and say, hey, I'm the highly effective man, right? So every step of that journey has been about finding a once 1% improvement. Okay, in football I was focused on perfecting just one move at a time, and I'm talking about, like, just the footwork in the backfield, so that the timing with me and the quarterback and the line is perfect, so that I could hit the hole just as it's opening, because those holes don't last very long. In fitness, it was about improving my nutrition, recovery and strength by small, incremental changes. And even now, as a coach and a firefighter, I still use this approach learning a new skill like podcasting or, you know, developing my community and tweaking my routine or refining how I connect with others, you know. So this is in theory I'm living proof that small changes add up to massive results.

Speaker 1:

So why does the 1% work in real life? Well, you might be thinking, okay, this is great for cycling and your life, but how does it work for me? Well, the power of 1% isn't just for elite athletes or Navy SEALs. Okay, it's for anyone. Why? Because it's simple, it's manageable and it's proven. Too often we set massive goals like I'm going to lose 50 pounds or I want to get shredded in 30 days and I want to fix every bad habit overnight. That's just not possible. Those big, lofty goals. So many times. I've seen it time and time again, not just in others, but also in my own life. Okay, so here's the twist, though. What if you just focused on 1% better, you know, adding one more rep to your workout or drinking one more glass of water, spending one extra minute of gratitude or journaling? The changes might feel small in the moment, but over time, it's going to stack up and be life-changing. So, applying the concept of marginal gains to your life, let's break it down in steps that you can start using today.

Speaker 1:

So, number one, you can choose your focus areas. Think about your top priorities. For me, it always comes back to my fitness mindset and nutrition. Right, obviously, my family and God and all the other things, but when I'm talking about just me, I'm talking about fitness, mindset and nutrition. So if you were to look at those in fitness, could you perfect your push-up form, could you add 500 steps to your day. In mindset, could you take five deep breaths during stressful moment instead of reacting. In nutrition, could you just prep one extra healthy meal for the week. Those are what you could do for you know.

Speaker 1:

Number one choosing your focus area. Number two track your progress. You know I always say that if you're not tracking, you're just guessing. Okay, because more often than not, you're probably guessing wrong. Okay, so during SEAL training, we tracked everything, and even now I still use a journal to see where I'm winning and where I need to adjust. I track my workouts, I track my food, you know. I track my body weight, I track my waist, you know, and all of this helps me stay on top of where I'm at in my journey. Okay, and so? Number three we got to stack habits. Okay, so pair new habits with existing ones. Like, for instance, I journal for 10 minutes after brushing my teeth every morning. It's almost like automatic now. Or my power down routine right. As soon as I put the girls to sleep, it's time for me to go through my power down routine, which starts at nine o'clock, and it helps set me up for the next day and celebrate your wins. Number four celebrate your wins.

Speaker 1:

Every small improvement matters. When I look back at my toughest moments, it wasn't the big leaps that made the difference. It was the little victories that I stacked up day after day. So the compound effect will take action, okay, and that's where the real magic happens. It's the math of marginal gains. So if you were to improve 1% every day for a year, by the end of the year you're going to be 37 times better.

Speaker 1:

But the reverse is true as well. If you let yourself decline by 1% every day, you're going to spiral into almost zero, right? So you're either stepping forward or you're stepping backwards, and when I was training for the teams or football, or now as a coach, this principle has kept me moving forward. I'm not trying to win the whole game in one day. I'm just focused on winning today's battle, and the same is true for you. Every choice you make today, no matter how small, it's, either moving you closer to the man you want to be or further away from him. The key is to focus on this day. Okay, guys, the time has come, it's time to take action. Here's my challenge Pick one area of your life where you want to improve. Write down one small 1% change that you can start making today, and then do it. That you can start making today and then do it.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so for me, I'm focusing on better hydration this week. Last week, I went to an acupuncturist and she asked me if I was dehydrated because she was having a hard time getting the needles into my muscles. One, I was really surprised that she could feel that, and then, two, it made me realize that, yeah, I wasn't drinking enough water. I was really busy, I didn't have my gallon jug with me that I normally have, and so I was behind on drinking water and it was affecting the way my body felt in a ton of ways. Okay, so this week I've been focusing on getting more hydrated.

Speaker 1:

Okay, what about you? Let me know, in our Highly Effective man community, share your goal and your progress, because in the end, we're all in this together, and you might be surprised at how inspiring that your journey might be for other people. And if the story about the British cycling team inspired you and you want to dive deeper. Check out books like Atomic Habits by James Clear that's one of my favorites or the Slight Edge by Jeff Olson Both of these books, you know. They explore the power of small, consistent improvements. And you can search online for the British cycling team about marginal gains and read articles and watch interviews. It's all about their incredible transformation and there's so much stuff out there. It's great, okay, and of course, if you're looking for practical ways to apply this philosophy to your life, join the Highly Effective man community. It's where we break down these strategies step-by-step, specifically for men like you and me.

Speaker 1:

Okay, you don't have to go it alone. Thanks for tuning into this episode of the Highly Effective man podcast. Remember, the journey to greatness isn't about overnight success. It's about consistent progress, one small step at a time. And if you found value in today's episode, hit that subscribe button, share this podcast with a friend and leave a comment to let me know your thoughts. And don't forget to join the Highly Effective man community on school. I'll leave the link in the show notes below, but in there I'll have more tips, more challenges and, of course, accountability to help you become the best man you can be.

Speaker 1:

Until next time, stay focused, stay disciplined and keep getting 1% better every day. You've got this. Let's go. Thanks for tuning in to the Highly Effective man podcast. If you found value today, hit that subscribe button and stay connected. I want to invite you to join my incredible community, the Highly Effective man. The link is in the show notes below. It's a powerful space where you'll find support, accountability and camaraderie with men who are committed to growth and living purposefully, and your voice matters, so leave a review and share your thoughts and help us reach more men just like you. Together, let's elevate our lives and become the best versions of ourselves. Stay highly effective. See you next time.