On Improving Technique

I think technique obsession is generally a good thing. No lift is going to be technically complete (especially the heavy ones), but it is good to try to constantly find faults in technique and work to improve them. Here are some things I use to improve my technique for sports:

Firstly, film yourself. I don't care if it looks awkward or if others stare at you. Just film yourself normally. Watching yourself lift from an outside perspective will help you identify faults much more easily. This work for sports like sprinting and swimming as well.

Secondly, find someone online who has the same leverages as you. Lifting technique is not going to be the same amongst everyone. This is because different people have different body proportions and so lift differently based on the technique that gives them the best leverages. Finding someone online who has similar body proportions to you can give you an idea on how you should lift.

Thirdly, watching top athletes. Although top athletes may lift based on their unique leverages, there are always some things you can learn from watching top athletes' raw training footage.

Fourth, standardizing technique during warmups and throughout the training cycle. Whilst you warmup, you should still lift like you would on a maximal top set. No warmup rep should be wasted; treat every rep as an opportunity to practice technique. The same goes for doing volume work. When doing volume work, you should still focus hard on every rep and aim to do every rep with textbook perfect form. This will drill the motor pattern of the movement, which ensures better technique when maxing out.

Finally, linking to the previous tip, have a set of cues written down. For example, some cues I like for the deadlift are "pack the lats back towards your pockets" and "brace your stomach outwards" and "stick your butt out" (yes that works). I have all of these written down in my training journal so that before I start deadlifting, I run through these cues in my head and during the set. Find cues that work for you and stick to them.

-Prem