Keeping Strict Form

One of the most important issues to keep a note of when in the gym is keeping strict form. We have all fallen fowl to getting tired and slipping out of form on some exercises, but truth be told you may as well not carry out that last rep if it is not carried out correctly.

There are many ways people neglect their form and try to lift heavier than they can, the most common of which are below

1) Deadlift

People are noted for rounding the back and not using their legs enough when carrying out the deadlift which is a prime candidate for showing that they are not lifting with good form, most likely because they are lifting too heavy. This not only moves the emphasis of the lift to other muscles but is also very dangerous and can be damaging to the lower back.

2) Bicep Curls

There are three ways people neglect their form in this exercise, in fact this is the exercise where you see the worst form out of all the gym exercises. The first reason people lose form is because they do not keep their elbows in by the sides, the second is they throw the weight up and use their shoulders to take the strain of the weight and finally they rock their pelvis and hips using momentum to help lift the weight.

3) All Exercises

One of the most interesting and most used ways of neglecting form on all exercises is stopping short. By stopping short this means not completing the full range of movement. I have seen it very frequently where people use a heavy weight but only carry out half the movement required for a full rep. An example is someone using dumbbells too heavy for them on the shoulder press so they don't bring the dumbbells down far enough in the movement.

4) Holding Your Breath

Very frequently people hold their breath while lifting and this is actually very bad for the body. When lifting your blood pressure raises quickly to a high level. By holding your breath you will cause your blood pressure to raise even higher then crash quite dramatically, this can make you pass out and is hard on the heart.