December 9, 2024 • 12 mins
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.
Join the Brotherhood – Transform Your Life Now!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to the Highly Effective man podcast, hosted
by former Navy SEAL turned lifeand fitness coach.
I'm your host, jp Bolwan.
This podcast is your resourcefor unlocking the healthiest,
most productive and highlyeffective man within you.
Let's go.
Productive and highly effectiveman within you, let's go.
(00:31):
Welcome back to the HighlyEffective man podcast, the show
where we break down strategiesto help you become your best
self, stronger, sharper and moreeffective in every area of your
life.
I'm your host, jp Bolwan, andtoday we're going to dive into
game-changing principle that hastransformed one of the most
underperforming sports teams inhistory into a world-class
powerhouse.
(00:51):
Yes, I am talking about theBritish cycling team and their
1% improvement strategy, but Iwant you to know this isn't just
about cycling okay, because Ireally don't know much about it,
but I know this story and thisprinciple is something that I've
used in my own life, and I'llshow you how you can apply it to
(01:12):
yours so that you can dominateyour fitness, improve your
mindset and take control of yourfuture.
So grab a cup of coffee, getready to listen, and we're going
to talk about how small changeslead to massive success.
Let's start with the story, allright, so for decades, the
British cycling team was a jokeon the world stage, okay.
(01:36):
So from 1908 to 2003, they onlywon one Olympic gold medal One.
Enter Sir David Brailsford, whowas a visionary coach with a
radical approach.
His philosophy at that time wasmarginal gains and he believed
(01:56):
that if you could improve everyaspect of cycling performance by
just 1%, those small changeswould lead to compound and
monumental improvements.
And some of the things thatthey did was they redesigned
bike seats for better comfort,they cleaned the floors in their
workshops to reduce dustaffecting equipment and they
(02:19):
even brought in a surgeon toteach riders how to properly
wash their hands so that theycan avoid illness.
So what was the result?
Well, between 2008 and 2012, soabout five years later British
(02:40):
cyclists won eight out of 10gold medals in track cycling at
the Beijing and London Olympics.
In the Tour de France, theywent from complete obscurity to
dominating the podium.
They even had some guys takehome the yellow jersey.
So how has this strategy shapedmy life?
Well, one.
I like this story a lot becauseit resonates deeply with my own
journey and some of you know mybackground 13 years as a Navy
(03:03):
SEAL, where attention to detailand constant improvement they're
not just nice to haves, but therequirements for survival and
success.
And after leaving the SEALteams, I faced a bunch of other
challenges.
Ok, so, trying to balancecollege football at 33 years old
, and then, you know, only being5'6 and playing rugby, and you
(03:24):
know, eventually I found my sixand playing rugby, and you know,
eventually I found my callingas a firefighter and a coach.
And here's the thing I didn'tsuddenly wake up one day and say
, hey, I'm the highly effectiveman, right?
So every step of that journeyhas been about finding a once 1%
improvement.
Okay, in football I was focusedon perfecting just one move at
(03:44):
a time, and I'm talking about,like, just the footwork in the
backfield, so that the timingwith me and the quarterback and
the line is perfect, so that Icould hit the hole just as it's
opening, because those holesdon't last very long.
In fitness, it was aboutimproving my nutrition, recovery
and strength by small,incremental changes.
And even now, as a coach and afirefighter, I still use this
(04:08):
approach learning a new skilllike podcasting or, you know,
developing my community andtweaking my routine or refining
how I connect with others, youknow.
So this is in theory I'm livingproof that small changes add up
to massive results.
So why does the 1% work in reallife?
Well, you might be thinking,okay, this is great for cycling
(04:31):
and your life, but how does itwork for me?
Well, the power of 1% isn'tjust for elite athletes or Navy
SEALs.
Okay, it's for anyone.
Why?
Because it's simple, it'smanageable and it's proven.
Too often we set massive goalslike I'm going to lose 50 pounds
or I want to get shredded in 30days and I want to fix every
(04:55):
bad habit overnight.
That's just not possible.
Those big, lofty goals.
So many times.
I've seen it time and timeagain, not just in others, but
also in my own life.
Okay, so here's the twist,though.
(05:15):
What if you just focused on 1%better, you know, adding one
more rep to your workout ordrinking one more glass of water
, spending one extra minute ofgratitude or journaling?
The changes might feel small inthe moment, but over time, it's
going to stack up and belife-changing.
(05:36):
So, applying the concept ofmarginal gains to your life,
let's break it down in stepsthat you can start using today.
So, number one, you can chooseyour focus areas.
Think about your top priorities.
For me, it always comes back tomy fitness mindset and
(05:59):
nutrition.
