One side effect of kettlebell workouts (aside from all the sweat): bruised wrists, from moves that swing the kettlebell into a rack position, where you’re grasping the handle with the bell against the back of your wrist.

The fix: pretend you’re holding a clutch purse or a newspaper in the crook of your armpit. “This keeps your upper arm in contact with your side, which in turn prevents the kettlebell from swinging out in front of you and banging into the back of your wrist as you move the weight into a rack position,” says strength-training expert Jen Sinkler, co-owner of Movement Minneapolis and author of Lift Weights Faster 2.

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“When I'm teaching the deadlift, I ask if people have seen Legally Blonde, and then tell them we're going to do the ‘Bend and Snap,’” Sinkler tells Yahoo Health. (In the classic Reese Witherspoon scene, her character Elle Woods slowly bends to pick something up, sticking her butt out, and then “snaps” back up to standing.) The cue helps you move your hips back — a crucial part of proper deadlift form — and prevents the spine from rounding, Sinkler explains.

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This tip, from celebrity trainer Craig Ramsay, puts your shoulder blades in the proper position for planks and curls. “This will not only help with proper body alignment but it will help protect the rotator cuff from injury,” he tells Yahoo Health. “This imagery helps isolate the lat muscles, chest, and arms.”

Try this when you’re stepping on the stairclimber, pedaling the recumbent bike, or walking on an incline on the treadmill. During these exercises, the legs and knees tend to rotate inward in order to take some of the work off of your glutes (butt muscles). “By imagining a large grapefruit between your upper thighs, you will immediately activate the glutes and will feel the exercise take over primarily in the booty,” Ramsay says. Tip: You might notice your feet turn out when you use this analogy, but fight the urge, Ramsay advises; keep your feet parallel to one another to protect your knees.

During an overhead press (aka shoulder press), a lot of people tend to arch the back, which tips the pelvis forward. When this happens, “you’re putting a lot of unnecessary stress on your lower back,” says Nick Tumminello, owner of Performance University International and author of Strength Training for Fat Loss. To prevent this and keep your hips and lower back in the correct position, imagine that your pelvis is a bucket filled to the brim with water — and try not to spill it. The cue is good to keep in mind for any standing exercise, such as shoulder raises, overhead presses, and cable pressdowns.

This is a classic cue among strength coaches, says Tumminello, Yahoo Health’s Strength-Training Expert. And for good reason: It works. Actively trying to bend the bar into a curve engages the lats (the large muscles on the back that a lat pulldown is meant to target) and increases tension through your torso, Tumminello explains.

Many people tend to rely too much on their upper trapezius (the muscle at the top of the back) to do dumbbell rows, Sinkler says. By following the crack-an-egg cue, you’ll squeeze your shoulder blades together, which activates the middle and lower trapezius. “The move also keeps the shoulders down away from the ears and shoulder blades retracted,” she says.

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