Proper form does more than just make people look good, it’s highly beneficial, nay essential. It’s the reason you hear commentators during sporting events talk so much about technique and practice, because it makes a massive difference in performance and separates the bad, mediocre, good, and great. To clarify why, here’s 5 major reasons to spend some time focusing on proper form.

1. Avoiding Injuries
The primary reason for proper form in exercise is injury prevention. With weights, you’re putting greater stress on your muscles, joints, and tendons than they’re used to handling. Your body is a big kinetic chain, with every part linked together. So, if one part is out of alignment, the rest risks breaking down.

If your squat or dead-lift form is off, you risk major injury to your lower back. If your bench technique is off, you can damage your wrists and pectoral muscles. If you aren’t careful with abdominal exercises, it can lead to lower back and neck pain.

It’s a major reason we coaches preach technique so much; to avoid our people from getting injured.

2. Effectiveness
Think about when you hear a strange noise with your car, you know that something is off, out of alignment, and you’re certain it’s affecting your car’s performance. It’s the same with your body.

If you’re bending too much, reaching too far forward, too far backward, have knees or wrists in the wrong places, you’re not able to get a full lift. Proper form allows for a more complete extension and contraction of muscles with consistent tension and range of motion – which allows for better output.

3. Reaching Your Goals
This plays off the previous one. If you’re getting better output, it will create better results. If you see exercise as a mathematical formula, better technique multiples results rather than simply adding, creating a larger after effect – i.e. more results which will get you to your goals faster.

If your goals are essentially to get stronger, better form, as I said previously, allows for better extension and contraction of muscles, which allows for a more complete lift, creating better muscle development.

4. Less Waste
With bad technique, such as bending or leaning too low or far back, you’re expending more energy than necessary. It inadvertently becomes wasted motion. Hopefully, you properly fuel yourself before an intense workout, so you don’t risk tiring yourself out before you’ve even started.
An easy analogy is driving a car. If you know you need to get somewhere yet occasionally take what you think is a shortcut because it’s more familiar, it might in fact, take more time and waste gas trying to get you where you need to be.

5. Breathing
You’d think this would be the easy one, right? Unfortunately, bad technique can affect your breathing. Your muscles need oxygen to move weight, it’s why you huff and puff after lifting weights, because your muscles want more oxygen. Timing your breathing can be essential to getting more out of your workouts.

A simple guideline to follow, is to breathe OUT as you exert yourself (as pressure can build up this allows you to let it off), and breathe IN as you lower the weight allowing your muscles to bring fresh oxygen in before lifting again. For my clients I always count their reps so they can focus on breathing rather than counting, and usually remind them to breathe in and out as they do so.

Proper technique is essential to reaching your goals. It makes sure you don’t hurt yourself while getting the most out of the exercises you do.If you find that some exercises are difficult for you and easy for others, it could be technique. Reach out to improve your form, so you can have the best workout possible!

reprinted from myxperiencefitness.com

Form Friday | Bench Press

The bench press builds the muscles of the chest as well as the triceps of the back of the arms and the front deltoid shoulder muscles. You can do this exercise with barbells, dumbbells, or with a Smith machine, which constrains the path of the barbell and makes the exercise a little easier. You will often learn the bench press in a strength training program. Beginners should try lifts without weight on the bar to warm up, get a feel for the bar, and learn to do it with good form. You can use it regularly as part of an upper body workout for strength and muscle development.

Benefits
The bench press is a compound exercise that involves the pectoralis major of the chest, the anterior deltoids of the shoulder, and the triceps brachii of the upper arm. It builds strength as well as encourages the growth of these muscles. Muscle growth is not only desired by bodybuilders, but also for anybody over age 40 when age-related muscle loss is a concern.1 It is a functional exercise that helps you with any daily activities that require pushing or carrying. The bench press can help restore muscle balance for athletes that primarily use pulling muscles, such as in wrestling, rock climbing, and swimming. The barbell bench press is a competitive lift in the sport of powerlifting, with the other two being the deadlift and squat. If you're training for competition powerlifting, you should contact a professional coach for personal instruction.



