I would like to sart adding a series of articles that you will find here in my blogs. come back often and check it out. Here's the first.
by Kim Schaefer
You see it everywhere in every gym across the country. Big guys, little guys, and every size in between. What are they doing? Well, let me tell you. Some have their backs clear off the bench you could fit another person under there and in the corner you have a guy about to throw out his back doing a dumbbell curl and if you look over at the lat pull down there is a guy who is about hit the back of his head on the floor because is swinging his body so far back you think he’s going to fall off the seat. Do they make seat belts for these things? Don’t get me wrong the women are just as guilty I see it all the time one female on the floor doing crunches pulling so hard on her neck it’s about to snap.
And don’t forget the lady with her 5 lb. Pink rubber dumbbell throwing her arms every which way in what I believe is a bicep curl.
When people ask me what my biggest pet peeve is I would have to say the gym goers using improper form. I constantly find myself gritting my teeth in order to keep my mouth shut. On occasion I will say something to someone who I think will take in a positive way. It’s usually a female who is new and doesn’t have a clue what to do.
All of us at one time or another have used improper form in our training no one is perfect. I will catch myself on occasion but I will correct myself. The last thing I need is an injury to take me out of the gym. It’s bad enough your back is sore because you trained hard and it’s muscle soreness but who wants a slipped disk or any other injury because they lifted a weight that was too heavy and they had to cheat it up. The next thing you know you can’t get out of bed the next morning because you threw out your back.
The first thing to remember is you want to prevent injury and still make gains in building muscle and strength. How do you go about this well let me tell you?
You need to remember to breathe through your reps. That means you need to inhale on the negative and exhale on the positive which is the lifting portion of your rep. If you are breathing properly you will have more control over the repetition. A quicker breathing pattern will lead you to do your reps too quickly instead of concentrating on contracting that muscle. Holding your breath well for one it looks funny to see someone turn beet red and it looks like his or her head might blow right off. You need to get oxygen to your brain and muscles. It’s not going to happen if you’re holding your breath and you might pass out.
If you keep a slow and controlled pace you will prevent swinging the weight and by swinging you will be using momentum instead of your muscles. That is not going to help with strength and muscle gain.
Visualization is another tool to be used with proper form. You need to see yourself lifting the weight and feeling the contractions of the muscles being worked. If you’re concentrating in this way you’re putting more emphasis on the muscles. There are some muscle groups that this works especially well for. The back is one of them you can’t actually see the muscles in your back contracting while working them. That is why so many people either neglect training their back or are doing it wrong and not making any gains. It took me along time to train my back properly and until I started visualizing how the contractions were supposed to feel like I made no gains and it was very frustrating. That meant actually lifting with lighter weight and feeling the contraction and memorizing that feeling. I didn’t go heavier until I had it down. I use it now with every weight I lift.
Proper form also means building on your core especially with any exercise standing such as dumbbell curls, lateral and front raises and any overhead pressing movements. I constantly see people swinging their weights around. Not a good idea again back injuries can occur. You need to keep your body aligned. That means feet should be shoulder width apart, knees are fully extended do not lock them out, pelvis is rotated forward, shoulders are back, chin up and looking straight ahead. Keep your abs pulled in and tight throughout the repetition.
There are mixed messages on locking out on exercises. There are some exercises it is good to lock out on others that are not. For instance tricep exercises it is good to lock out on them but you should lock out in a slow and controlled motion. Do not lock out in an explosive manner this could cause hyperextension and injury. It’s not a real good idea to lock out on the knee joint.
If you want to move up in weight and go heavy it is a good idea to use a spotter that way you can get that extra rep or two in and not have to compromise on your form your spotter can give you that little extra push you need to get that bar up and keep your back flat on the bench. You need to find a good spotter one who is paying attention and who knows when to help and when to back off. Having a spotter who helps too much will not give you the gains you want or need. If you don’t have a spotter the smith machine is always a good choice because you can lock the bar if needed. You may also use some of the machines you can get a great workout in with many machines. If you don’t have a spotter you may just need to substitute some of your workout with the smith machine or any other type of machine.Just remember safety and proper form must come first. If you want to make gains you need to be able to get into the gym and not be home bound with injuries.
Kim Schaefer
I've been active in fitness for 20 years, personal training, fitness instructor and I'm in my 4th year competing in NPC figure. I have two daughters 14 and 11. I like to read and write. I enjoy helping others reach their fitness goals. I've competed in 6 competitons in the last 2 years including Jr. Nationals and hope to enter more national competitions. I'm also going to become an official judge for the NPC.
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