Get Stronger at Your Own Technique

We’ve all been there, you’re training has been going well, but today everything feels off.  You don’t feel locked in, the bar doesn’t have as much pop as last week, your technique kind of just feels meh, and performance is down compared to your recent average.  A common response to this problem is that we think we are doing something wrong.  Our stance must be wrong, perhaps if I shift my toes out 3.7 degrees that will do the trick.  No that wasn’t it, maybe it’s my grip, I’ll change that too.  Heck, that feels worse, what if I try to switch from conventional to sumo on a whim?  Surely that will do the trick.  What else could it be? Bar position, unrack method, bracing cue, descent speed, some people even switch their shoes.   Whenever something like this occurs, I try to recommend that people don’t change anything, especially if you have successfully been using a certain technique for an extended period.  You already admitted that training had been going well, why would it be a good idea to change things?

            @squat.meme.deadlift

Is there a place for technique adjustment? Sure, I wouldn’t have a job if there wasn’t.  Usually this is earlier on in an athlete’s career, or when starting out a new relationship with a coach or training partner.  After a certain period, you need to commit to a technique and work on getting better and stronger at your own technique.  If you are always making changes to your technique, you are forcing your body to learn a new technique.  If you are always forcing your body to learn a new technique, then you will not be getting stronger at that technique. 

            So, what do we even mean when we are talking about individual technique?  I am going to steal from one of the GOAT’s, Dave Tate, because I think the way he thinks about and teaches technique is very valuable.  There is Technique, Form, and Style.  Technique is what you might find in a textbook if you were attempting to describe and teach a lift to a beginner, outlining the principles, joint actions, and muscles involved.  Form has to do with an individual’s biomechanics.  While the textbook definition of a squat may look like one thing, two lifters with different bone structures will have very different squats.  The classic example is to compare an individual with short femurs and long torso, to a lifter with long femurs and a short torso.  The individual with short femurs will have something closer to your prototype, upright torso, weightlifter style squat.  While an individual with longer femurs and a shorter torso will have to lean to a much greater degree to keep the bar over the middle of their foot.  From there, two individuals with the same bone structure and similar biomechanics may have a very different Style of squat from each other.  Mobility, movement restrictions, background, preferences, strengths, weaknesses, etc., will impact things like grip width, stance width, toe angle, cues, movement pattern, and so on.  These 3 factors will impact our individual movement pattern and help us determine what is the best technique for us. 

            Once we have determined what the best technique for us, it is my recommendation that you anchor on this and do not change anything.  Commit to getting better at your own technique.  If you are always changing your technique, you are not getting stronger at that movement pattern, you are forcing yourself to learn a new movement pattern. 

            What makes us think we need to change our technique in the moment?  While I don’t recommend that people do this, I do understand why it happens.  I can’t be frustrated at the fact that people are trying to adjust their technique because they have a desire to get better.  However, most of the time this occurs after a top set, or after a low performance training session, or when people are trying to control something that in the moment is outside of their control.  I have talked previously about trying to let go of your day-to-day training performance, accept where you are at, don’t force the issue, and attempt to put the right load on the bar to nail your prescribed RPE for the day.  Sometimes ego manifests itself by overshooting, other times it manifests itself by people changing their technique.  We want to be able to control our performance, ideally it would always go up, but unfortunately this is impossible.  When we are working in the stock market of gainz, there will be some volatility in our training performance.  Simply put, there are things that we will not have control over that will impact training, both positively and negatively. 

Internal vs. External Locus of Control

People with an internal locus of control believe that they are responsible for their own success, in this case it would be powerlifting performance.  While people with an external locus of control believe that outside factors, like environment, luck, or genetics, determine their outcomes.  While I do believe that the individual is largely responsible for their success, and people do have control over many of the factors that contribute to adaptation and strength development (sleep, caloric intake, food quality, stress management, training effort, planned rest, programming, training environment).  I also know that to some degree, there will always be some volatility in training that is just outside of our control.  Good days, bad days, and everything in between. 

