02/17/2026
Most people are over-braced… and under-organized.
If your only cues are
“engage.” “activate.” “stabilize.” “squeeze.”
you’re probably teaching people to fight gravity instead of work with it.
Those words create:
• global tension
• superficial muscle dominance
• early compression
• blocked expansion
• poor timing
They make the body rigid before it has a chance to absorb force.
Movement isn’t about turning muscles on or making them stronger.
It’s about managing pressure, redirecting momentum, and most importantly giving the body time to do all of this.
That’s why I use cues like:
Soften.
Let the tissues deform before they stiffen.
Get heavy.
Feel the heel. Feel the sit bone. Let gravity win first.
Settle.
Allow pressure to organize before you try to produce force.
Widen.
Create space so force has somewhere to go.
When someone “squeezes,” they often create compression without containment.
When someone “gets heavy,” they create yield before stiffness.
And stiffness that follows yield is usable.
Stiffness that precedes yield is compensation.
If you can’t absorb force, you’ll just brace harder.
If you can’t manage pressure, you’ll just squeeze more.
Strength isn’t about how hard you contract.
It’s how well you can accept load and redirect it.
Try this in your next workout:
Instead of “brace your core”…think “let your ribs soften and feel your heel get heavy.”
Watch what changes.