Step-by-Step Instructions

If you don't use the specialized bench press rack, a standard flat bench can be used with dumbbells or a light barbell. Or, you can use a Smith machine. Select the appropriate weights. Beginners and those lifting heavy weights should get the assistance of a "spotter" who stands behind the rack and assists with the bar when you have trouble lifting.

Lie flat on the bench under the rack that holds the bar. Your eyes should be approximately aligned with the front of the barbell rack uprights. Butt, shoulders, and head should be flat on the bench with a slight (neutral) bend in the spine. Feet should be flat on the floor and relatively wide apart.
Grasp the bar with your thumbs on the outside of your closed fist, overhand grip, with arms slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. The angle of the upper arms should be at about 45 degrees to the body.
Remove the barbell from the rack and lock the elbows out before lowering the bar to the chest at the nipple line. Don't move the bar in an arc from the rack directly to the chest position. With the Smith machine, you can't do this; the path is restricted.
Take a deep breath and raise the bar to above the chest with arms extended, exhaling while you push upward and aiming consistently at the same spot on the ceiling. Don't watch the bar; focus on the ceiling.
Return the bar to just above the chest and repeat the exercise. Three sets of 10 reps is a suggested number.

To finish, replace the bar on the rack from the locked out position. Move the bar backward gradually until you feel the rack uprights, then lower the bar to the rack rest. Do not try to hit the rack rests directly. If you miss, you can lose control, which can be dangerous.

Common Mistakes
Bench pressing can be dangerous. Be sure to avoid these errors.

Low Bar
Make sure the path of the bar is not low over the mouth and neck region when unracking or racking the bar. That means you should move the weight "from" and "to" the rack from an arms-extended position and not low across the neck and face.

Width of Grip
The grip on the bar should normally be wide enough so that the elbow joints are at least at right angles and the forearms in a perpendicular plane. If your grip is too wide and your elbows are too flared out you risk injuring your pectoral muscles.

Locking Elbows Suddenly
You can "lock-out" your elbows, contrary to some safety advice that is generally misguided. Just make sure you don't lock them out suddenly or explosively.

Thumb Position
The hand grip should be overhand and feature the thumbs placed under the bar and across the top of the fingers. Don't place the thumbs behind the bar or locked beneath the fingers.

Pushing Head Into Bench
Keep your head flat on the bench and feet flat on the floor for stability, but don't push your head into the bench to assist the lift; firm up the neck muscles instead.

Arched Back and Lifted Buttocks
Your buttocks should remain flat on the bench. Do not emulate the powerlifter style of arching your back so much that your buttocks lift off the bench. This can result in low back pain.

Modifications and Variations

Need a Modification?
If you are not at ease with feet on the floor because of short legs, use blocks or weight plates under the feet to boost height rather than placing legs on the bench, which reduces stability.

If you have any concerns about shoulder joint stability, don't lower the bar so far that the top part of the arm falls much below parallel.

Up for a Challenge?
Once you are able to perform the bench press safely with good form for three sets of 10 reps, you can begin to add weight. Each week, add 2.5 pounds to each side of the bar (5 pounds total addition per week). Do not add more weight until you are able to lift that weight with good form.

Variations include inclining or declining the bench to emphasize the upper or lower chest muscles. Lifting from an include emphasizes the anterior deltoids of the shoulder. Lifting from a decline emphasizes the pectoralis major.

Once you are experienced with the bench press, you can vary the grip for different effects. A slightly wider grip will increase the use of the pectorals. A narrower grip will increase the use of the triceps.

Safety and Precautions

If you have any injury to your shoulders, you should avoid the bench press. If you feel any shoulder pain during the bench press, replace the weights and end the exercise.

If you are bench pressing a heavy weight, do so only with the assistance of a spotter. It is also good to use a power rack, which has bars on either side set at the level of your chest. If your lift fails, the bars will prevent the barbell from crushing your chest.

reprinted from Verywellfit.com

Form Friday | Tricep Dip

The triceps dip exercise is a great bodyweight exercise that builds arm and shoulder strength. This simple exercise can be done almost anywhere and has many variations to match your fitness level. Use it as part of an upper body strength workout.

