Some of the most helpful coaching cues are the small ones most people never hear. They put your joints in better positions, help the right muscles work harder, and lower the chance that something starts to ache.
Here are the ones we think matter most:
1. Use your hands
When you hold a weight, press a little more into the pinky side or the thumb side of your hand. It can take stress off your wrist, elbow and shoulder.
2. Use your feet
On lower body exercises, push through your heels, press down with your pinky toes, or try to spread the floor apart. Your knees and hips line up better.
3. Breathe out
Take full exhales instead of holding your breath. Holding it builds tension where you don’t want it.
4. Relax your shoulders
Keep them down and away from your ears. This helps prevent neck pain.
5. Brace only your middle
Tighten your abs like you’re getting ready for a poke in the stomach. Keep the rest of your body loose.
6. Pull yourself into position
Don’t just fall to the bottom of a squat, lunge, deadlift or push-up. Pull yourself down with control, like you’re pulling yourself toward the floor.
7. Keep quiet what shouldn’t move
Most strength exercises work best when one area does the work and the rest stays still. In a squat or deadlift, your legs and hips move while your upper body stays steady. In a dumbbell row, your arm moves while your legs and hips stay quiet.
None of these takes extra time. Most of them are a small change in how you think about the movement, and that alone can make a difference.
Next time you train, pick one of these and try it on every set. Ask your coach which one would help you most.
James Pratt