The One-Size-Fits-None-Principle
Beginners are often told there’s just one right way to do things. One way to squat, one way to deadlift, one way to do a push-up. They're told If they don’t follow the script exactly, they're asking for trouble. They're warned that bad form will inevitably cause injury. And so, they try to lock themselves in to a fixed movement archetype, focusing on rigid cues, convinced that straying even an inch from the "correct" technique is a mistake.
But take a look at the best movers in the world like elite athletes, dancers, or anyone whose body is their livelihood. They don’t all move the same way. They don’t force themselves into some universal standard. Instead, they adapt and make adjustments that work for their bodies. Why? Because no two people are built the same. Bones, joints, flexibility, strength, and psychological preferences are all different from person to person. And that means movement must be individualised.
People love to act like there’s only one right way to do something. We see it all the time: self-proclaimed experts on social media, novices who think memorising a few rules makes them an authority, instructors who teach by the book because they don’t know how to teach any other way. They all make the same mistake: assuming that technique is some rigid, universal standard instead of something shaped by the person using it. Yes, mechanics matter. But forcing everyone into the same mould ignores the simple fact that no two people are alike. What works for one person might be uncomfortable, awkward, or even dangerous for someone else.
It’s funny when you think about it. The people who care most about precision, like elite athletes, professional dancers, and top-level trainers, don’t waste time forcing some textbook-perfect form onto everyone they coach. They know better. Instead of chasing some imaginary “perfect” movement, they adjust technique to fit the individual. They take into account different body types, strengths, weaknesses, and physical histories. That’s how you get the best results. That’s how you make sure people move efficiently, stay healthy, and actually improve. The alternative of forcing one-size-fits-all mechanics onto everybody is a sure-fire way to cause more harm than good.
But somehow, that lesson gets lost. A lot of people still don’t get that good movement isn’t about cramming every body into the same predetermined shape. It’s about refining technique so that it actually works for the person using it. The best coaching doesn’t treat natural variation like a mistake; it recognises it as a necessary part of progress. Because when it comes down to it, mastery isn’t about looking a certain way. It’s about doing something in the most effective way possible for you.
Why does this happen? One reason is that when people are just starting out, they want hard rules. They want someone to tell them exactly what to do, step by step, for fear of messing up. They’re looking for certainty, for a guarantee that if they follow the instructions perfectly, they won’t get hurt, won’t look stupid, or won’t do something “wrong.” But that’s not how it works. Movement isn’t a set of fixed instructions written in stone. It’s shaped by how you’re built, how you’ve moved before, and how much freedom your body has in the first place. The irony is, the more you try to force yourself into a standard model, the more likely you are to get hurt. The body doesn’t like being crammed into a shape that doesn’t fit and so it pushes back.
The best movers don’t follow rules just for the sake of following rules. They use them when they’re useful and ignore them when they aren’t. The key isn’t memorising some perfect form but rather knowing when to change what you’re doing based on what’s happening in real time. The problem is, when you watch someone who really knows what they’re doing, it doesn’t look like they’re making adjustments. It looks smooth, controlled, and effortless. A beginner sees that and assumes there’s one perfect way to do it, when in reality, that expert is making a hundred tiny changes on the fly. Those adjustments are so small and so quick that you don’t even notice them unless you know what to look for.
But therein lies the problem: people only see the surface. They don’t see the constant fine-tuning underneath. They assume skill means locking into a specific, correct way of doing things, when it actually means being able to shift, to react, and to adapt in the moment. Skilful movement is about paying attention, and understanding how your body moves best, not in theory, but right now, in real time.
A key fact to keep in mind is that you will never move the same way twice. Nobody does. The Soviet neurophysiologist Nikolai Bernstein figured that out a long time ago. He studied how people move and found that even if you try to repeat the same motion, it’s never exactly the same. Your body constantly adjusts, which is often so subtle you don’t even notice. This could be a shift in weight, a slight change in muscle tension, or a different angle in your joints. It happens because movement isn’t just a mechanical process. It’s a fluid and responsive feedback loop, always adapting to what’s going on inside you and around you.
Bernstein called it “repetition without repetition.” This means that every time you move, your body fine-tunes itself. Maybe your muscles are a little more tired than they were a minute ago. Perhaps your balance has shifted just a fraction. Or maybe the ground under your feet isn’t quite as stable as before. Whatever the case, your nervous system makes micro-adjustments on the fly, trying its best to solve the movement problem it’s facing. You don’t even think about it consciously. It’s a feature of your physiology that helps you learn and get better.
And another thing: no two people move the same way either. Even if you put two people side by side, tell them to do the exact same thing, and slow it all down frame by frame, you’ll see differences. These differences can be caused by limb length variations, contrasting levels of muscle strength, discrepancies in balance, and more. That’s why even the best, most elite performers have their own way of moving. They’re doing the same thing, but they’re also not. Bernstein knew that movement isn’t static. It’s alive and changes from moment to moment, shaped by the person doing it and the conditions around them. Because movements can’t be replicated perfectly, there is no such thing as a universal “perfect technique.”
There is no "one-size-fits-all" rule. Instead, it's a case of "one-size-fits-none." Everybody moves differently because we’re all built differently. Some people have flexible joints, others don’t. Some have old injuries that never fully healed, and some have natural coordination that makes everything look easy. Your body has its own way of handling physical challenges, and trying to force it to perfectly mimic someone else doesn’t always make sense. Rigid rules about movement don’t work for everybody. What matters most isn't whether you’re following some textbook technique, but that you’re moving in a way that’s stable, efficient, and keeps you from getting hurt. That looks different for everybody.
Take something like foot placement. You hear all kinds of rules about where your feet should be, how your knees should track, and which angles are right or wrong. But movement isn’t that simple. What really matters is how the force moves through your body. Are you balanced? Are you in control? If the answer is yes, then you’re probably doing it right.
Figuring this out takes time. You don’t just read a rule and suddenly move perfectly. You experiment. Shift your stance a little. Adjust your grip. See how it feels. Small changes can completely transform how a movement works for you. The goal isn’t to imitate some idealised version of movement; it’s to find what lets you move with confidence and power. That’s what leads to real progress. That’s what keeps you from getting hurt.
When you move in a way that respects your own structure, everything improves: your strength, your endurance, even your awareness of what your body can do. You stop fighting against yourself and start working with yourself. And that’s what makes movement sustainable. Not forcing your body into someone else’s idea of “correct,” but learning how to move in a way that’s natural, adaptable, and built for you.