“I get it. I just….I need to remember to just use my butt more.” ~M.S.
Use my butt more…words to a trainer’s ears.
1.) She can feel a major muscle group involved in the lift doing it’s job. Always a plus.
2.) Though I don’t personally love cueing clients to “activate” anything, when you realize that putting more oomf or drive into a body segment provides more force and feels better against the weight, it’s probably best to feed into that feeling. Either that’s great and should be encouraged, ooooooor we need to adjust the lift, the weight, or the form to make it better suit your body type or athlete level.
3.) She’s starting to describe the lift in her own terms. Instead of leaning on me to tell her when her reps are “right,” she’s identifying cues that help and transferring them into language she understands. So there’s a good chance when I’m not around she’ll remember them better (very helpful for all the monthly and 1x weekers out there).
Here’s a demo of the whiplash version:
And here’s more what we’re going for:
Watch the full side-by-side comparison here.
You can go through the vast internet hole and find many successful lifters using the thrust of their chest and thoracic extension to explode of out the hole. However, this is a specific example of one client, not a professional lifter, and the variation of lift I’ve chosen specifically to work for her. Why? Many reasons, but mostly we’re working on Ms. Thinky Type A not just using her head to provide the initial spark for movement. This is the job of thought, breathe, and the main drivers— not just getting stuck at the head and neck. We’re not going for perfect; we’re just seeing how far we can get.
I mean, which is better for a squat, a strong neck or a strong boooooty?
Hugs & high fives.
Strength in Progress 