I saw something interesting the other day at the gym.
I saw an average-sized guy in his mid 20’s who was obviously trying to build up some muscle. He looked like he had some padding (weight) on him, but he didn’t look too out of shape. The thing that caught my eye is what I saw him doing.
He was using the cables to do cable crossover flyes. I watched as his arms wildly flapped up and down in an uneven way. His upper body lurched forward and downward with each rep as he strained to move the weight at all costs. I watched him move on to other exercises and perform them with a similar style.
Who knows, maybe he really didn’t know how to lift weights. But then again, like a lot of other people out there, maybe he was just too embarrassed to lift the proper amount of weight for his strength level.
If his goal was to avoid looking silly in the gym, he certainly didn’t achieve it. Honestly, I thought he looked a lot more like a monkey trying to figure out how to fly than someone who’s serious about getting in shape.
Was I impressed by the big weights he was lifting?
Nope.
The Little Guy with Good Form
Perhaps I’m being a little too harsh on the poor guy, but I’m just trying to underscore the importance of staying within your limits as you exercise. Pushing your limits is always a good thing, but not at the expense of doing your exercises correctly.
I’d like to contrast this with a smaller guy I’ve seen in the gym lately. He’s a really short little guy who’s built about like your average pencil. I watched as he took a light dumbbell in each hand, laid on a bench, and slowly did a set of dumbbell bench presses.
With each repetition, he lowered the weight all the way down and pressed it back up. He lifted with good form and complete control, and I watched him continue pressing until he struggled to get his last rep. Most importantly, he chose a weight that was right for his strength level.
The fact that he was struggling to lift very light weights didn’t matter. I remember being in that position; I know what it’s like when you first start. I had respect for the fact that he was doing what was best for his strength level.
Just Do What’s Best for You
Unfortunately, it’s far too common to see people trying to lift more weight than they can handle. The funny thing is, trying to lift too much weight is exactly what is keeping them weak. In order to compensate for the heavy weights, it becomes necessary to use awkward body movements to move the weight, and this takes the stress away from the muscles that should be doing the work.
Think back to the monkey guy. Is it worth looking like that just so that you can lift more weight? Are you really afraid of people laughing at you because you are too weak?
Nobody will laugh at you if you stay within your limits.
Here’s why: many of the people in the gym were also overweight or weak at one time in their lives. They know what you are going through. They can remember their first time in the gym. They probably think to themselves, “I remember when that weight was hard for me too.” Even more likely, they’re not paying any attention in the first place.
If you are a beginner, use nice slow movements so that you can keep your exercises under control. You will be able to move to faster and use more explosive movements as you build strength and as your stabilizer muscles improve.
So forget about how you look and go to work. If you use good form in all of your exercises and stay within your limits, you won’t look stupid. People will respect the effort that you are making to improve. With time, you will become much stronger.
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Related posts:
- I Respect the Little Guy with Good Form
- Deadlifting With Perfect Form
- How To Overhead Press With Good Form
Tags: 101, confidence, effort, form, Weight lifting
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November 12th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I just read this article after you left a comment on RMO and I am very impressed. This is well written and very appropriate for all bodybuilders.
I’ll be back!
RT
November 12th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Thanks RT!
It’s great to hear from a fellow blogger. I just found your site a few days ago and I’m enjoying reading through some of your past posts. Keep up the good work!
November 19th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Perfect technique is hard to maintain as the weights get heavier. But for submaximal weights we should strive for perfect technique.
Strength doesn’t happen overnight – except for the genetically gifted – it takes time to build.
November 19th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Mehdi,
I know what you mean. It’s hard to balance pushing the limits and perfect form when you’re giving it your all. And of course pushing your limits is different from stepping outside of your limits. This is probably a great topic for a future post.
November 24th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Good form is very necessary. Even though it is tempting at times to rack on the plates we must not let our egos get in the way. As the old saying goes if you’re going to do it, do it right.
What good is a squat if you are only going halfway down? What good is a press if you are only lowering it halfway down? I know from experience if you don’t put out the effort to lift correctly you will end up stalling and de-loading and risk injury.
Another good article Jason, I’m finding as I read through your site i agree with a lot of your views on training. I too got much more respect for the guy squatting 135 atg then the ego tripper barely moving 4 or 5 plates.
November 25th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Sean,
You make a great point. I think alot of us have seen the ego tripper in the gym. Funny that some of them are big guys. Even if they used good form and less weight, it would still be more than most other people because of their size.
December 25th, 2007 at 7:09 am
I agree with you. I’m sort of a big guy (6′11″, 275) and when I started lifting in high school, I spent a great deal of time on form.
There’s this little dude at my gym (about 6′3″ or so) who has the worst form possible. I’ve tried to give him gentle advice, but you know how some people are. So I just have to laugh at his monkeyness.
December 26th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Dan- Haha, you’re not just sort of a big guy at 6′11″. And the 6′3″ “little dude” — yeah, I know how some people are :-)
April 1st, 2009 at 12:47 pm
On the other hand, there is nothing more annoying than some 135lb nerd who does everything with “perfect form” and thus never challenges himself. Form is very overrated. Barbell rows are an example, the guys who use “perfect form” with 135lbs slow and perfectly controlled peak contraction blah blah blah… stay small forever because they never challenge themselves. Chances are the guy slinging 300+lbs with less than perfect, but still decent form is going to be much bigger. The little guy with perfect form gets no respect from me because chances are he isn’t working very hard.
April 1st, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Phil – true enough. “Good form” and “perfect form” are not the same. I might argue that you can still work really hard while doing great form, but to do so you need a good spotter. It is easier to challenge yourself if you are willing to let your form stray a hair. But for beginners, it’s nearly impossible for them (due to their inexperience) to know where the line between “good enough” and “not good enough” is when it comes to form. So, for beginners, I’d still strongly recommend strict form. Then, if you do decide to deviate as you advance and set personal records, you know what you are deviating “from”.