You may have heard your coach yell at you, “BE MORE ATHLETIC.” Okay…but how do you become more athletic and what does it mean to be athletic?
It's no secret that athletic athletes are able to learn and acquire skills faster and better than non-athletic athletes.
What is a non-athletic athlete?
This is someone who can lift a million kilos and/or squat 5 million kilos.
They have boring brute strength. They can be on one week of a squat cycle and they're PR'ing by week two (ok that's a bit of an exaggeration but you get what I mean).
Cool cool. So this person is strong and generally fit... How come they're not athletic?
Ask this person to balance on one leg, climb a wall, or even do a snatch. Can't do it?
This is because she didn't take the time to develop her SKILLS. Their lack of athleticism will eventually lead to their downfall. Injuries, lack of progress, or exhaustion will lead to the death of their fitness goals.

Socially conditioned to focus on sexy
When you start getting strong, it’s easy to get attracted to that strength and how you get it. And I’d go so far as to say that we can partly blame social media and the social biases that favor strength. Hear me out.
What do you see on IG? PRs, lifts, and "impressive" efforts. You rarely see athletes working and developing their "skills."
Because they don't or they don't know it. Which many of you don't...
They practice and work on their skills until they become bored and impatient like spoiled children.
Strength is glorified and praised more than skill development or promotion. People are never complimented for doing plyometrics or working on their hand-eye coordination. So we have been socially conditioned to focus on sexy things.
What is an athlete athletic or not?
Sports athletes spend just as much time, if not more, developing their skills. Have you ever wondered why gymnasts, dancers, and other “skill-based” athletes are so good at CrossFit, weightlifting, or whatever sport they start learning?
That’s because they trained to develop SKILLS. Ask any gymnast and they will tell you horror stories about the painful hours spent practicing just ONE skill. Maybe not even the full skill.
Holding positions for long periods of time, working on one part of a skill for hours and hours.
It's not always fun, but when this athlete is ready to showcase his flips and tricks, he can rely on the skills and mechanics he has built into his being.
Everyone can become strong. But not everyone becomes strong in the right way or in a sustainable way.
Don't fall into the social media trap. Get your training in order and do what you need to do to develop sustainable fitness goals.