Benefits
The triceps dip is one of the most effective exercises for activating the triceps muscles in your upper arm. Additionally, you must activate your core as you hold your hips off the ground. The triceps are used for pushing, and you will engage them in any daily activities that require pushing. As well, you want to keep your body in balance. If you participate in sports that use a lot of pulling action, you want to maintain strength in your triceps as well.



Step-by-Step Instructions
Find a stable chair, bench, or step.

1. Sit on the edge of the chair and grip the edge next to your hips. Your fingers should be pointed at your feet. Your legs are extended and your feet should be about hip-width apart with the heels touching the ground. Look straight ahead with your chin up.

2. Press into your palms to lift your body and slide forward just far enough that your behind clears the edge of the chair.

3. Lower yourself until your elbows are bent between 45 and 90 degrees.

4. Slowly push yourself back up to the start position and repeat. Control the movement throughout the range of motion.

5. Begin with 10 repetitions and work up to 25 repetitions over several weeks.

Common Mistakes
Avoid these errors so you get the most from this exercise and avoid injury.

High Shoulders: Keep your shoulders down, away from your ears. You need to maintain a long line of your neck throughout the movement.

Dipping Too Low: Pay attention to the strain on your shoulders. Don't go any lower if you begin to feel a heavy strain. Otherwise, you risk a possible shoulder injury.

Locking Elbows: Don't lock your elbows at the top of the movement. Keeping them slightly soft maintains tension on the triceps.

Leaning Forward: If you lean forward, you will be exercising your chest rather than your triceps. Maintain a straight line without any forward lean.

Modifications and Variations
You can vary the triceps dip in several ways to make it more or less difficult.

Need a Modification?

If you can't do 10 repetitions of the exercise, you can modify the chair dip to decrease the intensity. You can do the dips with bent knees for the easiest variation.

Limit how far you lower your hips to decrease the amount of effort used during the exercise. As you get stronger, increase the range of motion and number of repetitions. Over time, as you build strength, you will be able to do the full chair dip. For a complete upper body workout, add the basic push up.

Up for a Challenge?
You can increase the intensity by using two chairs or two sturdy benches. In this version, you will be lifting more of your body weight:

1. Place the chairs facing each other, about 3 feet apart.

2. Sit on the edge of one chair and grip the edge of the chair with your hands.

3. Place your heels on the edge of the other chair and hold yourself up using your triceps.

4. Slide forward just far enough that your behind clears the edge of the chair, then lower yourself until your elbows are bent between 45 and 90 degrees.

5. Slowly push yourself back up to the start position and repeat. Control the movement throughout the range of motion.

6. Begin with 10 repetitions and work up to 25 repetitions over several weeks.


You can also make this exercise more difficult by crossing one ankle over the opposite knee while dipping.

The intense version of the dip is done using parallel bars or a set of rings. In this version, you will be lifting the entire weight of your body with no support other than your arms.

1. Use an overhand grip to hold onto the rails or rings with straight arms. Contract your core and take your full body weight onto your arms, bending your knees so your feet are off the ground.

2. Bend your elbows and lower your body slowly. Begin by lowering for two seconds or as low as you can go without great discomfort in your shoulders.

3. Pause in the low position for a second or two.

4. Press back up to the upright position.

5. Repeat 10 to 12 times.

6. End by straightening your legs to stand up.

For the most intense version of the triceps dip, perform it on parallel bars with a weight attached to a weight belt.

Safety and Precautions
The exercise can stress the elbows and shoulders, so if you have any joint pain, you may want to use the pushup exercise to build strength in the triceps and shoulder. If you have shoulder problems, you may want to avoid this exercise.

reprinted from verywellfit.com

Form Friday | Lunge

Form Friday | Lunge

If you’ve ever knelt down to tie your shoe or seen someone propose on a bended knee, you’re familiar with the lunge. A lunge is a single-leg bodyweight exercise that works your hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core and the hard-to-reach muscles of your inner thighs.

