The Importance of Form In Weight Training

The Importance of Form In Weight Training

You cannot underestimate the importance of form in weight training. Performing an exercise correctly is the key to weight training success.

Unfortunately, by its very nature weight training comes with a certain amount of ego surrounding it. “How much do you bench?” is a common question asked by people in the gym, as if an arbitrary number is a testament to your manhood. The truth is however that many of the people in the gym are exercising badly – using incorrect form that will limit their ability to make progress over the long term and increase their injury risk significantly.

Using bad form is in my experience, the number one cause of injury in the gym. I have never seen anyone picking up an injury when exercising properly, regardless of the weight they are trying to lift. Done correctly, weight training is one of the safest forms of exercise and activity there is – using your muscles to perform controlled, functional movements is entirely beneficial.

So how do you learn proper form?

The best way is through correct coaching with a suitably-qualified personal trainer or weight lifting coach. There is nothing like having a person who knows what they are looking for and knows how to teach lifting technique to correct your form. There are some fantastic lifting books available, but the problem is you can’t understand correct form just by reading it – you have to perform exercises and to proprioceptively feel what correct form is like.

Check out the videos below to see how personal training can help correct technique. In the first one, Chris is demonstrating the technique he has picked up through watching others – up to this point he had never had any professional lifting coaching.

This is a 50kg lift, before any technique coaching. Notice the form issues – common amongst lifters who have picked up form by copying others or reading about technique in magazines or books.

In the video below, I have taught Chris how to use the power rack spotting bar to limit his movement depth, how to position his hips and back and finally, how to move through the lift.

We have regressed the movement to focus on back position. This allows us to work on the different areas of the exercise individually – too much coaching can be overkill and limit learning. Too much instruction is impossible to process for the trainee, so learning is actually faster and more precise when exercise regressions are used.

Notice the improvement in technique, in particular his back position. This is lifting 100kg – double the weight that he was lifting earlier. Correct technique allows the lifter to use more weight as their movement is more efficient – this also builds relevant strength quicker. The importance of form in weight training is so clear when you compare the videos – a much cleaner, safer lift is performed in the second one.

As I mentioned earlier in the article, weight causes injury when form isn’t correct. In addition, weight is a very limiting variable when it comes to exercise. At first a trainee will develop strength naturally as a result of increased training frequency and load, before hitting a plateau. Typically at this point they will seek to add weight but sacrifice form, kidding themselves that they are making progress. This only cements bad form, making it more difficult to break at a later date.

By regressing back to a lower weight, a simpler exercise or even an empty bar, the trainee can practice form, perfect technique and build strength in a more sustainable way. By perfecting technique as early as possible in the training process, strength gains are going to continue for longer – plateaus will take longer to appear and will be easier to beat as the correct muscles will be being used in the right sequence.

Finally, the other reason to perfect form is for muscle development. Athletes aside, the vast majority of people train purely to look better. When you use poor form, often you don’t use the muscles you are trying to target, rendering your efforts useless. The classic example of this is in the bicep curl – idiots piling weight on the bar, trying to look awesome during a lift when in reality they look ridiculous.

When it comes to poor form, look no further than this guy. Words fail me.

The problem here is that whilst he is trying to target his biceps, he is actually swinging the bar up using momentum from his hips. This is endangering his lumbar spine by hyperextending through the move. Finally, his biceps are not doing any work at all – they won’t get stronger, they won’t grow and the relevant connective tissues won’t strengthen. All of this makes the exercise both pointless and dangerous.

The same can be said for any exercise where bad form is used – you are unlikely to be achieving your objectives with the exercise and potentially risking injury. Not worth it for the sake of your ego.

The takeaway from this article is that form matters. Sacrifice weight, learn correct technique and see your health, strength and physique benefit from the changes.