Lifting Cues: What They Are, Why They Matter, and How to Use Them

What are cues in lifting?

Lifting cues are concise, actionable instructions or phrases used to guide an individual's movement, form, or muscle activation during resistance training, aiming to optimize performance, enhance technique, and prevent injury.

Understanding Lifting Cues

In the realm of strength training and exercise, a "cue" refers to a specific verbal, visual, or tactile prompt provided by a coach, trainer, or even yourself, designed to elicit a desired physiological or biomechanical response. These cues act as mental shortcuts, helping exercisers refine their technique, activate specific muscle groups, and improve overall movement efficiency. They bridge the gap between understanding what to do and how to effectively execute it.

The Purpose of Lifting Cues

Lifting cues serve several critical functions in optimizing strength training:

• Improving Form and Technique: Cues help correct deviations from proper form, ensuring movements are performed safely and effectively. For instance, a cue like "chest up" during a squat helps prevent excessive spinal flexion.
• Enhancing Muscle Activation: By directing focus to specific muscle groups, cues can increase their engagement, leading to better mind-muscle connection and more effective training. "Squeeze your glutes" at the top of a deadlift is a prime example.
• Optimizing Performance: Better form and muscle activation directly translate to increased strength, power, and endurance, allowing individuals to lift heavier, move faster, or perform more repetitions.
• Injury Prevention: Correcting faulty movement patterns through targeted cues significantly reduces the risk of strains, sprains, and other musculoskeletal injuries.
• Facilitating Motor Learning: Cues are powerful tools for motor learning, helping individuals internalize proper movement patterns over time, leading to more automatic and efficient execution.

Types of Lifting Cues

Lifting cues are broadly categorized into two main types, distinguished by their focus:

Internal Cues

Internal cues direct an individual's attention to a specific body part, muscle contraction, or sensation within their own body. They focus on the process of the movement from an internal perspective.

• Characteristics: Often involve anatomical terms or direct commands to muscles.
• Examples:
  • "Squeeze your shoulder blades together."
  • "Brace your core."
  • "Feel your hamstrings stretching."
  • "Drive through your heels."
  • "Keep your elbows tucked."
• When Used: Often beneficial for beginners who are learning body awareness, or for rehabilitation settings where specific muscle activation is paramount. They can help establish the initial mind-muscle connection.

External Cues

External cues direct an individual's attention to the outcome of the movement or an object outside their body. They focus on the effect of the movement rather than the internal sensation.

• Characteristics: Often use analogies, metaphors, or commands related to the environment or equipment.
• Examples:
  • "Push the floor away" (for squats or deadlifts).
  • "Rip the bar apart" (for bench press or rows).
  • "Punch the ceiling" (for overhead press).
  • "Imagine pushing a wall behind you" (for lunges).
  • "Drive your knees out as if spreading the floor."
• When Used: Generally favored for more advanced lifters and for improving performance, power, and efficiency. They promote a more natural, fluid, and less cognitively burdensome movement.

The Science Behind Cues: Internal vs. External

Extensive research in motor learning and sports psychology, particularly by Gabriele Wulf and her colleagues, consistently demonstrates the superiority of external cues for optimizing motor performance, learning, and efficiency in most athletic and strength-based tasks.

• Benefits of External Cues:
  • Enhanced Performance: Studies show external cues lead to greater force production, higher jump heights, faster sprint times, and improved balance.
  • Improved Motor Learning: Learners acquire new skills more quickly and retain them better when given external cues.
  • Increased Efficiency: External cues promote a more fluid and automatic movement pattern by reducing conscious control over individual body parts, allowing the motor system to self-organize more effectively.
  • Reduced Cognitive Load: By focusing on the outcome, the brain is less bogged down by micromanaging individual muscle contractions.

While internal cues can be useful for initial awareness or specific muscle isolation (e.g., during rehabilitation), an over-reliance on them can lead to "paralysis by analysis," robotic movements, and diminished performance, especially in complex, multi-joint lifts.

When and How to Use Cues Effectively

Effective cueing is an art and a science. Here are key principles:

• Keep it Concise: Cues should be short and to the point (1-3 words often).
• One Cue at a Time: Overloading an individual with multiple cues simultaneously can be counterproductive and confusing.
• Tailor to the Individual: Consider the lifter's experience level, learning style, and specific movement fault. A beginner might benefit from an initial internal cue to understand a movement, but should quickly progress to external cues.
• Provide Context: Explain why a cue is important.
• Be Specific and Actionable: Vague cues like "good form" are unhelpful.
• Use Analogies and Imagery: External cues often benefit from vivid mental images.
• Immediate Feedback: Provide cues and feedback promptly during or immediately after the movement.
• Test and Adapt: What works for one person may not work for another. Be prepared to try different cues.

Common Cues for Major Lifts (Examples)

Here are examples of effective external and sometimes internal cues for common strength exercises:

• Squat:
  • "Push the floor away."
  • "Spread the floor with your feet."
  • "Knees out."
  • "Sit between your heels."
  • "Elbows under the bar."
• Deadlift:
  • "Push the earth away."
  • "Stand tall."
  • "Pack your neck."
  • "Pull the slack out of the bar."
  • "Hinge at the hips like a door."
• Bench Press:
  • "Drive your feet into the floor."
  • "Punch the ceiling."
  • "Bend the bar" (imagine bending it into a U-shape).
  • "Shove yourself away from the bar."
• Overhead Press:
  • "Punch the ceiling."
  • "Push your head through the window."
  • "Squeeze your glutes."
• Rows (Barbell/Dumbbell):
  • "Pull your elbows to your pockets."
  • "Imagine crushing a pencil between your shoulder blades."
  • "Pull the bar to your belly button."

Potential Pitfalls and Considerations

While cues are invaluable, be mindful of common errors:

• Over-Cueing: Too many cues lead to confusion and overwhelm.
• Conflicting Cues: Cues that contradict each other can hinder progress.
• Generic Cues: Cues not tailored to the individual's specific needs may be ineffective.
• Reliance on Internal Cues: While useful initially, prolonged reliance can impede fluidity and performance.
• Cues that Cause Compensation: Ensure the cue doesn't inadvertently lead to another movement fault.

Conclusion

Lifting cues are a fundamental tool in effective strength training, serving as precise instructions to guide movement, enhance performance, and ensure safety. Understanding the distinction between internal and external cues, and recognizing the scientific evidence favoring external cues for motor learning and performance, empowers both coaches and lifters to optimize their training. By using cues judiciously, concisely, and appropriately, individuals can unlock their full potential in the gym, moving with greater efficiency, power, and confidence.