Why proper form and technique are vital for effective workouts …

The fastest way for a Personal Trainer to annoy their clients is to correct their form and technique during exercises.

That’s because initially, they’ll be doing it constantly!

When you hire a Personal Trainer, you’re spending good money for their knowledge and expertise. What most clients don’t know when first starting a fitness training program is that proper form and technique are essential for safe and effective workouts. A good, professional Personal Trainer will teach their clients correct form and technique, and will enforce that education by checking — and correcting — form and technique with every exercise until the client learns to do it themselves automatically.

This constant process of checking and correcting isn’t done just to annoy the client. Let’s look at some key reasons why proper form and technique are so important:

To prevent injury. When using resistance in our training, being physically misaligned can place your

tendons, muscles, and joints in positions that can potentially cause strains or tears. Lifting weight or applying resistance places enormous stress on your body, and exercise form and technique is specifically designed so that you can move the weight safely. To avoid the potential of injury, you want to make sure your form is appropriate before starting any movement of any exercise, and the proper technique is used throughout.

Muscle targeting. Exercises are designed to work your body in a specific way. For example, the aim of a bicep curl is to “stress” (or “work”) your bicep. However, performing exercises with bad form puts stress onto other parts of the body and takes stress off the muscles it should be targeting. This results in a significantly less effective workout.

Better efficiency. The consistent application of proper form and technique allows you to get the maximum results out of every exercise. Incorrect form and improper technique will directly reduce the results of your workouts, leaving you frustrated and wondering why you’re not progressing efficiently. For example, proper breathing technique not only supports adequate oxygen flow and avoids the waste of energy, it enables you to physically be able to apply your maximum effort against the resistance used in your training.

Develops consistency. Using proper form and technique each time you execute an exercise teaches you to do the movement the same way every time. This consistency maximizes your efforts by making your muscles work optimally for the best possible results, and lets you reach your goal in less time with less effort.

The best way to learn proper exercise form and technique is by having a Personal Trainer educate you in a fitness program custom designed for your goals and ability. If you don’t work with a Personal Trainer, you can recruit a friend as a workout partner who checks your form and technique with every exercise.

Finally, I’ll let you in on a secret that will help you with form and technique … it’s about all those mirrors in the gym. Many people think those mirrors are there for the “perfect specimens” of fitness to adore themselves while they exercise, but that isn’t the reason! Most gyms have mirrors throughout the facility so individuals can use them to check their form and technique! So put those mirrors to good use!

Scotty