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.

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.

A Witness to Female Strength

Today’s post is in honor of “Female Strength”. I had the privilege of seeing two feats of strength this past week. The first was with three of our softball girls who train with us at SAPT. They had their senior night last Friday and it was pretty cool to watch them perform on the field. Not only did I get to see them beat the other team 11-0 but I got to watch Nancy lay out for a line drive up the middle. I’m pretty sure at one point she was parallel to the ground. Did I mention that their team has 3 captains and it just so happens that all 3 girls who train at SAPT fill those slots. Coincidence?

These girls can drive me crazy sometimes but their work ethic and general awesomeness makes me feel privileged that I get to coach them. Great job girls!

The second feat of female greatness comes from one of our adult clients, Lisa. For anyone who reads our blog I’m sure you already know the legend of Lisa. This woman refuses to be weak and proves it just about every 12 weeks. I got to watch Lisa retest her bench press and deadlift from 12 weeks ago this past Saturday. Check out the video below to see her 15lbs bench press PR and her 35lbs deadlift PR!

Straight Bar vs. Trap Bar Deadlifts, Part 2

In Part 1 we discussed the main differences between deadlifting with the trap bar vs. doing so with the straight bar, and also examined the primary muscles recruited through each pull. Part II will touch on some of the training implications - aka the, “How does this affect ME?” question. I like lists, so what follows are, in list form, some key points surrounding each deadlift variation.

The Trap Bar

1. I previously stated that the trap bar tends to be easier to learn how to deadlift with, and while I still stand by that claim, it doesn’t mean the trap bar can’t be royally screwed up if unaware of what to feel or look for.

Continue Reading....

(Note: The above link takes you to my most recent OneResult Article)

A Tool for the Toolbox

An awesome aspect about being a strength coach is you get to watch great coaches do what they do best and at the same time be taught by them yourself.  You have the pleasure of learning and then applying this knowledge gained to your athletes and you alike.  The following deadlift refinement technique is not something I made up; again it’s something that I learned from the awesome coaches I’ve worked with and something I’ve been able to utilize with the athletes and my own training.  Try this to fix up your deadlift technique…  The volume is a little low for some reason (my apologies); better than last time though…

 [vsw id="E44ocLkSOu0&list=UUKSYQ75Buogznl62rdbks2Q&index=1&feature=plcp" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]

A few supplementary notes…

• This is not something to go super heavy on.  This is a tool to refine your deadlift technique.
• Keep the bar weight light but use bumper plates; as I mentioned in the video it was only 95lbs of bar weight.
• As far as band tension goes you shouldn’t be using anything more than a mini band.
• Use this during your warm-up or during your off days as a way to improve your form.

Also the below video is definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for some motivation before going to train.  The video is of Jeremy Frey, a strength coach and powerlifter from EliteFTS.  This guy is ridiculously smart when it comes to training and STRONG!

 [vsw id="4WAkvOnZv7w&feature=player_embedded" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]

A Little Deadlift Experiment, Part 1

Over the past five weeks of training I added 40lbs to my deadlift.

"Whaaattt?? Are you some kind of magician?" you ask?

No, not necessarily, but I've been doing a little bit of experimenting, along with training my deadlift with a bit of unconventional methodology. First, a bit of background information.

In early 2011 I deadlifted 410lbs for a PR. Then, in mid-2011, I contracted Lyme's Disease. I was bed-ridden for weeks and literally did not even have the strength/energy to watch the movies that friends brought by my house to help me pass the time. Fortunately (*understatement alert*), I was on the road to recovery relatively early considering my illness, and the doctors told me how amazing it was that I was up and walking so soon.

Needless to say, I now have a much deeper appreciation for how blessed I am to be where I currently stand with my health. Lyme's is an absolutely miserable disease and my heart goes out deeply to all those who find themselves battling it for years on end.

Moving on with the story, Lyme's completely sapped any strength I had previously obtained, and nearly left me back at Ground Zero with regards to my training.

To give you an idea, my first training session back in the gym (Fall 2011) entailed 3x6 pullups and 3x8 pushups.

And I nearly puked.

Even though I lived in convalescence for quite some time, I continued with my training, trying to be as perseverant yet prudent as possible. Eventually I worked back up to deadlifting 225lbs, but it felt heavy. And I mean heavy.

Fast forward six months, and - after feeling completely healed from the disease - pulled 385lbs for a single.

My Experiment

Next, I decided to play Mr. Scientist and play with a deadlifting experiment. To be honest, I was spinning my wheels a bit with my training, so I decided to work on a lift that I admittedly suck at: The Deadlift.

Over the past five weeks, I deadlifted every day, Monday through Friday. Yep. Every. single. day. Take the weekend off, rinse, lather, repeat.

What were the results? I went from 385lbs to 425lbs in those five weeks of training! Here is the video from Test Day 1 (I'll be "sort of maxing" every four to five weeks):

Some Closing Thoughts:

1. I am, admittedly, not a good deadlifter. Squatting has always felt more "natural" to me personally, primarily due to the fact that I have a very long torso relative to the length of my legs. I've had to work much harder than (some) others to bring my deadlift up, and it's still not what I would consider awe-inspiring by any means.

This was, however, a major victory for me after experiencing the large serving of humble-pie that Lyme's served me with in 2011. Not gonna lie, I gave myself a little, personal fist bump after doing this, and praise God every day that He has given me back my health in order to continue one of my greatest passions.

Like I said, you don't truly appreciate your health until it is taken from you.

2. Honestly, when I woke up on Testing Day last week, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Was I going to pull less than 385lbs? Was I going to be stuck at the same weight? Could I pull more?

My original goal was to climb back up to 405lbs, but I was pleasantly surprised to find how fast and "easy" the weight felt. This is why I went ahead and added another 20lbs to the bar to go for the 425 pull.

3. Note that I "sort of maxed," as I had a bit of room in the tank on that 425lb pull. I still stand by what I said that this is the way to go to avoid burning out and ensure (at least as much as one can ensure) continued progress.

4. No, I am not going to unveil the exact program I used. I'm going to continue tweaking and refining the plan, and see where it continues to take me. I do ask that you refrain from going out and performing heavy deadlifts every day after reading this. This is NOT what I did and you'd be digging your own grave if you go out there and begin pulling heavy Monday through Friday.

5. Although I improved 4olbs over this 5-week period, it was, admittedly, a lifetime PR of 15lbs. I'm interested to see how things progress (if at all) and how my body continues to react to this type of training plan.

6. Don't worry, after I'm done with the experiment, I'll unveil what I did. So keep your eyes peeled.