DON’T BE THAT GUY
True Story… I was wandering around the gym floor at St. Andrew’s Family Fitness Plus, killing time, when a young gym rat approached me and said that he had been focusing on building his biceps for the past few months but hadn’t gotten any results. I graciously offered to assess his workout and give him a few pointers. What happened next made me laugh and curse simultaneously. I followed this kid over to the squat rack where he proceeded to air hump his way through a set of straight bar bicep curls. There was more pelvic thrusting than a Michael Jackson video. Once he had finished his set I said “Three things. First, squat racks are for squatting. Not curling. You can do bicep curls anywhere. B, reduce your weight on the bar. It is too heavy for you. And lastly, try standing with your back against the wall while you curl. This will stabilize your pelvis which will lead to less thrusting and more bicep activation.”
This little encounter was just the encouragement I needed to pull out my soap box and harp about the importance of proper form when weight training. There is an inherent risk that accompanies resistance training. Such risks could be severe, such as disc herniations, or relatively minor, such as developing muscle imbalances. While it would be an exercise in futility to discuss every exercise’s proper form and the risks associated with improper form, I do want to hit a few of the high points. Muscle strengthening and hypertrophy is dependant upon overloading the target muscle during the resistance workout. If one does not use correct form to properly isolate the target muscle or muscle group during a lift, accessory muscles around the target muscle assist in moving the load. This reduces the activation and subsequent overload of the target muscle. Our “curler” described earlier was relying on his hips and back to move the weight which reduced the tension on his biceps. That is one reason he hadn’t seen results.
More serious than a lack of results is the risk of injury. Improper form can lead to a host of injuries. For example, I realize the exercise is called the “stiff legged deadlift” but are you trying to herniate a disc? In order to the target muscles of this exercise (the hamstrings), your knees must be bent to at least 20 degrees. Locking your knees during the stiff legged deadlift eliminates the hamstrings from the movement and puts the entire load on the glutes and low back structures.
Lastly, improper lifting form can affect muscle balance and posture. Take a lat pulldown as an example. If a person rolls his/her shoulders forward for the sake of another inch during the pull, the chest musculature will eventually become tight which can lead to a protracted shoulder girdle. This postural deviation can lead to many more problems.
These are just a few of the many examples of the importance of learning proper weight lifting form. Consult a certified personal trainer if you have any questions or concerns. Learning how to exercise correctly will lead to greater success and less injury.
Now I have to get off my soap box. I see another “curler” in the squat rack!
Justin Webb, ATC, CSCS
Energize Fitness Solutions, LLC
763-3850 ext. 152
jwebbmd@hotmail.com