Why Your Technique Isn’t Your Coach’s Job
Now hear me out.
You come to me as a coach for my expertise, for guidance on your movement and technique, and to learn, develop, and ultimately become a better athlete and lifter.
But your technique is not solely my responsibility.
Technique Ownership Changes as You Progress
As you move through your lifting career — from beginner, to intermediate, to advanced — the ownership of your technique gradually shifts. And that shift is not accidental. Because great athletes are not just well-coached. They are self-aware. They can feel movement and positions. They have insight into what happened in their lift. They can make small adjustments without needing external input every single rep.
That skill doesn’t appear overnight. It’s built over time…
In the beginner stage there is heavy coach responsibility - I fully expect to carry most of the technical responsibility, because at this stage, it is not your job to know exactly what feels right or wrong. And I will happily give you feedback and cues on every rep, every set, every miss and every success. All designed to help you experience correct positions.
Early on, your job is to show up and try and not overthink too much.
“How Did That Feel?” Is Not a Throwaway Question
BUT - You at MWBC you will often be asked “How did that feel?” . A LOT. This is deliberate, it is used to help you progress from solely relying on your coach 100% to course correct or provide the perfect technical cue. This starts to create autonomy, and long-term autonomy makes you a better lifter!
As you progress, and accumulate reps, you should start recognising patterns in your own movements. You start feeling differences between a good rep and a not so good one. And the "responsibility" shifts.
Being able to answer “How Did That Feel?” matters because it forces reflection. And forces you to take ownership - instead of immediately looking at your coach for an answer, you look inward. You might say: “Heavy” or “Fast” or “Smooth”, “the bar got away from me” “Unstable” “Forward” or maybe even “I don’t really know…”
All of those answers are useful and will help you to connect a feeling with a cue or position. Over time your body starts to build an internal map of what good lifting feels like, and you can connect and understand in real time:
A cue → to a feeling or position
The end goal of coaching is not to make athletes who need a coach standing beside them for every rep, forever.
The goal is to build you as an athlete who:
Can take responsibility for specific cues or positions, and
Can self-correct between reps
Is able to recognise when something is off and adapt
And be aware of your body
This doesn’t mean you’re on your own Coach
Coaching is a partnership and we have shared responsibility. Which means you actively participate in your development.
Your responsibility includes:
Paying attention to how reps feel
Giving honest feedback
Trying to apply cues
Being curious about your movement and asking questions
Not being perfect. Not knowing everything. But training with intention and being engaged.
My responsibility:
Provide programming and clear direction
Offer feedback and guidance
Be your biggest cheerleader
Build an environment for growth and autonomy
If I’m doing my job well, you won’t just lift better, you’ll understand why you lift better.
When both sides do their job, progress accelerates.
If you want coaching that helps you understand your lifting — not just survive each session — this is how we do it at MWBC.
Train with intention. Be involved. Build awareness that lasts longer than any single cue. Sign up for a FREE ONE on ONE Session Get in touch now
—MWBC Coaching Team
