These coaching cues will help you nail every rep and build your best body
I work with an array of clients—from elite athletes to Bob in accounting. So you might assume I use different coaching cues for different fitness levels.
But the truth is, I’ve found that most people respond to the same cues regardless of ability.
(Transform your body from top to bottom with The Anarchy Workout. One guy lost 18 pounds of fat in just 6 weeks!)
Take the squat for example. These are two common cues you might hear:
One: Squeeze your glutes. Two: Crack a walnut between your glutes.
With my clients, the second is always best.
It’s an external cue, which takes your attention away from your body and directs it toward an outcome (breaking the nut).
The first cue, on the other hand, is an internal cue, which focuses on a body part and how it moves or works.
Coaches will use both internal and external. But I find that the following 9 external cues are magic for my clients. I say them, and—bam!—they instantly correct their form. They also work much better than “Hey! Stop doing that!”
Apply them to your own workout for flawless technique and greater gains.
Deadlift “Squeeze an orange in each of your armpits until you make orange juice.”
Why it works: You’ll activate your latissimus dorsi—the largest muscles in your back—so that they can assist in the big lift.
Maintaining this contraction throughout the entire exercise also prevents your upper back from rounding. And that’s important, since the more stable your spine, the more weight you can move.
Straight-Leg Deadlift or Romanian Deadlift
Create as much distance as possible between your head and butt.
Why it works: A perfect hip hinge is imperative for the straight-leg deadlift. But for many guys, it’s one of the hardest movements to master.
If you concentrate on pushing your head and butt away from one another as the weight lowers, however, your hips have to maximally bend. This fully engages your hamstrings and glutes so you can powerfully lift and lower the bar.
Squat Point your belt buckle toward your chin.
Why it works: Tilting your pelvis backward places your spine in a neutral position. This not only reduces the stress on your lower back and your risk of spine injuries, but also promotes more stability throughout your core.
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Rear-Foot-Elevated Split Squat or Bulgarian Split Squat Crack the concrete with your heel.
Why it works: You’ll find that your weight shifts forward into your toes as you lift and lower. This can cause your heel to come off the floor, placing a lot of stress on your knee, and activating your quad instead of the glutes. It can also decrease your strength.
Pressing through the heel of your front foot helps it stay flat during the exercise.
Pushup “Push your upper back toward the ceiling at the end of the movement.”
Why it works: This not only works your chest, but also engages your serratus anterior, a small but important muscle that helps move your shoulder blades.
If you neglect the serratus anterior, it becomes weak. And this puts you at a higher risk of shoulder impingement, a painful injury in the shoulder joint.
It also messes up your posture, tilting your shoulder blades forward and down. Do you want to look like a hunchback?
Kettlebell SwingHike the bell as hard as possible.
Why it works: You’ll build momentum on the very first swing. You can’t do that if you’re standing with the bell hanging straight down.
Here’s how to do it: Place the kettlebell about a foot in front of you, then lean forward to grab the bell. Your arms will be extended in front of you. Tilt the handle toward you, while trying to break it in half with your hands.
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Now explosively “hike” the bell between your legs. When your arms hit the top of the inside of your thighs, explosively “pop your hips forward as you let the weight swing up to chest level.
Pullup Put your shoulder blades in your back pocket.
Why it works: This prevents the traps from doing all the work. Instead, it ensures you initiate the movement with your lats and teres major, the muscles in your shoulder blades.
Overhead Press Prepare for a punch in the stomach.
Why it works: Most men overarch their backs whenever their arms go overhead. This not only sabotages your strength, but also increases your risk of injury if there’s load involved.
Prepping your gut for a punch forces you to brace your abdominals-hard. Bracing your core keeps your pelvis in alignment and helps you maintain a neutral arch the entire time.
Roasted carrot soup is one of my favourite winter recipes. A minimal recipe, with few ingredients, the magic of the soup is in roasted carrots. Roasting enhances the sweetness of the carrots and combined with onions, ginger and garlic; this soup is heaven in a bowl.
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Serves: 2 as main and 6 as appetiser
Ingredients 1 kg carrots, sliced 2 onions, chopped 1 inch ginger, chopped 4 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 litre vegetable stock 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder 3 tbsp olive oil Salt to taste
For garnish:2 tsp yoghurt Chives
Method *Preheat oven to 200ºC. In an oven-proof dish, toss the carrots with red chilli powder and a little salt. Drizzle about 1 tbsp oil. Spread evenly and roast for about 20-25 mins till some of the carrots just begin to turn black from the sides. Stir once halfway through.
*Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. When the oil is hot, add onions, ginger and garlic. Sauté for about 5 mins, till the onions start to turn translucent. Add the roasted carrots (direct from the oven), vegetable stock and salt. Cover and bring it to a simmer.
*Reduce heat and let the soup simmer for another 10 mins, till the carrot is tender. *Remove from heat and puree the mixture until smooth. I simply use my hand blender straight in the pot. *To serve, add a dollop of yoghurt and a few strands of chives.
Chrissy Turner, age 8, will undergo a mastectomy in December to treat a rare form of breast cancer.
Only one in 1 million people are diagnosed with secretory breast carcinoma, a rare form of breast cancer. Eight-year-old Chrissy Turner is one of them.
The Utah girl was diagnosed on Nov. 9 after she approached her mother about a lump on her chest.
“She came to us on a Sunday afternoon, she said, ‘Mommy I have been scared and I have this lump.’ It had been there for a while,” Chrissy’s mother, Anette Turner, told ABC News.
Fortunately, Chrissy’s cancer is “very treatable,” her physician, Dr. Brian Bucher, told ABC News. She will have a mastectomy early in December, which should prevent the cancer from returning.
Chrissy Turner, age 8, has a type of breast cancer that affects less than one percent of the population.
“I was kind of scared to kind of figure out what it was,” Chrissy told ABC News. “But I knew that I could fight it off and I hope that I can fight it off.”
While she waits for surgery, Chrissy has been busy with her sister, Brianna. Recently the pair penned this inspiring (and adorable) message on a balloon: “Yea, I’m a girl. And I fight like one too.” The sisters later released the balloons into the sky.
Chrissy Turner and her sister released balloons with inspiring messages.
This isn’t the first time the Turner family has battled cancer. Chrissy’s mother, Annette, is an ovarian cancer survivor.
Chrissy’s father, Troy, has been fighting non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma since 2008. He is currently undergoing regular checkups to monitor the slow-growing cancer. Medical costs caused the family to declare bankruptcy in 2013, according to a fundraising page set up by a family friend.
Chrissy’s father, Troy, underwent aggressive chemotherapy for non-Hodgkins lymphoma when Chrissy was a baby.
To help with Chrissy’s medical bills, friends of the family have created afundraising page where well-wishers can donate online.
“I haven’t gotten personal with Annette about the costs incurred with Troy’s cancer yet, or the expected costs for Chrissy’s treatment, but I know for the past seven years, the costs they have incurred from Troy’s cancer has been devastating,” family friend Melissa Papaj says on the fundraising site.
“Words simply cannot express our gratitude to everyone for your support and prayers for our sweet Chrissy,” the family wrote on the Chrissy’s Alliance Facebook page.
Posing with Superman, Chrissy Turner shows her strength.
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Pray for her.......................................
