Coaching Tip: When NOT to Correct Someone's Form

This past Saturday while out on the coaching floor, I was explaining something to one of our interns, and, in the middle of our discussion, I realized it would make for excellent blog fodder, at least for the trainers and strength coaches in the crowd. 

So, on Saturday morning, I was helping one of our *quasi-distance coaching clients, Rob, during his deadlifts. As he moved through the sets, he worked up to 335lbs for a set of 3, which was a personal best for him (cue fist bump).

However, during the first rep of this 335x3 set, his form broke down a bit. His hips were "prematurely" extending, or, in other words, he was throwing them forward a bit too early. Here's an example of what it looked like (although, to his credit, it wasn't quite this extreme):

I waited until he finished the set, had him drop the bar weight down to 135lbs, and then I showed up what he was doing (video above), and then demoed what he needed to be doing, such as in the video below. Notice how the hips and shoulders rise at the same rate, and then the hips extend ("hump the bar") to finish the lift.

He practiced the correct technique a few times with 135, gave me "ah hah, that makes sense!" expression, and moved on. Smooth as puddin'.

Yet this begs the question, WHY did I not immediately correct him during the heavy set, when his form was a bit off? Why did I let him finish the set without saying anything?

Quite simply, his form wasn't quite bad enough to risk injury, and the cue I was about to give him was one that we, Rob and I, hadn't discussed before. Which leads me to my main point:

Avoid giving coaching cues that the athlete or client hasn't heard before while they're in the middle of their set. ESPECIALLY when maximal weights are being used.

Yelling a cue or instruction at an athlete while they're in the middle of a maximal working set will most likely do one of two things: A) Utterly befuddle them, or B) Injure them. I think it goes without saying that both these scenarios are unfavorable.

So, if you notice they're doing something wrong, you typically have one of two options:

1) If their form is so bad, and/or they are breaking down so much that it looks like they're going to get hurt, STOP the set there. I don't care if they were supposed to do five reps and only got through one before everything fell apart.

Reduce the weight on the bar, describe what they are doing vs. what they need to be doing, and then have another go.

2) If their form isn't perfect, but it doesn't look bad enough to risk injury (ex. their elbows flaring too much on the bench press), allow them to finish the set, and then discuss what needs to be happening, and lower the weight if needed. Sometimes it's just a matter of them knowing what needs to be done, and other times the weight is simply too heavy.

Bret Contreras did an excellent job discussing this very topic in his post, The Three Most Idiotic Things I've Done as a Personal Trainer:

One of my best female clients was performing heavy high box squats (15? height). I had her squatting with 155 lbs on the bar and during the set I felt that she wasn’t arching hard enough at the bottom of the lift. I noticed that she’d relax a bit and fail to keep a rigid lumbar extension moment while she was seated on the box. During her set I instructed for her to “arch the low back.” Unfortunately, she wasn’t thinking clearly and she confused “arch” with “flex” and rounded her low back. Heavy axial loading + rounded lumbar spine to end-range flexion = herniated disc. She couldn’t train for over a month.....

.....As a personal trainer, you review proper form prior to the lift, you have them practice perfectly with lighter loads, you use simple phrases such as “chest up” so the advice cannot be misconstrued, and you make sure they know what “arch” means prior to having heavy loads on their back. “Arching” in the direction of lumbar extension results in a successful lift, while “arching” in the direction of lumbar flexion will likely have drastic consequences, so a good personal trainer doesn’t leave the client’s interpretation up to chance.

Couldn't have put it any better myself!

It can be sooo tempting, as a coach who wants to see things done correctly, to shout corrections during someone's lift if you see something out of whack. Just be sure that it's the right time and place. Sometimes you need to keep your mouth shut and wait until after the set to go over things with them.

*Quasi-distance clients refer to the "SAPTers" that train with us 1-4x/month in-house, and perform the other sessions in their program outside of SAPT. This  works quite well for those that travel frequently throughout the week (such as Rob from the example above), and/or have geographical/scheduling/financial constraints that don't make it practical for them to train at SAPT multiple times each week.

The Art of Coaching vs. The Science of Programming: Which is More Important?

A few years ago I traveled up to New Jersey to attend a fitness+business seminar. At one point, the speaker of the main event got on the topic of program design vs. coaching. In other words, the act of sitting down and writing a program specific to an individual signing up at the gym, versus the act of running the person through said program on the gym floor. The speaker paused in the middle of his power point, and commanded everyone in the room to perform a quick scenario:

"Everyone turn and look at the person seated next to you. Now, say to them, 'Put your left hand in the air. Good. Hold it there for a count of one one thousand. Put your hand back down now.' 

