What if you don’t have plans to ever run a marathon, and in fact, you hate running? No problem, you can still apply this same principle to your life. Most of us have some sort of skill, hobby, or craft that we’re actively engaged and trying to improve on. This is where the concept of Kaizen comes into play. In the Western world, we call it “micro progressions”.

I personally learned this concept from listening to a Polish bodybuilding trainer speak on his methods of training individuals with extreme physical handicaps.He told the story of a couple who reached out to him that were the parents of a grown man who was born with a disease that left his bones brittle and his muscles weak.The son was physically incapable of feeding and bathing himself. Realizing their own mortality, the parents asked the trainer to see if he could help their son become independent. The trainer began working with the feeble son and the first month of training was spent solely on functional movement alone. Once the son was able to move freely and walk on his own, the trainer then progressed him to olympic-style lifts with a broomstick. Next came a heavier object, then another, and the progression continued until he could finally lift a barbell. Over the course of a few years, the son went from complete dependence on his parents to complete independence. He was able to fully function on his own, achieving his parents’ wishes. The son worked everyday at a movement, becoming more mobile and stronger in each session. These efforts compounded over time to become something great. Micro progressions changed this young man’s life.