How to quickly master or correct the technique of any exercise?

Author: Novikova Diana - triathlon coach.
2018-12-24

The need to learn something new can arise not only in a new sport and when correcting technique but also in mastering new elements.

Improper technique in many sports can be hazardous. Minor mistakes while running a marathon can lead to joint injuries and even stress fractures. In strength training, as the weight increases, the risk of injury without proper technique is also significant.

Often, people want to try a new sport but hesitate because they fear it will take a long time to learn new movements, and that it will be difficult. This technique can help save a lot of time in mastering new skills. The key is awareness and gradual progression. Let’s start with a framework.

Learning Framework: Mental Model => Attempts to Perform => Skill

First, we need to UNDERSTAND what needs to be done, then we make attempts, and finally, we improve the technique and bring it to automation. Let’s break it down using swimming as an example:

The coach explains how to swim: first, the movements of the arms, then the legs, and finally in complete coordination. We try, correct ourselves, and then swim extensively with the established technique. This is a lengthy process that requires adaptation. Most movements in sports are unfamiliar to our bodies. For office workers, any movement besides sitting is generally unfamiliar and can be injury-prone. Therefore, it is essential to adapt the body gradually.

If we are already swimming with errors, it becomes more difficult to relearn because the motor skill has already formed. Neurons in the brain have wired themselves in a particular sequence and have become accustomed to sending impulses along familiar routes. To change actions, we need to pave new pathways in our heads. Initially, they will be like trails in a forest, then dirt roads, and eventually expressways that help refine the stroke and prevent dropping the elbow during the crawl.

If there is a critical quality missing for performing the movement, we must first develop that quality before learning the skill. For example, there is no point in learning a gymnastic exercise that requires flexibility until that flexibility is achieved.

It is best, before starting a new sport, to consult a coach and undergo an assessment. The coach will quickly identify weaknesses and advise on how to compensate for them. For instance, they might find that you have weak feet and that initial exercises to strengthen them are necessary before moving onto lengthy and interval training runs; otherwise, you could rapidly hit a plateau in results or, worse, a weak link may fail and cause you to drop out of training. It’s challenging to understand this on your own; you need an external perspective.

Methods of mastering technique

There are 2 methods for mastering a skill: breaking it down into separate elements and learning it in full coordination at once.

Method 1 "by elements"

Again, I will illustrate with the example of swimming:

1. Swim with a kickboard using only legs
2. Swim without legs, only using arms
3. Swim on your side and practice inhaling
4. Try to paddle with your arms and inhale
5. Add legs
6. Done! We are swimming.

Method 2 "in coordination"

1. Swim right away as best as we can
2. Correct individual elements of the technique

In my experience, it is more effective to combine these methods. In running, we first just run, identify weak points and mistakes, work on them element by element, and then run again. Then the cycle repeats.

Main rules for learning technique

1. Do not push to exhaustion; otherwise, incorrect technique is learned. It is better to have shorter, more frequent training sessions.

2. Initially, within a training session, take long intervals of rest to recover and analyze your mistakes.

3. In each repetition, focus on 1 important task, such as completing the stroke. If at the same time you think about your legs, head, and shoulders, you may become overwhelmed and completely forget how to do anything, like a centipede asked how it crawls).

4. Observe those who are already doing it and visualize the execution process.

5. Maintain self-control and focus on the action.

6. Verbalize the task during execution.

As you get used to it, you can add elements of control and complicate tasks, as well as vary the maximum number of parameters: speed, weight, stabilization, etc., so that the brain and body have to constantly adapt to changing conditions.

After the skill is formed, the number of training sessions can be reduced, but the duration and intensity of execution increase. At this stage, you can already train in a state of fatigue.

Methods for consolidating technique

1. Try to anticipate the time to complete the task, weight, pulse.

How to do it: Run 1 km without looking at gadgets, based on your feelings, try to maintain the desired pace, for example, to run the distance in 5 minutes. After completion, compare expectations and reality.

We enter the gym and think about what weight we can lift for 3 sets of 15 reps until failure. For example, let's say we will bench press 70 kg. If at the end of the exercise we feel energetic and cheerful, we have underestimated ourselves. If we didn't finish – we overestimated. We draw conclusions and adapt to the load.

Thus, we get to know our body better, understand our limits, and learn to listen to and understand our organism, which is very important for learning and consolidating new and correct movements.

2. Focus on the key parameter of movement.

How to do it: It is best to choose the most important parameter of your sport that affects the result. In cycling, we do tasks based on power. We sit on a watt bike and monitor the watts, with the task of holding the specified amount. In swimming, we try to cover the distance with the least number of strokes. We work on stroke power and glide.

3. Combine with distracting tasks.

How to do it: Astronauts during training jump with a parachute and solve math problems during free fall =). While running, untie knots (or headphones). Recite poetry during gymnastic exercises.

Important: in such tasks, coach supervision is necessary, otherwise, who will tell you what happens to your technique when you get distracted? And let's be honest: you often get distracted during training by your thoughts, a girl next to you, or your phone.

4. If you find it difficult to correct technical elements of movements, try to focus on sensations and monitor changes in your body.

How to do it: For example, I find it helpful during running to imagine myself as a cheetah and feel its speed and lightness of movement.

When this scheme does not work:

However, in some sports, memorization leading to stereotyping is not beneficial. In martial arts, it makes a fighter predictable; in aesthetic disciplines, one can lose individuality. Therefore, everything is good in moderation.

The most effective method, in fact, is working with a coach or partner who can see and correct mistakes. I especially recommend video analysis. If you feel that you are unstoppable after your sensations, viewing the video may lead to disappointment.