            So, if you are someone with a strong internal locus of control, you might fall into the trap of thinking that when you are having a lower performing training session, you are doing something wrong.  You think that if the lift does not feel good, or is not performing well, that you need to change something that you are doing.  Don’t do this!  Take a breath.  Honestly evaluate how everything is going outside of training.  Attempt to accept that performance might just be down on the day.  This will happen, I might even argue that it will happen more often and to a greater degree earlier in a lifter’s career.   Don’t change your technique. Put the right weight on the bar, for the right number of reps, at the right RPE.  Lean into the discomfort of the fact that you are not performing well.  Remind yourself of the main things that have got you to the point where you are at in your strength development.  Focus on those key things, get your lifting practice in, then go home, eat, and sleep. 

If this is a chronic issue, then it could be a technical flaw that needs adjusting.  It could also be a weak point is a limiting factor and just needs to be brought up with supplemental work.   I usually try to lean into the idea that it is probably a loading issue.  I will grant you that at some intensity, proximity to failure, or absolute load, there will some degree of technical imperfection for everyone.  Sometimes it is okay to train at this level, for sure, I actually recommend it because at some point we need to practice straining against heavy load. But the vast majority of your training should be executed with near perfect technique.  I think Godfather Mike T refers to this as the 80% technique rule.  If your technique falls into the realm of 80% of what might be considered perfect technique, and assuming there are no type 1 errors (errors that will give you red lights on meet day e.g., depth, butt off bench, hitching), then focus on getting stronger. 

Another way that I like to think about this rule is that 80% of your work should be technically perfect.  This could be quantified in reps, number of sets, however you want.  This is a place where having a good feel for variation RPE and technical RPE will be really valuable as a training tool. 

RPE Reminder: https://www.coachrambling.com/post/you-overshot-again

            Game Day RPE – RPE based on # of reps in reserve no matter what.  Just Stand Up. 

            Technical RPE – RPE based on # of perfect reps in reserve.

            Variation RPE – RPE based on limitations of the variation.  E.g. how many perfect reps could you execute with a perfect 3-2-1 tempo.  Get the metronome out. 

Maybe a good way to break it down is that 80% of your sets should use either Technical or Variation RPE, while the remaining 20% can use Game Day RPE. 

            However, you want to apply this rule, you still need to commit to not messing with your technique.  Whenever you talk to experience lifters, they usually have their lifting broken down to 2 maybe 3 major cues.  Over time you will learn what those major cues are for you.  You’ll even find lifters who use very little cueing, and just commit to the push.  After a long enough period, you don’t need to think too hard about squatting, benching, and deadlifting.  Be ready for the push.  Commit to the push.  Push harder on every rep.  Training with compensatory acceleration is a topic for another day.  For now, just push harder.  You need to teach your body to push harder.  Push harder on every rep. 

Try to find the individual technique that has the least power leakage, for you. 

In theory, if you played your lifts in reverse, they should look the same.   In the squat, the way down should look the same as the way up.  If your position always shifts as you come out of the hole, try to lean into the idea that maybe you are stronger at the position you have shifted to.  Can you mimic this position on the way down? If so, there will be less momentum created by the shift in position, the power leak.   

This idea seems to be more commonly applied to the deadlift.  Giving up your upper back has become more and more common both the conventional and the sumo deadlift.  The idea here is that if you are always losing your upper back position off the floor, then it might be worthwhile to just give it up in the first place, that way the initial loss of position does not create a chain reaction of lost position that carries down the rest of our trunk.  If you can create a position where your upper back is in flexion, but your lower back is neutral, it can become a stronger position for your deadlift, and lead to less power leakage.  It also has the benefit of getting your hips closer to the bar and allows you to create a longer arm position. 

This is just one example.  You can apply this concept to all your lifts.  This is not an excuse to lift with poor technique.  This is an argument to find the technique that is strongest for you.  There are tons of elite lifters that lift with technique that may be far from what is considered textbook, but they are setting World Records, so can we argue that their technique is bad?  Always remember to try to get stronger at your own technique.