How Feedback Fuels Progress: Unlocking Better Results in Resistance Training

Introduction

Coaching isn’t just about building strength, speed, or skill. At its heart, coaching is about communication — and one of the most powerful tools we have is feedback.

The way we give feedback matters. Done well, feedback can ignite confidence, sharpen focus, and accelerate learning. Done poorly, it can create frustration and slow progress.

In this post, we’ll look at the purpose of feedback and how it drives athletic development. Then we’ll get more specific about the power of technology-based feedback in resistance training.

The Purpose of Feedback

Feedback is information that athletes receive after they perform a skill and before they make their next attempt. Whether from the coach or a device, it serves four essential purposes:

• Error Correction. It can provide a description of an error, why it occurred, and how to fix it.

• Motivation. Feedback energizes athletes to increase effort and keep pushing.

• Reinforcement encourages repetition of correct performances (or avoidance of incorrect ones) through praise or constructive criticism.

• Information. Feedback gives insight for improving movement patterns and during the learning process.

Feedback Drives Learning and Performance

An athlete receives feedback immediately after they perform a skill. First, they can pick up on how they performed on their own (called intrinsic feedback).

After performing a skill, the athlete senses on their own how they performed, called intrinsic feedback.

Then the coach or devices add extrinsic feedback to improve the athlete’s performance.

For example, a sprinter knows how they felt during a race and has some idea about how fast they ran.

Then the coach adds more information about their sprint technique and the athlete’s exact time.

The coach may use devices (e.g., motion sensors, video analysis) to provide descriptive feedback about how the athlete performed and then advise what to do next time (called prescriptive feedback).

The coach may also check in with the athlete’s with questions like:

• "How did you feel coming out of the blocks?"

• "What would you change about your race?"

Before the next attempt, the coach gives a meaningful cue that prompts the athlete to make the prescribed corrections.

How to Provide Effective Feedback

1.   Feedback should always be specific and actionable. Generic praise like "good job" isn’t enough. Effective feedback is tied directly athlete performance.

Instead of: "That was better!"

Say: "Great job keeping your chest tall through the catch position — that set you up for a strong overhead press."

2.   Give sandwich feedback (positive-negative-positive) to reinforce success, point out a weakness to improve on, then wrap up on encouraging note about what to do and a cue.

“You really did well hitting the middle of the ring, but your shoulders came around a bit too soon. Focus on the flag pole behind the ring longer and you’ll nail it.”

Positive feedback alone gives praise and reinforcement after a successful outcome; it is especially beneficial for beginners.

Negative feedback alone tells an athlete what went wrong. By itself, it is often more effective with elite performers.

3.   The timing of feedback can be both immediate (ideal for safety concerns or initial skill learning) or delayed a few seconds to let the athlete process the attempt while sensory feedback is still fresh. But too long a delay may risk forgetting.

4.   How often should you give feedback? More frequently for beginners, less frequently for more advanced athletes.

According to the guidance hypothesis, too much extrinsic feedback and physical guidance can cause:

• Overreliance on the coach.

• Disruption of the athlete’s intrinsic feedback.

• Interference with motor learning.

• Hinderance of retention and transfer.

These strategies work well for giving less feedback, particularly with advanced athletes:

• Summary feedback is provided after several trials, not after every single one.

• Average feedback identifies typical performance errors over several attempts.

• Bandwidth feedback is based on a predetermined a "range of correctness" where feedback is only given when the athlete falls outside that range.

Coaches and researchers have long advocated managing feedback wisely. In recent years, technology-based devices have impacted how coaches give feedback; especially for resistance training exercises.

Technology-Driven Feedback: Velocity, Video, and Visual Cues

Technology has made it easier than ever to provide real-time, objective feedback in the weight room. These tools don’t replace coaching—they enhance it by giving athletes immediate, measurable insights into their performance.

