It’s my birthday this week, and I have a pretty wicked deal: three programs for $36. You can get Unf*ck Your Program, Chimera Powerbuilding, and PhD x Texas by clicking here!
Pop quiz: which of these cues sucks the most?
It’s a trick question: they all suck equally. In fact, almost all cues suck.
I recently wrote an article about technique development in powerlifting. In that article, I explain that to develop good technique, a lifter needs lots of practice with many different movement patterns. In this one, I’ll explain why cues won’t speed up the process, and what you should focus on instead.
Why Cues Don’t Work
Does this story sound familiar?
Let’s say you have a technique problem — maybe the bad habit of leaning too far forward in the squat. Whenever you work up to a weight over around 90%, you end up doing an ugly good morning out of the hole, and you often miss weights forward. So you go looking for advice, and you get a cue to fix it.
Here’s what inevitably happens:
You start out with one cue (“knees out”).
You get that cue down, and another issue pops up. So you find a new cue to fix the new issue (“chest up”).
You focus on the new cue and the old issue resurfaces. So now you try to use both cues (“knees out, chest up”).
This process repeats until you have a huge list of cues and inevitably end up forgetting them or mixing them up (“knees up, chest back, hips out”).
You end up more confused and frustrated than when you started, with nothing to show for it.
This happens because, unless you’re a raw beginner, you’re not trying to teach a new behavior. You’re actually trying to change an old behavior, and that old behavior is darned stubborn (a phenomenon called long-term potentiation).
What to Do Instead
As I mentioned above, the solution isn’t to fixate on the specific movement pattern you’re trying to fix. Instead, you should become proficient in more patterns — in other words, you should diversify. Obviously, that’s going to take a while, and it can be a long, frustrating process. There are a few things you can do to speed it up.
Study anatomy.
I’m not suggesting you change your major, but I do think that if you’re serious about improving your technique, you should invest in an anatomy textbook. Understanding the basics of the skeletal system, major muscle and joint functions, and at least some of the jargon will help to better understand how the body should move. It will also help you convey any issues you’re having with potential coaches, doctors, and physical therapists.
I also strongly recommend learning the basics of the fascial system. Fascia is an underappreciated aspect of anatomy that’s especially important for bodybuilders and powerlifters. It’s a type of connective tissue that facilitates the balance between stability and movement. Understanding fascia can help you to lift more efficiently, avoid (and resolve) injury, and even help alleviate stress.
Practice mindfulness.
If you’re struggling with technique faults, you’re almost certainly also struggling to develop a mind-muscle connection. To some degree, the mind-muscle connection comes simply from having a significant amount of muscle. For the most part, though, it’s determined by your ability to hold your focus while straining during a difficult workout. (If you’re the nerdy type, you can read more about the mind-muscle connection here.)
No matter how much muscle you have, though, you can improve your mind-muscle connection by practicing mindfulness. A traditional mindfulness practice involves awareness of the breath, and that’s a great place to start. While you’re focusing on your breath, pay particular attention to your rib cage and how it moves. Then, you can start to expand your focus to include the arms, legs, hands, and feet. The more you’re aware of how your body moves through space in your daily life, the better you’ll be able to control your body in the gym.
Visualize.
I’ve written extensively about visualization, and I won’t recap all of that here. Most of you are probably familiar with the basics, anyway. Instead, I want to focus on what not to do when you’re visualizing.
First, don’t verbalize. If you’re telling yourself to push your knees out and keep your chest up as you mentally rehearse your squat at home, you’re going to repeat those cues in your head when you’re actually at the gym. You end up right where you started: stuck with a bunch of words pulling you in opposite directions. Instead, imagine the feeling of the squat: the bar on your back, the pressure through your hips, even the fear of the weight crushing you. That will better prepare you for the actual lift.
Second, don’t just visualize success. If you fall into that trap, you’ll be lost when something (inevitably) goes a bit awry in the middle of a lift. Instead, rehearse your response to adversity: how you’ll move to stay with the bar if it begins to drift back; how you’ll push through a hard sticking point; or how you’ll keep calm if you do actually miss a lift.
I’m not a huge fan of Huberman, but he has some good tips on visualization here if you’d like to read more.
Need help with cleaning up your technique? You can contact me for a consult or sign up for coaching. I’m running a special on coaching for powerlifters all this month!