Techniques of Exercise
What this domain tests
Technique questions ask you to describe positions, choose the right spotter, and recognize a fault. Expect free-weight and machine exercises, grip types and hand spacing, breathing, range of motion, and speed of movement.
Concepts to own
- Five-point body contact on the bench press: head, upper back and shoulders, and buttocks on the bench, plus both feet flat on the floor.
- Grip types: pronated, supinated, alternated, neutral; hand spacing common, wide, or narrow.
- Breathing: exhale through the concentric (harder) phase, inhale through the eccentric phase. The Valsalva maneuver raises blood pressure sharply, so it is not a general teaching cue.
- Spotting: spot over-the-face and over-the-head barbell lifts and any free-weight exercise passing over the face; spot dumbbell work at the wrists. Do not spot Olympic-style power exercises such as the power clean; teach the client to miss safely instead.
- Squat and deadlift cues: neutral spine, bar over midfoot, knees tracking in line with the toes, weight through the whole foot, range of motion the client can control.
- Tempo: roughly 1 to 3 seconds concentric and 2 to 4 seconds eccentric.
Traps
- Asked which exercise requires a spotter, choosing a machine exercise or an Olympic lift.
- Swapping grip names under time pressure.
- Accepting the cue to hold your breath throughout a lift.
- Pushing depth past the client's control, producing lumbar rounding.
Rule of thumb
One spotter suits light-to-moderate loads and all dumbbell work. For near-maximal barbell loads over the face or back, use three spotters: one at each end of the bar and one at the head.