Right, obviously, my family andGod and all the other things,
but when I'm talking about justme, I'm talking about fitness,
mindset and nutrition.
So if you were to look at thosein fitness, could you perfect
your push-up form, could you add500 steps to your day.
(06:20):
In mindset, could you take fivedeep breaths during stressful
moment instead of reacting.
In nutrition, could you justprep one extra healthy meal for
the week.
Those are what you could do foryou know.
Number one choosing your focusarea.
Number two track your progress.
You know I always say that ifyou're not tracking, you're just
(06:43):
guessing.
Okay, because more often thannot, you're probably guessing
wrong.
Okay, so during SEAL training,we tracked everything, and even
now I still use a journal to seewhere I'm winning and where I
need to adjust.
I track my workouts, I track myfood, you know.
I track my body weight, I trackmy waist, you know, and all of
(07:05):
this helps me stay on top ofwhere I'm at in my journey.
Okay, and so?
Number three we got to stackhabits.
Okay, so pair new habits withexisting ones.
Like, for instance, I journalfor 10 minutes after brushing my
teeth every morning.
It's almost like automatic now.
(07:26):
Or my power down routine right.
As soon as I put the girls tosleep, 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 thenext day and celebrate your wins
.
Number four celebrate your wins.
Every small improvement matters.
When I look back at my toughestmoments, it wasn't the big
(07:48):
leaps that made the difference.
It was the little victoriesthat I stacked up day after day.
So the compound effect willtake 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
(08:10):
of the year you're going to be37 times better.
But the reverse is true as well.
If you let yourself decline by1% every day, you're going to
spiral into almost zero, right?
So you're either steppingforward or you're stepping
backwards, and when I wastraining for the teams or
(08:32):
football, or now as a coach,this principle has kept me
moving forward.
I'm not trying to win the wholegame in one day.
I'm just focused on winningtoday's battle, and the same is
true for you.
Every choice you make today, nomatter how small, it's, either
moving you closer to the man youwant to be or further away from
(08:55):
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 onearea of your life where you want
to improve.
Write down one small 1% changethat you can start making today,
(09:16):
and then do it.
That you can start making todayand then do it.
Okay, so for me, I'm focusing onbetter hydration this week.
Last week, I went to anacupuncturist and she asked me
if I was dehydrated because shewas having a hard time getting
the needles into my muscles.
One, I was really surprisedthat she could feel that, and
then, two, it made me realizethat, yeah, I wasn't drinking
(09:38):
enough water.
I was really busy, I didn'thave my gallon jug with me that
I normally have, and so I wasbehind on drinking water and it
was affecting the way my bodyfelt in a ton of ways.
Okay, so this week I've beenfocusing on getting more
hydrated.
Okay, what about you?
Let me know, in our HighlyEffective man community, share
(10:05):
your goal and your progress,because in the end, we're all in
this together, and you might besurprised at how inspiring that
your journey might be for otherpeople.
And if the story about theBritish cycling team inspired
you and you want to dive deeper.
Check out books like AtomicHabits by James Clear that's one
of my favorites or the SlightEdge by Jeff Olson Both of these
(10:28):
books, you know.
They explore the power of small, consistent improvements.
And you can search online forthe British cycling team about
marginal gains and read articlesand watch interviews.
It's all about their incredibletransformation and there's so
much stuff out there.
It's great, okay, and of course, if you're looking for
(10:49):
practical ways to apply thisphilosophy to your life, join
the Highly Effective mancommunity.
It's where we break down thesestrategies step-by-step,
specifically for men like youand me.
Okay, you don't have to go italone.
Thanks for tuning into thisepisode of the Highly Effective
man podcast.
(11:10):
Remember, the journey togreatness isn't about overnight
success.
It's about consistent progress,one small step at a time.
And if you found value intoday's episode, hit that
subscribe button, share thispodcast with a friend and leave
a comment to let me know yourthoughts.
And don't forget to join theHighly Effective man community
(11:31):
on school.
I'll leave the link in the shownotes below, but in there I'll
have more tips, more challengesand, of course, accountability
to help you become the best manyou can be.
Until next time, stay focused,stay disciplined and keep
getting 1% better every day.
(11:51):
You've got this.
Let's go.
Thanks for tuning in to theHighly Effective man podcast.
If you found value today, hitthat subscribe button and stay
connected.
I want to invite you to join myincredible community, the
Highly Effective man.
The link is in the show notesbelow.
It's a powerful space whereyou'll find support,
accountability and camaraderiewith men who are committed to
(12:13):
growth and living purposefully,and your voice matters, so leave
a review and share yourthoughts and help us reach more
men just like you.
Together, let's elevate ourlives and become the best
versions of ourselves.
