Key takeaways
Brace before the bar leaves the rack
Pause at the bottom — that is where form fails
Film one set a week from the side
Load exposes whatever your technique is hiding. Most training injuries are not caused by lifting heavy — they are caused by lifting heavy in a position the body was never organised to hold.
Bracing comes before the bar
Before every working set, take a breath into your stomach rather than your chest, then tighten as if you were about to be nudged. That brace is what keeps your spine stacked when the weight makes you want to fold.
Own the bottom, not the top
Most people rush the hardest part of a lift. Pause for a full second at the bottom of a squat or the stretch of a row. If the position falls apart there, the weight is telling you something worth listening to.
Film one set a week from the side. You will spot in ten seconds of footage what no amount of feeling around in the moment will tell you.
Maria Rodriguez
Strength and Conditioning Coach
Maria has spent a decade fixing the positions athletes default to under fatigue. She runs our strength track.
