How Strict Should Your Exercise Form Be?
By
Lee Hayward
When it comes to weight training, there are generally two schools of thought
when it comes to exercise form. First, you have the typical personal trainer
“fitness experts” who say that you should perform all lifts with light to
moderate weight and use very slow and controlled movements. Then you have the
power and strength athletes who like to use more explosive movements, looser
training form, and heavier weights. Which one is right, and which one should you
use in your training?
Well, like many things, when it comes to working out, there is no right or wrong
answer to this question. It all depends on the individual, the training
situation, the level of training, and the fitness goals. Obviously, beginners
and people who are new to the gym need to learn how to perform the exercises
with proper form using light weights. At this stage, they just need to take baby
steps, get used to the whole working out process, and learn how it feels to work
their muscles with weight training.
However, as you get stronger and start lifting heavier weights in your workouts
with the progressive overload principle, you’ll find that your technique will
have to change. The technique needed to bench press 100 lbs is completely
different from the technique needed to bench press 400 lbs or more. As you get
stronger, different muscles come into play. You need to pay much more attention
to body positioning, set up, muscle contraction during the lift, and mental
preparation.
If you have the opportunity to watch advanced lifters train, you’ll notice that
more often then not, they aren’t going to use an exaggerated, slow and
controlled type of exercise form. In fact, lifting in a slow and controlled
manner isn’t really natural. It doesn’t carry over into real world strength, and
it isn’t how our muscles are meant to work.
I realize what I’m saying here is going to piss some people off. There are those
die hard “fitness experts” out there who insist that slow and controlled is the
only way and that if you use any speed or momentum in your lifting you’re
cheating and you’re going to hurt yourself. However, the fact is our bodies are
designed for fast and explosive movements.
Real world strength
Before we move on, let’s look at some activities from real world examples such
as running, jumping, and throwing, all of which require speed, momentum, and
explosiveness. To prove my point, just stand up right now and try to jump as
high as you can but do it in a slow and controlled fashion. You won’t even be
able to lift off the ground. Have you ever seen a baseball player swing a bat in
a slow and controlled manner? Heck no! He’ll use momentum, speed, and
explosiveness in order to swing the bat and hit the ball as far as possible. How
about a boxer trying to throw a punch in a slow and controlled fashion? He
certainly won’t have much knock out power.
For a few examples outside of sports, think of trying to pull start a lawn mower
or kick start a dirt bike. You have to do both very fast and explosive or else
the engine won’t get enough RPMs to turn over and start. The bottom line is that
real world stuff requires strength, speed, explosiveness, and even momentum. So
why are so many people dead set against training this way in the gym?
I know some folks (usually young ego driven guys who are full of piss and
vinegar) like to go overboard and use too much weight with absolutely crappy
form. You can see examples of this when barbell curls become reverse grip power
cleans and bench presses become a team effort push/pull exercise as the lifter
drops the bar to his chest and his trusty spotter deadlifts it back up. But
there is that gray zone in the middle of the two extremes where you’re training
on the edge, pushing it hard, and also keeping relatively good exercise form at
the same time. To see some examples of this type of training, visit YouTube and
watch the Elite Fitness training videos as well as videos of the top
bodybuilders like Ronnie Coleman, Branch Warren, and Johnny Jackson, just to
name a few.
In these workout videos, you’ll clearly see that the guys are powering up big
weights and they’re using a bit of “body English” to handle such poundages, but
the form is still pretty good. Even through they aren’t lifting “slow and
controlled,” they’re certainly placing maximum workload on the targeted muscle
groups. This type of training will stimulate muscle growth in ways that endless
slow and controlled repetitions with the pink dumbbells will never achieve.
Even in the great Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding,
he refers to this as “power reps.” Joe Weider calls it the “cheating principle.”
Basically, it’s just using a bit of ‘umph’ in your movements in order to handle
maximum workloads.
Power reps for more muscle and strength
The use of any weight training technique will depend on the level of the
trainee. So to keep it simple, I’m going to cover all levels from beginner to
advanced and outline how you can incorporate “power reps” into your own
workouts.
Beginners (less than a year of training): As I mentioned earlier,
beginners should focus on simply learning proper exercise form. The easiest way
to do this is to use light to moderate weights and really focus on feeling the
muscles flexing and contracting with each rep. The best way to do this,
especially at the beginner stage, is to use slow and controlled form all the
time.
Intermediates (more than a year of training): As you progress with
your training, you will most certainly notice the natural tendency to use more
force and momentum to try and complete your reps as the weights get heavier.
This is something you want to pay careful attention to. Used in the right way,
this can help you work the muscles harder. Used in the wrong way, it will take
stress off the targeted muscles.
My advice here is to start with a weight that allows you to maintain strict
control for at least 6–8 reps. (Note: This is for most of your assistant and
supplemental exercises.) If you want to use a bit of “body English” to power out
a few more reps, that’s fine. This will allow you to perform a few extra reps
that you normally wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do if you were “too
strict” with your form.
Advanced (several years of progressive training): Truly advanced
lifters already know what works best for their bodies by the time they make it
to this level of training. After all, that’s what it means to be advanced.
However, for the purpose of this article, I’ll outline some “power rep”
guidelines here.
At the advanced stage, you’ll have developed your own unique exercise groove
from years of lifting. You’ll instinctively know if a little swing here or a
little leg drive there will provide more muscle stimulation and deliver the
maximum workload to the muscles. You’ll also know if you are overdoing it and
using too much momentum.
Some common things that advanced lifters do to handle maximum poundages include:
· Bench press: A slight bounce off the chest at the bottom will help
rebound the weight up. Also, don’t fully lock out the elbows at the top. This
tends to allow for more weight and/or more reps to be lifted and also provides
maximum muscle stimulation.
· Squats: A slight rebound out of the bottom (if doing full, high bar
squats) will help you get the weight back up. Again, sometimes advanced lifters
won’t fully lock out the knees at the top but will keep going, almost like a
piston type of up and down motion.
· Standing presses: A slight leg drive will help move maximum
poundages while actually cushioning the impact from the exercise. This absorbs
some of the stress from the spine down through your legs.
· Bent-over rows: Like with the standing press, a bit of leg drive
will allow for heavier weights and can help move more weight and/or more reps.
· Curls: A little swing at the start and even a slight back arch at
the halfway mark can help get past the sticking point in the middle of the
exercise.
· Lateral raises: A little leg drive at the start and a slight swing
in the middle will help you get more weight up. Also, holding the dumbbells in
the front versus to the sides will help you lift more weight.
· Lat pull-downs: Arching your back will help you move more weight and
actually help you fully contract your lats. Trying to keep your back totally
flat when doing any pull-down or rowing exercise actually prevents you from
getting a peak contraction in the back muscles.
These are some common exercises that work well for “power reps.” However,
your own discretion is advised. This isn’t a free for all to go out and use
crappy form on all your exercises. It’s just another tool in your tool box that
can help you take your strength and muscular development to a higher level.
If you’re going to incorporate “power reps” into your training, you should save
them for the final all out work sets. Start off your warm-up sets using perfect
controlled form. Then, as you work up to your top weight for a particular
exercise, you can give it that extra push to maximize the weights lifted and the
stimulation placed on the muscles.
Lee Hayward is a muscle building coach based out of Newfoundland, Canada. His
website, www.LeeHayward.com, has been
online for over ten years and is a great resource for training and nutrition
information.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