Stay highly effective.
See you next time.
Welcome to the Highly Effective man podcast, hosted
by former Navy SEAL turned lifeand fitness coach.
I'm your host, jp Bolwan.
This podcast is your resourcefor unlocking the healthiest,
most productive and highlyeffective man within you.
Let's go.
Productive and highly effectiveman within you, let's go.
(00:31):
Welcome back to the HighlyEffective man podcast, the show
where we break down strategiesto help you become your best
self, stronger, sharper and moreeffective in every area of your
life.
I'm your host, jp Bolwan, andtoday we're going to dive into
game-changing principle that hastransformed one of the most
underperforming sports teams inhistory into a world-class
powerhouse.
(00:51):
Yes, I am talking about theBritish cycling team and their
1% improvement strategy, but Iwant you to know this isn't just
about cycling okay, because Ireally don't know much about it,
but I know this story and thisprinciple is something that I've
used in my own life, and I'llshow you how you can apply it to
(01:12):
yours so that you can dominateyour fitness, improve your
mindset and take control of yourfuture.
So grab a cup of coffee, getready to listen, and we're going
to talk about how small changeslead to massive success.
Let's start with the story, allright, so for decades, the
British cycling team was a jokeon the world stage, okay.
(01:36):
So from 1908 to 2003, they onlywon one Olympic gold medal One.
Enter Sir David Brailsford, whowas a visionary coach with a
radical approach.
His philosophy at that time wasmarginal gains and he believed
(01:56):
that if you could improve everyaspect of cycling performance by
just 1%, those small changeswould lead to compound and
monumental improvements.
And some of the things thatthey did was they redesigned
bike seats for better comfort,they cleaned the floors in their
workshops to reduce dustaffecting equipment and they
(02:19):
even brought in a surgeon toteach riders how to properly
wash their hands so that theycan avoid illness.
So what was the result?
Well, between 2008 and 2012, soabout five years later British
(02:40):
cyclists won eight out of 10gold medals in track cycling at
the Beijing and London Olympics.
In the Tour de France, theywent from complete obscurity to
dominating the podium.
They even had some guys takehome the yellow jersey.
So how has this strategy shapedmy life?
Well, one.
I like this story a lot becauseit resonates deeply with my own
journey and some of you know mybackground 13 years as a Navy
(03:03):
SEAL, where attention to detailand constant improvement they're
not just nice to haves, but therequirements for survival and
success.
And after leaving the SEALteams, I faced a bunch of other
challenges.
Ok, so, trying to balancecollege football at 33 years old
, and then, you know, only being5'6 and playing rugby, and you
(03:24):
know, eventually I found my sixand playing rugby, and you know,
eventually I found my callingas a firefighter and a coach.
And here's the thing I didn'tsuddenly wake up one day and say
, hey, I'm the highly effectiveman, right?
So every step of that journeyhas been about finding a once 1%
improvement.
Okay, in football I was focusedon perfecting just one move at
(03:44):
a time, and I'm talking about,like, just the footwork in the
backfield, so that the timingwith me and the quarterback and
the line is perfect, so that Icould hit the hole just as it's
opening, because those holesdon't last very long.
In fitness, it was aboutimproving my nutrition, recovery
and strength by small,incremental changes.
And even now, as a coach and afirefighter, I still use this
(04:08):
approach learning a new skilllike podcasting or, you know,
developing my community andtweaking my routine or refining
how I connect with others, youknow.
So this is in theory I'm livingproof that small changes add up
to massive results.
So why does the 1% work in reallife?
Well, you might be thinking,okay, this is great for cycling
(04:31):
and your life, but how does itwork for me?
Well, the power of 1% isn'tjust for elite athletes or Navy
SEALs.
Okay, it's for anyone.
Why?
Because it's simple, it'smanageable and it's proven.
Too often we set massive goalslike I'm going to lose 50 pounds
or I want to get shredded in 30days and I want to fix every
(04:55):
bad habit overnight.
That's just not possible.
Those big, lofty goals.
So many times.
I've seen it time and timeagain, not just in others, but
also in my own life.
Okay, so here's the twist,though.
(05:15):
What if you just focused on 1%better, you know, adding one
more rep to your workout ordrinking one more glass of water
, spending one extra minute ofgratitude or journaling?
The changes might feel small inthe moment, but over time, it's
going to stack up and belife-changing.
(05:36):
So, applying the concept ofmarginal gains to your life,
let's break it down in stepsthat you can start using today.
So, number one, you can chooseyour focus areas.
Think about your top priorities.
For me, it always comes back tomy fitness mindset and
(05:59):
nutrition.