Congratulations, you just ran a training session! Yes, it may have been only one rep of one exercise, but see how easy that was to tell them what to do and have it perform it? The reality is, the most valuable part of the whole training process is the program design, not the actual training. It takes much more expertise to be able to construct a program rather than watch over someone as they perform sets and reps."

He then went on to say that the highest-level, expert trainers in his gym are the ones writing the programs, and the "lower-level" trainers are the ones who actually run the clients through the programs.

Fast forward a bit, I was having a conversation with Chris, one of the old SAPT coaches, about this very occurrence/speech that took place at the seminar. He and I came to the simple conclusion that the aforementioned speaker's thought process (program design being vastly more important/valuable than coaching) is egregiously wrong*.

Sure, it's one thing to tell someone to lift their hand up in the air and put it back down. But are we joking ourselves by using that as an example of the average motor skill a new client has to learn?

What good is it if you write a "perfect" program, with a flawless progression of  intensities, volume, loading, and exercise selection if the trainer responsible for administering the program can't properly teach the movement patterns? You can do a "pushup," sure. But then you can do a pushup, and receive infinitely more value from the exercise by actually doing it correctly. This goes for everything ranging from squats and deadlifts to chinups, spidermans, and planks.

Is the trainer's job really that "easy," to simply count reps for someone as they do an exercise, providing no other feedback other than when to start and stop?

Yeah, it is that easy I suppose......If you don't care at all about the safety of the client, and could care less whether he or she receives the most out of the time, effort and money they are investing.

Coaching and guiding a person through correct technique takes time, patience, discernment, and tact on the part of the coach. Some people respond best to touch. Others are audible learners. Others visual. And others are kinesthetic learners.

And unless you live in some sort of magical Wonderland, the technique of someone learning a new exercise is going to be far from pretty. Heck it will probably take days for them to get it right. And of course it will. They are learning something new. It's up to the coach to guide them through this process.

Not to mention, I can't tell you how many times an athlete or an adult client walks in the door (right after I wrote them their next month of programming, of course), only to say any of the following:

-I sprained my MCL two days ago, so I can't do anything on that leg today.  -I just found out from the doctor I have spondylolisthesis, can you modify my program for me so I can still train today? -My shoulder has been bothering me from pitching too much, what can I do to help it today? -I just had an AWFUL day at the office, I was stuck in traffic for over two hours, my back hurts, and am having a family crisis at home, can we modify things a bit?

In each of the scenarios above, the coach can and should be able to modify the program on the fly, providing the person with a solid training effect but yet remaining prudent with regards to the red flag(s) at hand.

Is the ability to write a good resistance training program a unique skillset, requiring due diligence and an astute mind on the part of the program writer, and thousands of hours to master? Absolutely. But so does coaching. The two go hand in hand. They must.

I guess I get pretty fired up about this because there are so many coaches and trainers out there who can practically recite an exercise physiology textbook, or Vladimir Issurin's Block Periodization, and yet cannot teach someone how to do a proper lunge, deadlift, or row. Or maybe it's just that they get too impatient when someone doesn't pick up on a new motor pattern right away, or they're lazy, or simply don't even care. I'm not really sure.

Heck, just last week I was lifting at the local commercial gym (sometimes I go for a change of scenery), and I'm not kidding you when I say that a trainer was having her client do over a hundred sit-ups, all the while while slouching against the back extension machine, typing on her phone!

AAARRRGGGGHHHH!

But yeah, I guess all that matters is program writing.....

In fact, just the other day I was speaking with one of our interns and I asked him what he felt were a few things (good or bad) he had received from his experience at SAPT so far. He quickly responded with,

"Definitely one of the most valuable things has been seeing how you all coach people. The cues you utilize, and how you prod them into correct positioning. That's just not something I've learned from all the textbooks I've studied."

To conclude, I'm certainly not saying that program design should be thrown by the wayside. On the contrary, there are many people out there with training certifications that, as my wife recently put it, "Couldn't program their way out of a wet paper bag." But try not to get so obsessed with the "science" side of the equation that you completely miss the reason you wrote the program in the first place.

*In case some of you reading know who this anonymous speaker is - after all, he is quite popular - know that my intent is not to bash him. I actually have the highest respect for him and he has influenced (for the better) many of the things I do today at SAPT. I was simply using this story as a segue into the post. And hey, it's O.K. to disagree with others in the industry**

**Unless it's me.

A Tip for Reducing Back Pain During the Deadlift

See the video below for a “trick” I like to use to help reduce the risk of back pain during the deadlift, after the individual has had enough practice with the basic structural set-up and execution of the deadlift. Many people are great when it comes to finishing the deadlift with the glutes (“humping the bar”), but I’ve found that few people think about creating tension in the glutes before the genesis of the pull.

