I spoke with our interns recently, and a theme came up that I’ve seen for years when educating trainers:
Black-and-white thinking.
In a matter of two sentences, I heard:
- exercise technique is “right” or “wrong”
- muscles “activate” or don’t
- technique needs to be “fixed”
That’s how many of us are taught.
The problem is, coaching real people doesn’t work that way.
Most things in training are not light switches.
They’re dials.
At Pratt, we try to coach along a spectrum.
When we teach an exercise, we demonstrate it, provide 2-3 important bullet points, watch the execution, and make adjustments.
We reinforce the positive change. Let that sink in. Then look to move the dial further later on.
That doesn’t mean the person was “doing it wrong.”
It means we’re moving the dial in a better direction.
Same thing with muscles.
A better question is not:
“Is it activating?”
A better question is:
“How much is the target muscle working based on the position and execution?”
That’s a much more useful way to coach.
Because if a member hears “it’s not activating,” they may think the exercise has zero value.
That’s almost never true.
Even an exercise done imperfectly can still provide real benefit.
We always chase better:
- better positions
- better control
- better range of motion
- better confidence
But we also respect reality:
- mobility restrictions
- discomfort
- fear
- learning curve
- different bodies
Great coaching is not forcing everyone into one perfect look.
Knowing the perfect look is just the starting point.
Great coaching is improving the exercise in front of you, with the person in front of you.
We chase perfection despite knowing it’s a moving target.
– James Pratt