Education this week revolved around coaching cues and techniques for getting athletes to buy in and understand what we as strength coaches are asking them to do. Technical movements like the Olympic style clean and jerk and snatch are intimidating for most athletes. Typically the only weight training performed by the athletes has by themselves or with friends. Along with this, I typically see that these athletes know two things, bench press, triceps press-downs and biceps curls. Clearly this is the most functional, sport specific transfer of performance to sport.
Athletes all learn differently, the same as you and I. Some people benefit from simply listening to an explanation while others need to see it and some need both. When it comes to training, even our bodies respond differently at learning information compared to our brains. Coaching strategies must be used along side visual and auditory cues if the athlete does not understand what you are asking of them. Reflective cues are great ways to see if the athlete is truly getting the best bang for their buck. With reflective cues during the squat for example, I can ask the athlete “where did you feel that?” If they say “in my knees and back,” we have an issue. I am hoping they say “my butt and legs” or something a long those lines. If they respond with the former answer, I need to figure out how to get their gluteus to fire properly and shift their weight more posterior. How do we as strength coaches get this done? Hopefully cues such as “spread the floor, screw your feet into the ground, and drive your knees out” are all words that have been drilled into your heads (no pun intended) to ultimately get the proper muscles to be engaged during the squat.
At this point I may have given an auditory cue, “screw your feet into the ground.” I gave a visual demonstration of what I want the knees to do, given a sensation on the lateral side of both knees by touching them prior to the lift and finally I have followed up with “where did you feel that” after they have completed their set. What happens then when the athlete still looks like a melting candle with two ramen noodle legs? That is four ways of trying to get the right end result but still no luck. Moving on to a technique called reactive neuromuscular training, better known as RNT. With RNT, there is a constant feedback mechanism in place throughout the entire exercise; this is performed by placing a mini-band just above the athlete’s knees in order to “feed the dysfunction.” If the athlete’s issue is caving in with the knees, the mini-band contributes further to the collapse of the knees allowing the athlete to directly focus on resisting the mini-band’s tension and ultimately learns how to engage their gluteus during the squat.
Knowing when to use each one of these cueing styles is imperative to efficiency and limiting frustration in the athlete’s training session. Athletes don’t care if their gluteus isn’t firing. Frustration in the athlete can build quickly when they are the minority that cannot do an exercise properly and are being singled out. Over stimulation of cueing can sometimes do the opposite of what is intended. This is why the right cues at the right time are so important for the athlete’s development and understanding of what the strength coach is asking.
The other important part of education this week was discussions about “what makes a great athlete.” Clearly genetic predisposition is a large factor but second to that has to be athlete education. As you have heard Sir Francis Bacon’s, “knowledge is power” quote. It is simply one of the biggest influences on an athletes overall performance. If the athlete understands that sleep, nutrition, and training are all vital components to being a successful athlete then they will commit to keeping them a high priority.