Velocity-Based Training (VBT) uses bar speed (kinetic output) to guide resistance training. Instead of relying solely on percentages of 1-rep max, VBT adjusts training based on how fast (or slow) the barbell is moving. This ensures athletes are training in the right intensity zones.

Common devices used in VBT include GymAware, Vmaxpro and Flex by Output Sports. These tools give visual or auditory cues when reps fall outside the target velocity range, helping athletes self-correct and maintain intent and effort across sets.

By tracking data like velocity and movement patterns, technology devices are valuable tools for creating more varied and effective exercise routines, data-driven insights, personalized guidance, and real-time feedback.

Visual Feedback and Video Analysis give athletes a clearer understanding of movements themselves. While mirrors offer some benefit, delayed or live video playback provides much more precise kinematic feedback.

Popular tools for visual feedback and analysis include Hudl Technique,  MySprint, and Dartfish. Don’t underestimate the power of slow-motion replay using just a smartphone camera.

When used purposefully, visual feedback builds athlete awareness, reinforces correct movement patterns, and accelerates technical learning—especially when combined with verbal feedback and cues.

Velocity-Based Training (VBT) uses bar speed to determine and adjust weight loads.

Visual Feedback and Video Analysis gives athletes a clearer picture of their movement patterns.

The Power of Feedback in Resistance Training

Recent research (Weakly et al., 2023) that reviewed and analyzed the results of 20 studies showed that feedback during resistance training can lead to superior gains and better performance both immediately and over time. Specifically:

• Barbell velocity increases by about 8.4% when visual feedback is provided.

• Athletes feel more motivated, competitive, and capable of pushing through fatigue.

• Consistent feedback across a training period leads to bigger gains in strength and improvements in jumping and sprinting.

• Feedback works best when it’s frequent—ideally after every rep.

• Feedback across a range of heavy and light loads using upper and lower body exercises improves force, velocity, power, volume, and repetitions completed.

• Both verbal and visual feedback outperform no feedback at all, but visual feedback has a slight edge when it comes to boosting immediate performance.

• The addition of verbal encouragement on top of visual or verbal kinematic feedback does not appear to provide any additional benefit. However, it should be noted that when athletes are provided feedback and then it is taken away, performance immediately returns to non-feedback levels.

Because feedback can easily be provided and no study shows a detrimental effect, the authors strongly recommended regular and ongoing feedback when training athletes with resistances. 

Takeaways

• Feedback fuels progress. Whether verbal, visual, or tech-driven, timely and specific feedback improves movement quality, performance, and motivation.

• One size doesn’t fit all. Tailor your feedback strategy based on athlete experience, goals, and the demands of the session.

• Balance is key. Too much feedback may cause overdependence and detract from learning. Use strategies like summary or bandwidth feedback to support retention and transfer.

• Technology enhances, not replaces, coaching. Velocity-based devices and video analysis provide measurable, actionable insights—especially valuable in resistance training.

• Consistency matters. Regular feedback across a training cycle leads to superior gains in strength, velocity, power, and skill.

• Visual feedback has an edge. Research suggests visual feedback outperforms verbal alone, especially for immediate performance improvements.

Consistent, well-timed feedback isn't just a coaching tool—it's a performance enhancer. Whether you're working with beginners or elite athletes, using feedback regularly (especially visual) can boost motivation and drive measurable improvements. Don’t leave performance gains to chance—make feedback part of your training system.

Sources

Coker, C. A. (2013). Motor learning and control for practitioners. Holcomb Hathaway.

French, D. & Rhoda, L.T. (Eds.) (2021). NSCA’s essentials of sport science. Human Kinetics.

Hodges, N.J. & Williams, A.M. (Eds.) (2020). Skill acquisition in sport. Routledge.

Weakley, J., Cowley, N., Schoenfeld, B. J., Read, D. B., Timmins, R. G., García-Ramos, A., & McGuckian, T. B. (2023). The effect of feedback on resistance training performance and adaptations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 53(9), 1789–1803. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01877-2