Lunges can help you develop lower-body strength and endurance. They’re also a great beginner move. When done correctly, lunges can effectively target your lower-body muscles without placing added strain on your joints.

While studies on this quintessential exercise are limited, we did dig up a study on swimmers. In 2015, researchers figured out that those who warmed up with either squats or lunges had faster swimming times — not too shabby for such a simple exercise.Trusted Source

How to do a forward lunge

Ready to take the lunge? Master the move by following the steps below from personal trainer Greg Nieratka and the Claremore Rec team. Then keep reading to learn how to fix common mistakes and try some variations.



1. Stand tall with feet hip-width apart. Engage your core.

2. Take a big step forward with right leg. Start to shift your weight forward so heel hits the floor first.

3. Lower your body until right thigh is parallel to the floor and right shin is vertical. It’s OK if knee shifts forward a little as long as it doesn’t go past right toe. If mobility allows, lightly tap left knee to the floor while keeping weight in right heel.

4. Press into right heel to drive back up to starting position.

5. Repeat on the other side.


Common mistakes and how to fix them

-Tightrope lunge - Sure, lunges will challenge your balance, but there’s no reason to make it extra hard on yourself by narrowing your stance. Avoid bringing your front foot directly in line with your back foot, as if you’re walking on a tightrope. “This dramatically reduces stability,” Nieratka explains.

The fix: Start with feet hip-width apart and maintain that gap as you step.

-Heel pop- We hate to break it to you, but “pop, lock, and drop it” should be reserved exclusively for the dance floor. When it comes to lunging, you’ll want to step forward enough so that your front heel won’t pop off the floor.

“If your step is too shallow, your knee will travel forward past your foot, which puts unnecessary stress and strain on the knee,” Nieratka says.

The fix: Take a larger step, plant your heel, and drive it into the floor to return to starting position.

-Upper-body drop- With a forward lunge, it’s OK to, well, shift your weight forward. But beware of bending at the hip and letting your upper body drop, which will put added strain on your knee.

“This is especially important if you are doing a lunge under load or with a weight,” Nieratka says. If your chest falls, you run the risk of losing balance, falling, or even dropping the weight on yourself — ouch!

The fix: Engage your core. Think about pulling your belly button toward your spine. Also, keep your eyes forward instead of looking down.

Forward lunge variations

Once you master proper form, you can add weight to make it more challenging — and rewarding. “The weight can be a barbell, one or two dumbbells, a kettlebell, or really any object you have at home,” says Nieratka.

Water bottles or a jug of laundry detergent totally counts too. Or try these lunge variations to switch up your routine.
Reverse Lunge- Go easy on your knees with this lunge. Stand with feet hip-width apart, engage your core, and take a big step backward.

Activate your glutes as you bend front knee to lower your body so back knee lightly taps the floor while keeping upper body upright. Drive front heel into the floor to return to starting position. Repeat on the other side.

Walking Lunge - Perform a forward lunge and walk it out. At the low point of the lunge, instead of returning to starting position, shift your weight forward and drive front heel into the floor.

Rise up as you bring back foot forward to meet front foot. Reset feet to hip width. Repeat on the other side as you continue to move forward.

Lateral lunge - From starting position, take a big step to the right with right foot, keeping toes forward and feet flat on the floor. Send hips back, shift weight into right heel, and extend arms in front of you for balance. Push off right heel to return to starting position, then repeat on the other side.

Curtsy lunge- With hands on hips and feet wider than hip-width apart, step left leg behind right leg. Bend right knee, engage glutes, and lower until right thigh is parallel to the floor. Lightly tap left knee to the floor. Drive right foot into the floor to rise to starting position. Repeat on the other side.

Split lunge jump - Stand with feet hip-width apart. Instead of stepping, jump into a forward lunge position with right foot forward. Drive right heel into the floor to explosively jump up.

Switch legs in midair so you land with left leg forward. Immediately lower into a lunge on the other side. For momentum, pump arms as if you’re running.

reprinted from greatist.com