I've found this really helps people who complain of "feeling it all in their back" (even after achieving a neutral spine and good set-up) when they pull, and also helps them prevent from "hitching" at their lumbar spine.

What's Different About Your Training?

Do you remember the good ol’ days when you used to wake up and be excited to train?  The times when setting a new PR was as satisfying as waking up on Christmas morning.  I certainly do, sadly there will come a time when life gets in the way and your training sessions won’t be as awesome as they once were.  Sometime last week after yet another lack luster training session of mine I sat down for about 30 minutes and thought about my training since my last meet.  My training frequency has stayed the same (four days a week) yet each session seems progressively lazier, as if my head just isn’t in it.  So I’m sitting there thinking what’s different, what is different now compared to a few months ago? So I made a list of the things that are different in my everyday routine that could potentially be causing my sessions to be as awful as watching a Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s marathon.

1. 1.  No Training Partner: All 3 of my previous training partners are off doing internships with their respected teams University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, and the New York Jets.  My training partners kept me on track and pushed me which made training fun.  We were able to give each other feedback and make fun of each other which always led to good sessions.  But I haven’t always had training partners and my training was still productive so what was different then? Music
   2. Music: It’s clear that if I don’t have a training partner I need to bring back the old days and put the ear-buds in and zone out.  I need to be focused on the task at hand and I clearly can’t be trusted to do that when people who are not my training partners are around.  They just become an unneeded distraction, not intentionally, just happens.  Listening to music on my iPod will block out all the distraction, get me jacked up, and allow me to focus on the task.
   3. AM Training: For as long as I can remember I trained in the morning before I did anything else.  It wasn’t until recently that I started training in the afternoon.  And looking back on the situation I am much better suited to train in the morning.  It sets the pace for my day.  It clears my head and it allows me to take my time rather than rush to get in a workout.  I also work better if I get my training out of the way early, I can just focus on work after instead of worrying about getting my training in.
   4. Food:  Recently my nutrition has taken a back seat, out of pure laziness than anything else.  My mentality used to be eat to train.  I would eat 5 meals a day and I would feel awesome during training sessions.  Lately I have been skipping breakfast, A- because I have been lazy and B- because of dumb people in the fitness industry, but more on that in my next point.  It’s definitely time to get back to my old eating habits.  I AM THE PEANUT BUTTER KING!

1. Fitness Professionals: Even a professional strength coach like me can still fall victim to fitness propaganda.  You’re probably asking what do other fitness professionals have to do with your training. That’s a good question, and the answer is a lot more than I should have allowed.  There is so much crap written by people just trying to sell you stuff that it’s almost impossible not to succumb to it at least once.  And sadly it almost made me doubt my own knowledge base.  Then I woke up and realized what a bunch of BS it all is.  I know this point kind of got off track but it’s something that I realized I didn’t used to let impact my training/nutrition so it’s important that it not impact it now.*

You may be asking what the point was to writing all of this.  The goal of all my posts is to get YOU to train better or to help you reach YOUR goals.  The best way to do that is to learn from others mistakes so you can in turn avoid the same pitfalls.  Hopefully this post has allowed you to evaluate your own training, figure out what the problem is and helped you to get it back on track.  The points I listed above are all excuses to not have a good training session.  An excuse is a problem that can be rectified, I chose to do so.  Will you?

*People I'm currently reading to block out internet BS Mark Rippetoe, Jim Wendler, Dan John, Dave Tate, and Louie Simmons. 

Quick Tip to Improve Your Bench Press: The other 50%+ of the Equation

Note: I believe this is the first time in history that I've specifically addressed the bench press on SAPTstrength. Grab hold of your bootstraps, boys and girls, it's gonna be a weird, wild, and crazy ride. The other day I had an "ah-ha" moment as I was discussing the bench press with one of our clients. He was saying how one of the reasons it took so long for him to figure out (and apply) correct bench press technique was because he was only thinking about the press portion of the lift. This was not only compromising his form, but ultimately limiting how much weight he was able to handle.

See the video below regarding the most common flaw I see in amateur bench pressers, and pick up a quick tip that you can apply immediately to your benching in order help you  receive more from the movement, keep your shoulders healthier, and move that weight around.

Box Squatting is the Greatest

In efforts to conquer my fear of speaking in front of a camera I decided to make today's entry a video post.  We all need to work on our weaknesses and mine happens to be public speaking and speaking on camera; it’s like kryptonite to being able to organize my thoughts. Anyway, practice makes perfect so the following video is talking about why I prefer to use the box squat (as opposed to a squat to box) as my preferred method when teaching proper back squat mechanics. I hope the audio is loud enough; just in case the two main reasons I go into as to why I prefer box squatting is safety and posterior chain strength development.  Enjoy…