When it comes to weight training, there are generally two schools of thought concerning exercise form. The first is “good form”, this is the form all the exercise experts claim you should use. Performing all lifts with a moderate weight, using slow and controlled movements. Then you have bad form. This is the form all the idiot muscle heads ( mostly guys ) use in the gym to impress the other muscle heads as how much weight they are lifting. Well in between these two forms there is a large gray area. If you are an intermediate to advanced lifter, here is where your form should lie.
I categorize lifters into three groups: beginner; lifting less than a year, intermediate; more than a year and probably up to five years, and advanced; lifting more than five years. These numbers obviously aren’t exact but close enough, the variable would be how often you workout a week and with whom.
The beginner needs to lift in good form. All my trainers emphasize this while training. The novice needs to understand what muscle is being worked when doing a specified exercise. How better than to perform each exercise under control. Feel the muscle being worked, have the mind body connection as we say.
However as you get stronger and start lifting heavier weights, you’ll find that your technique will have to change. Here is where I will piss some “experts” off. Actually lifting in a slow controlled manner isn’t even natural. Controlled strength doesn’t carry over into the real world. Try to start your lawnmower using a slow controlled pull….not going to start is it? As you get stronger many things change. Different muscles come into play, body positioning is more important, mental preparation is important. What you have to use is what I call “controlled cheating”. Use a little inertia, swing, momentum, use your legs in upper body lifts. As long as you are in control and not the weight. Somewhere in this cheat lies good form . Obviously this is a duplicit statement, but if you know what you are doing it makes great sense. This is where your form should lie…..controlled cheating!
Now if you are performing any stability exercise (balance) all and any form flies out the window. It’s just any form at all not to fall or lose your balance, and if you succeed than the form was good……confused?
Well I’m glad I cleared that up…..keep up the good work all of you, until next week Robert