These Aren't the Cues You're Looking For
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Stop cueing your muscles.
That’s essentially it. If you stop reading right now (this article, mind you - not reading in general), you’ll already have improved as a human.
Hungry for more? We’ll keep it short and tasty.
Cue Movements - Not Muscles
When training, you want to move in a specific manner. With this in mind, when necessary, you give yourself a cue that reinforces that movement.
Megan correctly executes the “knees out” cue.
Do your knees tend to cave in when squatting? Cue “knees out.”
Perhaps you pull the barbell around your knees on the deadlift? Cue “push the floor,” “straighten the knees,” or “knees back.”
Struggle with the bar path on the press? Try cueing “aim for your nose” or “throw it back.”
Movements generally rely on the contributions of multiple muscle groups, so trying to cue the muscles involved is usually counterproductive and often rather complicated.
This is true of most physical endeavors. Can you imagine a basketball coach - trying to help a player with his shot - cueing “squeeze-the-quads, activate-the-glutes, fire-the-gastocs, flex-the-delts, contact-the-triceps, use-the-wrist-flexors!” One gets the idea.
But What About . . . ?
Of course, there are exceptions, and these can occur when you are trying to prevent movement (not cause movement). This is what happens when you think of contracting a specific muscle group.
Try it. Tell yourself to contract your biceps. You’ll instantly find yourself with a perfectly immobile elbow joint - frozen in place as if you’re prepping for a bodybuilding show.
So, if you’re getting ready to squat, you might cue, “tight abs” to help get your trunk rigid and immovable before starting your descent.
Trying to prevent knee flexion in your press? Trying cueing “flex your quads.”
You don’t cue “squeeze your glutes” in the squat or deadlift, but you might use this cue to prevent a reaching back or “winding up” motion of the hips at the start of the press.
In general, keep it simple - cue the movement you’re looking for, and the relevant muscles will get involved automatically (you’ve got your cerebellum to thank for that).
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
-Phil
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