In this post, we discuss why the same exercise can produce a different result when the intention is clear.
People that work with me sometimes remark that the exercises we use aren’t too different from the ones they’ve tried in the past with little success.
Two exercises can look remarkably similar from the outside, yet one produces real results, whilst the other does very little. So what’s the difference?
In most cases it can be summarised in one word — intention.
Why intention matters
When I speak about intention, I mean both the intention of the client performing the exercise, and the reasons I have asked them to do it.
My reasons are based on three things: what we discovered during their assessment, their goals, and their history.
The client, on the other hand, will have very clear instructions as to what they should feel and where they should feel it.
This isn’t just coaching preference — directing attention to specific muscles genuinely changes how the brain recruits them. The nervous system responds to intent.
Two people performing the same movement with a different internal focus are, in a meaningful sense, doing different exercises.
When the sensations aren’t quite right, we’ll make adjustments.
Slowing the tempo improves awareness and control.
Reducing the load lowers the risk of compensation.
Altering the range of motion can reduce noise in the system and improve focus.
These are all techniques to help improve the quality of information the nervous system is working with.
Which brings us back to the exercises that didn’t work before.
In most cases, the movement itself wasn’t the problem. What was missing was the context around it — the assessment that identified what needed addressing, the cueing that directed attention to the right place, and the adjustments that improved focus.
These are the differences that make the difference and produce real results.
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