Exercise Technique practice questions

Answer: A) Behind the lifter

• ACorrect. Ready to assist at the bar.
• BIncorrect. Stand behind.
• CIncorrect. Stay close.
• DIncorrect. That's unsafe.

Answer: D) Contracts the stretched muscle, then relaxes into a deeper stretch

• AIncorrect. That's another variation.
• BIncorrect. That's static stretching.
• CIncorrect. That's ballistic.
• DCorrect. The partner adds a passive stretch.

Answer: A) On a bench, just below the shoulder blades

• ACorrect. The hips drive up to full extension.
• BIncorrect. That's a glute bridge.
• CIncorrect. That isn't the standard setup.
• DIncorrect. That's unsafe.

Answer: B) Land and rebound immediately, with a short ground contact and no technique breakdown

Depth jump height is set by how well the athlete can rebound: pick the height that still allows a quick, controlled rebound with short ground contact. If contact time gets longer or technique breaks down, the box is too high.

• AIncorrect. Too high a box makes the landing forces too large. Ground contact gets longer, the stretch-shortening cycle is lost, and injury risk goes up, so more height is not better.
• BCorrect. The right height lets the athlete reverse the landing quickly, with a short amortization phase (contact usually under about 0.25 s). That is what trains the stretch-shortening cycle.
• CIncorrect. A deep squat and a pause make ground contact longer, so the stored elastic energy is lost. That defeats the purpose of a depth jump.
• DIncorrect. Landing with locked knees sends high impact forces into the joints. Athletes should land on the balls of the feet with slight hip and knee flexion and then rebound quickly.

Answer: B) Step down from the box one foot at a time, then reset

After a box jump, the athlete should step down rather than jump or drop off the box. This avoids unnecessary landing and eccentric stress and keeps the exercise focused on the concentric jump.

• AIncorrect. Jumping down turns every rep into an unplanned depth jump. This adds high eccentric landing forces, and landing backward lets the athlete see little of the floor. Neither serves the concentric goal of the box jump.
• BCorrect. Stepping down avoids the extra impact and eccentric stress of dropping from the box height. Each rep then stays a controlled concentric jump followed by a reset.
• CIncorrect. Dropping from box height is a depth-jump stimulus. Depth jumps are a separate, high-intensity exercise that should be planned for, not added to every box jump rep.
• DIncorrect. A single-leg drop from a tall box puts large landing forces on one limb. That adds injury risk and gives no benefit to the box jump.

Answer: C) Front rack

• AIncorrect. That's a snatch or jerk.
• BIncorrect. It's in front.
• CCorrect. On the front of the shoulders in the front rack position.
• DIncorrect. It's on the shoulders.

Answer: A) Forceful hip extension out of a hip hinge, with the arms guiding the bell

A kettlebell swing is a ballistic hip hinge: powerful hip extension drives the bell, and the extended arms only guide it.

• ACorrect. The athlete hinges at the hips with a neutral spine, then extends the hips and knees powerfully. Momentum carries the bell to about eye level while the straight arms guide it.
• BIncorrect. The elbows stay extended and the arms act only as a link to the bell. Lifting the bell with the shoulders is a common mistake that turns the swing into a front raise.
• CIncorrect. The swing is a hip-dominant hinge. The knees stay moderately flexed while the torso tilts toward parallel. It isn't a knee-dominant squat.
• DIncorrect. The spine should stay neutral the whole time. At the top, the athlete stands tall with the hips extended and doesn't lean back through the lower back.

Answer: A) Overhead with arms locked and hips back slightly

• ACorrect. The athlete is in a partial squat.
• BIncorrect. That's a clean.
• CIncorrect. That isn't a catch.
• DIncorrect. That's a back squat position.

Answer: C) The pivot point (axis of rotation) of the lever arm

On rotary machines like the leg extension, line up the moving joint (the knee) with the machine's axis of rotation. That way the lever arm follows the joint's natural arc and stress on the joint stays low.

• AIncorrect. The ankle pad goes on the lower shin just above the feet. Its position sets where the resistance is applied, not where the knee sits relative to the machine's pivot.
• BIncorrect. The back of the knee usually ends up near the front of the seat, but the seat edge is not the reference point. If the knee is not lined up with the pivot, the movement arc does not match the joint and stress on the knee goes up.
• CCorrect. When the knee's axis of rotation lines up with the machine's pivot, the lever arm and the lower leg travel the same arc. This keeps resistance even through the range of motion and cuts down on shear and other unwanted stress at the knee.
• DIncorrect. The hip position depends on the back pad. The joint that moves in a leg extension is the knee, so the knee, not the hip, has to line up with the machine's axis.

Answer: C) On the athlete's wrists, close to the dumbbells

Spot dumbbell pressing exercises at the wrists, close to the dumbbells. Spotting at the elbows or upper arms does not control the forearms, so the dumbbells can fall toward the athlete's face.

• AIncorrect. This grip is far from the load. If the athlete fails, the elbows can still bend and the dumbbells can drop toward the face or chest.
• BIncorrect. Supporting the elbows does not control the forearms. The dumbbells can rotate inward and fall onto the athlete's face. This is a common spotting mistake.
• CCorrect. NSCA guidance says to spot dumbbell exercises as close to the dumbbells as possible, at the wrists. This gives the spotter direct control of the load.
• DIncorrect. Grabbing the handles gets in the way of the athlete's grip and risks pinching the spotter's fingers. The recommended spot is at the wrists.