Training technique I've never heard of

[Gareth Rees]

Hi guys, this is my first post, so don't go too hard on me, but I read Pavel's 'Power to the people', and he very briefly mentioned an idea I'd never heard of, and it got me thinking.
The idea was to close your eyes while completing an exercise, obviously to develop greater kinesthetic awareness in that particular lift. Obviously this would only be used with the compound lifts, i.e. squats, deadlifts etc., and probably only at sub-max loads (or maybe even while warming up), and never with Olympic or explosive lifts and probably nothing overhead. I believe it would have its value especially in powerlifting, though I haven't tried it with anything over 85% 1RM and only in a back squat, and was just wondering what you guys' opinions on it would be or if you've ever heard of or tried this technique?
I believe that all views and opinions would be very interesting, and if you disagree with it then please state why.

Thanks

[Gant Grimes]

Welcome to the PM.

The first question your should ask yourself is 'how does this make me better?' Ignore fancy words and catch phrases like kinesthetic awareness and answer the basic question.

This comes up every few years, most recently with Twight's "300" guys doing deadlifts with blindfolds. I don't buy it at all, especially for the strength lifts, where focusing on a point of reference is one of the first things a lifter does.

Improving kinesthetic awareness is fine. There are just better ways to do it. If you're Luke Skywalker learning to feel the force, close your eyes. If you're walking out 500 pounds from the rack, keep them open.

[Gareth Rees]

Originally Posted by Gant Grimes

Welcome to the PM.

The first question your should ask yourself is 'how does this make me better?' Ignore fancy words and catch phrases like kinesthetic awareness and answer the basic question.

This comes up every few years, most recently with Twight's "300" guys doing deadlifts with blindfolds. I don't buy it at all, especially for the strength lifts, where focusing on a point of reference is one of the first things a lifter does.

Improving kinesthetic awareness is fine. There are just better ways to do it. If you're Luke Skywalker learning to feel the force, close your eyes. If you're walking out 500 pounds from the rack, keep them open.

Thanks for the welcome, and i think I'll post more questions as I have about a million and appreciate all of your responses and views.
I see what you're saying, and it does make a lot of sense. Essentially, it probably doesn't directly make you stronger, but I just thought maybe somebody has tried it and has positive experiences.
Thanks again for your point of view.

[Mahir Barbaro]

I've never actually closed my eyes, but I've done something similar. It's usually when I'm doing some posterior chain movement or exercise, and I'm unhappy with my form. I've noticed that when I really try to focus on the muscles being used (really just for when I'm trying to perfect my form) I tend to lose focus on what's in front of me. I imagine I look like I'm spacing out in class, so I try to not do this very often.