Technique Problems? Change Your Cues

BLOC Coaches Matt Reynolds and Niki Sims discuss how they’ve been cueing their clients over the last couple years, in particular how their cues tend to change during the course of a set.

Many lifters performing a heavy set of five will struggle with technique on the fourth and fifth reps, due to weakness in certain parts of the movement, physical and mental fatigue, or both. The fourth and fifth reps are often the most mentally taxing, meaning lifters have very limited ability to process cues at the very moment they need cues the most!

Matt and Niki discuss the cues they have found helpful for each of the big lifts, and how those cues evolve as a lifter progresses through a heavy set.

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Key Takeaways

Form breaks down late in the set. On the first rep everything is fresh. By reps four and five, positions start to drift and the weaker links get tired first. That’s when a different cue can help more than repeating the same one louder.

Cue the lifter’s body, not the bar. Coaches watch the bar path closely, but most lifters who aren’t advanced can’t tell where the bar is. So cue what the lifter can feel, like “keep your shoulders back” on a deadlift for a long-legged, short-torsoed lifter whose hips rise when it gets heavy.

Watch out for overcorrection. A cue like “lead with the chest” can work so well that the lifter overdoes it and pushes the knees forward. Good coaching finds the cue that produces the right movement, then pulls back.

Some problems are strength problems. Yelling “knees out” over and over on a heavy, fatiguing set often won’t fix knees that cave in, much like shouting “back tight” at a lifter who’s out of strength. If a fault only shows up on very heavy reps, the fix is usually more strength, practice at lighter weights, or a new cue that gets the same result.

The last rep is close to a max. The last rep of a heavy triple is essentially a one-rep max. Give one clear, calm cue, not a panicked string of them.

Related: how to squat: a beginner’s guide, how to bench press: setup, safety, and bar path, how to warm up for strength training.

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