Cueing: The Thing Fitness Coaches Get Right (That Physical Therapy Butchers)
Let’s just say it.
The fitness industry—despite all its flaws, bro science, and occasional nonsense—understands something about human movement that physical therapy often completely fumbles:
How to actually get someone to move better.
Not explain it.
Not diagram it.
Not label it.
Change it.
Physical Therapy’s Favorite Mistake: Explaining Instead of Coaching
If you’ve ever been in a PT clinic, you’ve probably heard something like:
“Engage your deep core stabilizers”
“Activate your glute med”
“Posteriorly tilt your scapula while maintaining neutral pelvis”
And the patient nods politely…
…and then proceeds to move exactly the same!
Because here’s the uncomfortable truth:
👉 The nervous system does not care about your anatomy lecture.
You can name every muscle in the body.
You can describe force couples and joint arthrokinematics.
And none of that guarantees the person in front of you can:
squat without folding
reach without shrugging
walk without compensating
Meanwhile, in the Gym…
A decent coach walks over and says:
“Push the floor away.”
“Reach long.”
“Don’t spill the bowl.”
“Crack a walnut in your armpit.”
And magically…
👉 The movement changes.
No anatomy.
No jargon.
No 15-minute anatomy lesson using a model.
Just a clear task.
Why This Works (And Why PT Often Misses It)
1. The Brain Doesn’t Think in Muscles
Nobody has ever successfully moved better by thinking:
“Let me just engage my lower trapezius at 37.5% intensity.”
The brain organizes movement around:
intent
outcomes
environment
Not isolated muscle activation.
That’s why:
“Spread the floor” works
and “externally rotate your hips” doesn’t
2. Internal Cues Make People Worse
This is where PT can really confuse people and mess things up.
Internal cues like:
“activate your glutes”
“brace your core”
“set your scapula”
often lead to:
stiffness
over-bracing
robotic movement
confusion and hesitation
You don’t get better movement—you get more effort layered onto bad patterns.
3. External Cues Create Automatic Change
Now flip it:
“Drive your hips through”
“Punch forward”
“Push the ground away”
These work because they:
simplify the task
reduce overthinking
let the nervous system self-organize
👉 Less thinking. Better movement.
The Real Problem: Too Many Words
If your cue sounds like a paragraph, it’s not a cue—it’s a lecture.
Compare this:
❌ “Maintain a neutral spine while engaging your deep abdominal musculature”
✅ “Stay tall”
❌ “Control your pelvic position during the eccentric phase”
✅ “Don’t spill the bowl”
Short wins.
Every time.
What Actually Works (But Isn’t Taught Enough)
1. Constraints Beat Cues
Want someone to hinge better?
Stop talking!
Put them in front of a wall (and maybe a mirror)
Now they have to figure it out.
Heel elevation fixes squats
Load organizes movement
Positions teach better than words
👉 The body learns faster when it has boundaries, not instructions.
2. One Cue, Not Five, Or Fifteen.
Most clinicians do this:
“Okay, activate your glutes, engage your core, keep your knees inline with your foot, keep a neutral spine, and make sure you don’t hold your breath.”
That’s not coaching.
That’s cognitive overload.
Pick one thing!
Let it work.
3. If It Doesn’t Work, It’s the Cue—Not the Patient
This is the part physical therapists really don’t like to hear.
If someone isn’t changing, it’s not because:
they’re “not activating”
they’re “not focusing”
they’re a “motor moron”
they’re “not compliant”
👉 Your cue didn’t accomplish your goal.
Good coaches don’t double down.
They pivot:
“Slow it down”
“Now go faster”
“Reach more”
“Reach less”
They experiment until something clicks.
The Hierarchy Nobody Talks About
Here’s the reality:
Constraints (setup)
External cues
Demonstration
Internal cues
Anatomy explanation
Physical therapy loves starting at #5.
The best coaches barely leave #1–#2.
The Uncomfortable Takeaway
Physical therapy often treats the body like a calculus problem that needs to be explained.
The fitness industry—when it’s good—treats it like a system to be guided.
And those are not the same thing.
Final Thought
You don’t need better explanations.
You need better cues.
Because at the end of the day:
👉 The nervous system doesn’t need to understand.
👉 It needs something simple it can act on.
And the faster you realize that…
…the faster your patients actually get better.
-the pissed-off PT- share, like, subscribe