Why is Form Important?

Form is crucial in preventing injuries and ensuring the targeted muscles get the best workout possible. It’s common to see people in the gym with bad form, but what exactly is it?

Well bad form is when someone is doing an exercise which has additional ranges of motion. Lets take the classic bicep curl as an example. When performing a correct bicep curl you should have a fixed elbow at your hip and then have a steady, stable range of motion while you contract the bicep. You will not only feel your bicep working but a bit of shoulders and core, these should however only be working to keep your body stable. The only motion you should be going through is the bicep contraction and not the lurching, rocking, leaning back heavily action commonly seen.

What causes bad form?

The principal cause of poor form is the conception many people seem to believe that more weight = more gains. This is certainly not the case, doing an exercise with lower weight but good form will certainly be better than doing an exercise at high weight when you are not in control. The speed in which many exercises are performed also plays a factor into form. You can perform an exercise in one of two ways fast or slow, which both have their benefits and flaws. Performing an exercise at a higher speed will produce muscles which are fast twitch, they are explosive and powerful. This is good for sports like rugby and american football. However a fast motion has more room for error and can potentially cause a severe injury so expert guidance should be sought before trying these workouts. For the everyday gym user performing at a steady pace with perfect form will give plenty of power, stamina and shape.

Does this apply to men more than women? Yes from my experience it does, men seem to need to lift more to feel the results, whereas women tend to do exercises with an incomplete range of motion.I am sure everyone has tried to lift more than they are capable of, it’s just not worth it. I have been injured for 4 weeks as my form faltered on my last set.

Remember;

1. Keep Stable – Your body should not rock or lurch
2. Keep controlled – You should have full control of the weight at all points in the exercise
3. Complete the full range of movement.

Keep to these and you will be well on your way to you perfect body.