Do Less

If you’re like me the phrase "Do Less" might fall in the same word category as “antichrist” and “Communism.” As an over-competitive activist of never quitting, I never thought I would coach anyone to “Do Less.” But this is a new phase in life, and with new phases comes new mottos.

I have a lifter who struggles with the concept ‘move the bar in a straight line.’ Powerlifting is all about moving in straight lines and keeping the bar at midline. When the bar drifts from midline and doesn’t follow a straight line path the efficiency of the lifter disappears. My struggling lifter tries to compensate for his lacking strength by throwing his butt out and bouncing the weight. He may believe this is making his lift stronger, but in the end it’s hurting him. So I coach that he “Do Less.”

The do less principle coaches that you should focus more on the precision and less on the success of the lift. Contrary to popular belief, when a lifter does the clean his knees are not supposed to take the load of the catch his muscles are. According to, “Managing the training of weightlifters” the most effective way to improve the clean through squats is maximally squatting to a depth of 70 degrees. So when a lifter uses their knees to bounce the weight up during practice, they’re actually hurting themselves more than helping. So I would coach that he “Do Less.”

Applying the do less principle is not easy. It’s one of the hardest things to incorporate into your training. Only a humble man/woman can put less weight on the bar and then do it correctly. I’m coming off of a pretty serious injury, and all of my maxes have dropped a lot. Rather than lift with crappy form I bite the bullet and I “Do Less.”

We’ve all seen the video of a guy doing a moderate amount of weight with horrendous form. We cringe at the site of his form crumpling. The interweb explodes with people mocking his once glorious achievement. And to think, if he just applied “Do Less” he wouldn’t have to hide his face when he walks into a gym.

Take a lesson from the good book and be humble. The least will be the greatest. Do things right with a modest touch, and you’ll soon be doing great things perfectly. Just DO LESS.