Exercise Technique, Cueing, and Progressions
What the candidate must understand
Technique teaching follows a sequence: demonstrate, describe, cue, observe, correct. Cues should be external and outcome-focused where possible ("press the floor away," "reach long through the crown") rather than internal anatomy lectures. Know the difference between cueing for position (setup) and cueing for movement (during the rep), and keep cues to one or two words when intensity is high. Understand regression and progression as a continuum on the same movement pattern, and the concept of teaching the pattern before loading it. Know how to spot and correct common faults: rib flare and lumbar extension in supine work, shrugged shoulders and forward head in planks, knee valgus in squat patterns, and lost pelvic control in leg-lowering. Know tempo notation (e.g., 3-1-2) and range-of-motion control. Understand the value of mirroring, verbal, visual, and tactile cueing - and that tactile cueing requires consent.
Traps in questions
- Long anatomical explanations during high-effort work; cues must be brief.
- Progressing a client who has not yet demonstrated the regression cleanly.
- Confusing a regression with a different exercise when it is the same pattern simplified.
- Using tactile cues without asking.
Rule of thumb
If the client cannot hold the setup for five calm breaths, the position is too advanced. Worked example: a client whose low back arches in a forearm plank gets a regression to a knee plank or an incline plank, plus the cue "ribs down, press the floor away" - then progresses only after the setup holds with steady breathing.