Exercise Coaching Cues: Words That Improve Movement

The right words can transform movement. A good cue helps someone instantly understand what to do, while a poor cue creates confusion or overthinking. Whether you're coaching yourself or others, understanding how cues work improves exercise quality.

Types of Cues

Internal Cues

Focus attention on the body and muscles.

Examples:

• "Squeeze your glutes"
• "Contract your core"
• "Feel your chest working"

When they work:

• Muscle activation during isolation work
• Correcting specific muscle imbalances
• Mind-muscle connection training
• Rehabilitation and relearning patterns

External Cues

Focus attention on the effect of movement or the environment.

Examples:

• "Push the floor away"
• "Drive through your heels"
• "Spread the floor apart with your feet"

When they work:

• Performance and power movements
• Athletic skills
• Most strength exercises
• When internal cues cause overthinking

Research on Cue Types

Key finding: External cues generally produce better performance than internal cues.

Why: Internal focus creates conscious interference with automatic motor patterns. External focus allows natural movement to emerge.

Exception: Internal cues work well for muscle activation, rehab, and when learning to feel specific muscles.

Cues by Exercise

Squat

Setup:

• "Feet shoulder-width or slightly wider"
• "Toes out slightly" (5-30 degrees)
• "Create a tripod with your foot" (big toe, little toe, heel)

Descent:

• "Sit back like there's a chair behind you"
• "Spread the floor apart with your feet" ✨
• "Pull yourself down with your hip flexors"
• "Knees track over toes"

Ascent:

• "Push the floor away" ✨
• "Drive through your heels"
• "Stand tall, squeeze glutes at top"

Common issues:

• Knees caving → "Push your knees out over your pinky toes" ✨
• Forward lean → "Chest up, proud chest"
• Butt wink → "Stop before your pelvis tucks"

Deadlift

Setup:

• "Feet hip-width, bar over mid-foot"
• "Hinge at hips, push butt back"
• "Grip just outside knees"
• "Shoulders over or slightly in front of bar"

Initiation:

• "Push the floor away" ✨
• "Leg press the earth"
• "Take the slack out of the bar"

Lockout:

• "Drive hips to the bar"
• "Stand tall, squeeze glutes"
• "Chest up, shoulders back"

Common issues:

• Back rounding → "Proud chest," "Squeeze oranges in armpits"
• Pulling with arms → "Arms are hooks, legs do the work"
• Hips shooting up → "Push through legs first"

Bench Press

Setup:

• "Eyes under bar"
• "Shoulder blades pinched and down"
• "Arch your upper back" (not lower)
• "Feet flat, driving into floor"

Descent:

• "Pull the bar down to your chest"
• "Elbows at 45 degrees"
• "Touch lower chest/sternum"

Press:

• "Push yourself away from the bar" ✨
• "Drive through the floor with your legs"
• "Push up and back toward the rack"

Common issues:

• Elbow flare → "Tuck elbows toward ribs"
• Shoulders coming forward → "Keep shoulder blades glued to bench"
• No leg drive → "Push feet through the floor"

Row (Barbell or Dumbbell)

Setup:

• "Hinge forward, flat back"
• "Shoulders slightly higher than hips"

Pull:

• "Drive elbows toward ceiling" ✨
• "Pull to your hip/belly button"
• "Squeeze shoulder blades together at top"
• "Imagine rowing a boat"

Common issues:

• Using momentum → "Slow and controlled"
• Not enough ROM → "Full stretch at bottom, full squeeze at top"
• Rounding upper back → "Proud chest throughout"

Overhead Press

Setup:

• "Bar at front of shoulders"
• "Elbows slightly in front of bar"
• "Core braced, ribs down"

Press:

• "Press the bar straight up"
• "Push your head through" (once bar clears) ✨
• "Finish with biceps by ears"

Common issues:

• Excessive arch → "Squeeze glutes, tuck ribs"
• Bar forward → "Keep bar over mid-foot"
• Elbows flaring → "Elbows forward at start"

Pull-Up/Lat Pulldown

Setup:

• "Grip just outside shoulder width"
• "Shoulder blades down and back"

Pull:

• "Drive elbows to your back pockets" ✨
• "Pull your chest to the bar"
• "Lead with your chest, not chin"

Common issues:

• Not enough ROM → "Full stretch at bottom, chest to bar"
• Using momentum → "Control the descent"
• Chin poking → "Keep neck neutral"

Hip Hinge (RDL, Good Morning)

Setup:

• "Soft knees, weight in heels"

Movement:

• "Push your butt to the wall behind you" ✨
• "Feel the stretch in your hamstrings"
• "Bar/weight stays close to legs"
• "Hinge at the hips, not the waist"

Common issues:

• Rounding back → "Proud chest," "Long spine"
• Squatting it → "Push hips back, not down"
• Losing tension → "Keep hamstrings loaded throughout"

Plank

Setup/Hold:

• "Straight line from head to heels"
• "Push the floor away" ✨
• "Squeeze glutes like holding a coin"
• "Pull belly button to spine"
• "Tuck ribs down"

Common issues:

• Hips sagging → "Squeeze glutes, push floor away harder"
• Hips too high → "Lower hips to create straight line"
• Holding breath → "Keep breathing"

Lunge

Setup:

• "Feet hip-width on train tracks, not a tightrope"

Movement:

• "Lower straight down"
• "90-90 at bottom" (both knees 90 degrees)
• "Drive through front heel to stand" ✨

Common issues:

• Knee caving → "Push knee out over pinky toe"
• Leaning forward → "Stay upright, chest proud"
• Front knee over toes → "Sit back more"

Creating Effective Cues

Keep It Simple

Too complex: "Make sure your scapulae are retracted and depressed while maintaining thoracic extension and engaging your rotator cuff"

Better: "Pinch shoulder blades back and down"

Use Imagery

Anatomical: "Extend your elbow"

Better: "Punch toward the ceiling"

Be Specific to the Problem

Vague: "Use better form"

Better: "Push your knees out as you stand up"

Use Action Words

Passive: "Your knees should be over your toes"

Active: "Push your knees out"

Test One Cue at a Time

Don't overwhelm with multiple cues. Pick the most important issue, cue it, then move on once it's fixed.

When to Use Internal vs External Cues

Use Internal Cues When:

• Learning to feel a muscle work
• Correcting muscle imbalance
• Rehabilitation
• Isolation exercises
• Building mind-muscle connection

Example: "Squeeze your glutes at the top" (hip thrust)

Use External Cues When:

• Performance matters
• Compound exercises
• Athletic movements
• Speed and power work
• Someone is overthinking

Example: "Push the floor away" (squat)

Combining Both

Sometimes both work together:

Internal + External: "Squeeze your glutes as you drive your hips to the bar"

Self-Cueing

Effective Self-Cues

Pick 1-2 cues per exercise:

• Write them in your training log
• Say them to yourself before the set
• Focus on one per rep if needed

Pre-Set Mental Checklist

Example for squat:

1. Big breath, brace
2. Spread the floor
3. Push floor away

During-Set Cues

For longer sets or when fatigue sets in:

• Remind yourself of key cues
• "Chest up," "Drive," "Squeeze"

Cue Libraries by Goal

Power/Performance Cues

• "Explode"
• "Drive through the floor"
• "Fast hands"
• "Punch/throw"
• "Jump"

Control/Technique Cues

• "Slow down"
• "Control the descent"
• "Feel the stretch"
• "Pause at the bottom"

Activation Cues

• "Squeeze"
• "Contract"
• "Fire"
• "Feel it here"

Relaxation Cues

• "Stay loose"
• "Relax your grip"
• "Soft hands"
• "Easy speed"

Key Takeaways

1. External cues generally outperform internal — Focus on the effect, not the muscle
2. Simple beats complex — One clear instruction works better than five
3. Use imagery — "Push the floor away" beats "extend your knees"
4. Match cue to situation — Internal for activation, external for performance
5. One cue at a time — Fix the biggest issue first
6. Test what works — Different cues work for different people
7. Self-cueing is a skill — Practice using cues in your own training

The right cue at the right moment can instantly improve movement quality. Build a library of effective cues for your most important exercises, and you'll have powerful tools for better training.