Right, obviously, my family andGod and all the other things,
but when I'm talking about justme, I'm talking about fitness,
mindset and nutrition.
So if you were to look at thosein fitness, could you perfect
your push-up form, could you add500 steps to your day.
(06:20):
In mindset, could you take fivedeep breaths during stressful
moment instead of reacting.
In nutrition, could you justprep one extra healthy meal for
the week.
Those are what you could do foryou know.
Number one choosing your focusarea.
Number two track your progress.
You know I always say that ifyou're not tracking, you're just
(06:43):
guessing.
Okay, because more often thannot, you're probably guessing
wrong.
Okay, so during SEAL training,we tracked everything, and even
now I still use a journal to seewhere I'm winning and where I
need to adjust.
I track my workouts, I track myfood, you know.
I track my body weight, I trackmy waist, you know, and all of
(07:05):
this helps me stay on top ofwhere I'm at in my journey.
Okay, and so?
Number three we got to stackhabits.
Okay, so pair new habits withexisting ones.
Like, for instance, I journalfor 10 minutes after brushing my
teeth every morning.
It's almost like automatic now.
(07:26):
Or my power down routine right.
As soon as I put the girls tosleep, 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 thenext day and celebrate your wins
.
Number four celebrate your wins.
Every small improvement matters.
When I look back at my toughestmoments, it wasn't the big
(07:48):
leaps that made the difference.
It was the little victoriesthat I stacked up day after day.
So the compound effect willtake 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
(08:10):
of the year you're going to be37 times better.
But the reverse is true as well.
If you let yourself decline by1% every day, you're going to
spiral into almost zero, right?
So you're either steppingforward or you're stepping
backwards, and when I wastraining for the teams or
(08:32):
football, or now as a coach,this principle has kept me
moving forward.
I'm not trying to win the wholegame in one day.
I'm just focused on winningtoday's battle, and the same is
true for you.
Every choice you make today, nomatter how small, it's, either
moving you closer to the man youwant to be or further away from
(08:55):
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 onearea of your life where you want
to improve.
Write down one small 1% changethat you can start making today,
(09:16):
and then do it.
That you can start making todayand then do it.
Okay, so for me, I'm focusing onbetter hydration this week.
Last week, I went to anacupuncturist and she asked me
if I was dehydrated because shewas having a hard time getting
the needles into my muscles.
One, I was really surprisedthat she could feel that, and
then, two, it made me realizethat, yeah, I wasn't drinking
(09:38):
enough water.
I was really busy, I didn'thave my gallon jug with me that
I normally have, and so I wasbehind on drinking water and it
was affecting the way my bodyfelt in a ton of ways.
Okay, so this week I've beenfocusing on getting more
hydrated.
Okay, what about you?
Let me know, in our HighlyEffective man community, share
(10:05):
your goal and your progress,because in the end, we're all in
this together, and you might besurprised at how inspiring that
your journey might be for otherpeople.
And if the story about theBritish cycling team inspired
you and you want to dive deeper.
Check out books like AtomicHabits by James Clear that's one
of my favorites or the SlightEdge by Jeff Olson Both of these
(10:28):
books, you know.
They explore the power of small, consistent improvements.
And you can search online forthe British cycling team about
marginal gains and read articlesand watch interviews.
It's all about their incredibletransformation and there's so
much stuff out there.
It's great, okay, and of course, if you're looking for
(10:49):
practical ways to apply thisphilosophy to your life, join
the Highly Effective mancommunity.
It's where we break down thesestrategies step-by-step,
specifically for men like youand me.
Okay, you don't have to go italone.
Thanks for tuning into thisepisode of the Highly Effective
man podcast.
(11:10):
Remember, the journey togreatness isn't about overnight
success.
It's about consistent progress,one small step at a time.
And if you found value intoday's episode, hit that
subscribe button, share thispodcast with a friend and leave
a comment to let me know yourthoughts.
And don't forget to join theHighly Effective man community
(11:31):
on school.
I'll leave the link in the shownotes below, but in there I'll
have more tips, more challengesand, of course, accountability
to help you become the best manyou can be.
Until next time, stay focused,stay disciplined and keep
getting 1% better every day.
(11:51):
You've got this.
Let's go.
Thanks for tuning in to theHighly Effective man podcast.
If you found value today, hitthat subscribe button and stay
connected.
I want to invite you to join myincredible community, the
Highly Effective man.
The link is in the show notesbelow.
It's a powerful space whereyou'll find support,
accountability and camaraderiewith men who are committed to
(12:13):
growth and living purposefully,and your voice matters, so leave
a review and share yourthoughts and help us reach more
men just like you.
Together, let's elevate ourlives and become the best
versions of ourselves.
Stay highly effective.
See you next time.
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