It’s hard not to notice the eyebrow-raising title, but don’t take it too literally. I do think there are solid approaches, methods, and “rules” to consider when coaching any lift in the weight room. But when we talk about exercise technique (or human movement in general), why do textbooks become the metric by which we measure everything?
Textbooks give context, information, and sometimes double as coffee-table decor. But we don’t live in textbooks. A squat, a sprint, an overhead press (or even a carrot cake) in a textbook can look very different from how it’s performed in real life.
TEXTBOOK TECHNIQUE & WHY IT DOESN’T EXIST
I believe there are some universal ideas in coaching movements like the deadlift, squat, bench press, or kettlebell swing that help clients or athletes reap benefits safely. The goal isn’t to turn everyone into a copy of a textbook image, because that would be bad for progress and for longevity.
I want to build strong, capable lifters who can train long term. If all my clients’ deadlifts looked like the textbook image, it wouldn’t be good for business—or my reputation.
So, while there is a single broad rule to start with, there are many nuanced factors to consider one person at a time. Training history matters. Someone lifting a barbell for the first time doesn’t get held to the same standard as a competitive powerlifter with 17 years of experience. A person with a long history of lower back issues won’t follow the same path as someone with a clean health history. Goals, movement quality, personal preferences, and anatomical differences all play a role.
SOMEONE WITH HIPS LIKE THIS…
…WILL MOVE DIFFERENTLY—and will presumably be coached differently—than someone with hips like this:
There are many excellent resources that break down anatomy, assessment, biomechanics, joint positions, and what’s considered “ideal” technique. I have my biases, as does everyone, but it’s important to view every resource with a grain of salt, because…
“Textbook technique only exists in a textbook.”
When I first heard Mike Reinold say that, I had a mixed reaction. My initial thought was that it was obvious, but it hit home. Textbook technique, in the real world, is as much a myth as detoxes that claim you’ll pee rainbows or me riding a Dire wolf to work today.
What we read as “ideal” on paper can be a helpful starting point, but it doesn’t always translate to real life. As coaches, it’s crucial not to box ourselves into one way of thinking or pretend that one method fits every lifter. We’re doing a disservice to our clients when we cling to a single approach.
A REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE
A few months ago I started working with a woman who had ongoing low-back issues but wanted me to take over her programming and improve her technique, specifically for deadlifts.
During an initial consult, I watched her default movement. I set up a barbell on the floor with a weight she could handle safely and asked her to lift as she normally would. Her default stance was conventional, and while it wasn’t the worst I’d seen, it clearly explained why her back was bothering her.
We had already identified that she lacked thoracic spine extension and had limited hip mobility. After a hip mobility assessment (a hip scour) and a Rockback test, I learned she could reach more hip flexion ROM with more hip abduction. This is important—Rockback helps determine how much usable hip flexion ROM she could access without losing spinal position.
BAD ROCKBACK TEST
Notice when the spine loses its position.
DEAD SEXY ROCKBACK TEST
Notice the spine stays neutral, and you can see the upper body alignment as well.
We could compare these findings to what she did on the gym floor. She’d read a lot of articles and books that said deadlifting equals a conventional stance, every time. Other coaches had told her the same thing—no exceptions.
That’s the textbook trap. On paper, everything looks great. In reality, it’s not always possible.
Here’s a before-and-after photo: the top image shows her original setup with a conventional stance; the bottom shows a wider, modified stance. The immediate effect was a better spinal position—in particular, no lumbar flexion and improved thoracic extension. The change also eliminated her pain.
I shared this publicly and was called out by several coaches. One argued the issue wasn’t anatomy but my coaching. Another claimed no client ever walks into a gym and can’t perform a conventional deadlift after day one of coaching. I took the criticism in stride and kept moving forward.
PUMP THE BRAKES
It’s easy to be narrow-minded and expect everyone to fit a single scheme simply because that’s what you prefer or what a textbook suggests. No one has to deadlift conventionally. No one has to low-bar squat or use a symmetrical stance. No one has to bench with a particular lumbar arch. And yes, even you might want to binge-watch a show instead of doing that.
A good coach understands that people are different. They’re humble enough to set aside personal biases and recognize there isn’t One Right Way to perform any exercise. Tailor the lift to the lifter, not the other way around.
If someone can’t maintain a good spine during deadlifts but can keep a neutral spine during a Rockback test, the likely issue is novice movement patterns or motor control that needs practice. If the same faulty pattern appears in both deadlifting and the Rockback test, it’s more likely a mobility or structural issue.
