Comments on: What’s the Best Way to Teach/Learn a New Exercise – Q&A

By: David

David — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:50:03 +0000

I wish the beginner Krav Magna class I went to would have followed this. They had us so exhausted with all the jumping jacks and pushups that no one had any form at all with actual martial arts techniques. By the end of the class we couldn’t even do sit ups properly. The argument was we needed to know how to defend ourselves when exhausted, but we were all so tired nothing sunk in.

By: Ed

Ed — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:59:19 +0000

P.J.,

Rippetoe says the butt-wink can be decreased by pointing the knees out further. (of course the knees should line up with the toes.) I think there is a crossfit journal article on it.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 03:30:06 +0000

Thank you for the post. I think it’s sad that a caveat at the end of the post has to be given. Such is the internet I guess.

As my own personal preference: I teach new movements in singles and then triples. If they are very good at the movement I then move up in reps or weight. It is very interesting to see how quickly fatigue can set in with movements that are simple, but because they are new the fatigue sneaks up fast.

By: NW

NW — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:29:15 +0000

Lyle, what book would you recommend on motor learning?

By: P. J. Striet

P. J. Striet — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:51:28 +0000

Good article Lyle, and, I agree, low to moderate rep sets are the way to go when teaching a new movement or movement pattern. One thing to add, when teaching squats, it is important to determine proper depth on an individual basis. The big thing I look for is the pelvis tucking under. I start people doing body weight squats to a 20-22 inch box (with a broom stick in front squat position…I use straps here for wrist comfort), lightly touching the box on each rep. With each set that follows, I’ll adjust the box height 2-4 inches downward . When I start to see the pelvis tucking under (which can result in disc herniation), I go back up 2-4 inches, and this is the box height we use in training. I also keep a mini band wrapped below the knees and teach them to push the knees out against the bands. This entire approach has worked great for me in regards to teaching people how to squat. You’d be surprised, but most people just don’t have the hip mobility to squat to even a 20 inch box without their pelvis tucking under (it’s also why I rarely have people do conventional straight bar deadlifts, tire flips, etc). Most trainers and coaches don’t look into this closely enough. You can have a guy or gal go ass to grass, chest out and up, nice arch, heels on the ground etc., and everything looks great…EXCEPT THAT THE PELVIS is tilting posteriorly. Squatting to a box of appropriate height (not a box squat mind you), has made a world of difference for my clients. We can replicate a safe depth on each rep.

It may come as a surprise, but I think the hardest exercise to teach people is the barbell bench press. Trying to teach scapulae depression and retraction, getting them to keep the entire body tight, keeping an arch, pulling the bar down into them, tucking the elbows, driving the feet into the ground etc. is a lot for people to digest. There are so many things that can go wrong with a bench press.

By: Jack

Jack — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:41:41 +0000

Lyle,

With beginners, once you find a weight that is challenging but can be completed with excellent form, is it acceptable to stick with straight sets at a given weight instead of starting light and ramping up a bit with each set with technique as the guide?

e.g. the first 1-3 sessions you teach technique and get an idea for what weight can be handled without deterioration and then subsequent sessions focus on a low-rep “Warm-up” to get a feel for the working weight followed by sets at a given weight in a particular rep range (with form again being the guide as to whether weight on the bar should be maintained or reduced during a session or increased at the next session)