Coaching Cues to Make Your Strength and Conditioning Programs More Effective – Installment 8
Written on February 18, 2014 at 8:14 am, by Eric Cressey
It's time for the eighth installment of my series on coaching cues. Try putting these three cues to work for you.
1. Bear hug a tree.
I love anti-rotation chops as a way to train rotary core stability. Unfortunately, a lot of people butcher the technique so that they can really load up the weight on these. In short, the closer the arms are to the body, the easier the exercise. So, if you really bend the elbows, you can use a lot more weight without getting as good of a training effect. With that in mind, I tell folks to "bear hug a tree" as they're doing these exercises, as it ensures that the elbows are only slightly bent, but still well out in front of the body.
2. Be heavy on the pad.
Chest-supported rows (also known as T-bar rows) are an awesome exercise to strengthen the upper back, and the presence of the pad on the front of the torso is a great external focus point to keep the lifter's technique sound. That is, of course, only if people use it!
One of the most common mistakes I see is that people will keep their hips on the lower pad, but then extend heavily through their lumbar spine (lower back) to lift the weight. In reality, it should be a neutral spine posture from top-to-bottom; the ribs have to stay down. The cue I like to give athletes is to "be heavy on the pad." Keeping the chest firmly on the pad prevents the rib cage from flaring up when it should just be movement of the scapula and upper arms.
3. Pull the bar into your upper back.
This was a coaching cue that made a huge difference with my squat. One of the biggest mistakes you see lifters make when back squatting is that they don't take control of the bar. Rather than pulling it down into the upper back to create a good "shelf," they just let it sit there. The last thing you want to be under heavy weights is passive. By pulling the bar into the upper back, you not only dictate the bar path (it can't roll), but also get the lats engaged as a core stabilizer.
While on the topic of squatting, if you're looking for a thorough squat technique resource, I'd encourage you to check out Jordan Syatt's new resource, Elite Performance Squatting. It's a great two-hour presentation.
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February 18th, 2014 at 2:16 pm
Great post! I’m curious if you’ve heard of actually pushing the bar up during the up portion of the squat? There’s an Olympic lifting club who lifts at my gym that has all their lifters lift this way. I tried it and was surprised that it made the squat out of the hole much easier. Any thoughts if this is a safe technique?
February 18th, 2014 at 7:01 pm
Cain66,
I’ve never heard it before. I’ll have to play around with it. Doesn’t seem to make sense, though.