Proper form during exercise is important for effective workouts and to reduce your risk of injury. Unfortunately, workout injuries are quite common, especially if you’re tired and not paying attention to proper body mechanics.
A big offender is picking up the weights wrong to perform an exercise. For example, many people fail to squat using their legs and instead bend over putting the lower back at risk for injury. Another common mistake is performing an exercise without good form. This can also increase your potential for injury.
Back strain and other exercise-related injuries are unfortunate and can take a while to heal. As a result, this can leave you with a lengthy setback that could have been avoided.
Form and Function are Important
Performing a workout is great but what’s most important while training is proper form and function. Using good form enables you to execute effective exercise movements and gain positive results.
Be aware of your body from start to finish. This includes picking up the weights before the exercise movement and putting them down correctly when finished.
Using good form keeps you safe and your exercise effective. There is nothing fun about getting sloppy in the gym and hurting yourself. Especially when it can be prevented.
Pay Attention to Body Mechanics
The best way to make sure you’re using the proper exercise form is by paying attention to your body mechanics. Check the following before lifting weights:
- Body position
- Proper posture
- Engaged core muscles
- Appropriate resistance
Having good exercise form depends on you. Likewise, using good form can also be applied to functional fitness which means movement in everyday life. How are you picking up the laundry basket or loading the dishwasher?
It’s important to use proper body mechanics in and out of the gym. Sucking the navel to the spine and checking your posture at all times helps with body awareness. How are you doing with sitting, standing, and driving?
If you make it a habit to pay attention to your body mechanics all of the time, you will find it easy to implement during a workout. It becomes a natural part of who you are.
Proper Form Promotes Effective Workouts
Using good form during your workout promotes an effective training session. It helps you achieve positive results and feel good at the same time.
Proper execution of exercise movement is shown to improve the quality of your body and life. As a result, you gain muscle strength and flexibility without pain limitations that often accompany poor form and function.
Fairly common poorly executed lifting at the gym occurs when a person performs heavy bicep curls flexing the lower back to lift the weight. This can be hard to watch and is just one example of poor body mechanics during exercise.
Other Important Tips
Exercise is supposed to make you feel better and stronger. If you are getting injured and taking several days to recover, something is not right.
The following additional tips are important to promote good form and function during exercise:
- Work at your fitness level
- Don’t lift weights to impress
- Lift weight that allows for good form
- Stop if the exercise doesn’t feel right
- Perform a slow and controlled movement
- Don’t compromise your body to lift heavy
- Watch your form in a mirror
As a personal trainer and coach for over 30 years, I share videos and posts specific to the importance of aging well using proper form for effective workouts on my Instagram page. I look forward to having you as a follower.
Thanks for stopping by my Blog. Remember to subscribe and never miss a free update.
Stay Healthy,
Darla