Mobility is the ability to move your body freely and effectively. When your body operates at its peak, It means you have the necessary strength, range of motion, and stamina to go that extra mile. The only way to do this is to have the proper technique and form in the particular sport or activity your choosing. To clarify why, here’s 5 major reasons to spend some time focusing on proper form and technique.
1.) Avoid Injuries (Reduces the Risk of Injuries)
The Primary reason for proper form in exercise is injury prevention. Biomechanics and kinesiology are the sciences behind proper movement and exercise.
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.
Don’t try to take on too much new physical activity too quickly. Understanding how to pace yourself and prioritize learning form and technique will always be worth it.
2.) Effectiveness
Your performance will severely suffer if you have improper technique. Not only will you not be able to take advantage of your full range of motion, but you’ll also prevent yourself from growing stronger and getting the most out of every exercise.
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 Faster
If you think of exercise as a mathematical formula, better technique multiplies results rather than simply adding, leading to faster results. Progressive overload is one of the keys to making continuous improvements in the gym. The concept is simple: you increase your training volume (i.e., reps x sets, x weight) over time to force your body to keep growing in your fitness. Of course, you can only increase your training volume if you know exactly what you did last time. If you keep changing your form to alter the difficulty of the exercises you’re performing, then you can’t really tell how much volume you are logging each session.
4.) Less Wasted Energy
Moving with proper form ensures you are fulfilling that purpose: moving in the right patterns and training the right muscles or muscle groups.
With poor technique, you’re expending more energy than necessary. It can inadvertently become wasted motion.
5.) Breath More Effectively
Breathing is an essential part of proper form. Your muscles need oxygen to move weight. Timing your breathing can be vital 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, let it go) and breathe IN as you lower the weight allowing your muscles to bring fresh oxygen in before lifting again.
There are three things to consider when thinking about proper form and technique.
Alignment
Range of motion
Tension
Studies show that being able to utilize the full range of motion during exercise means increasing the potential for strength. Furthermore, other studies indicate that having proper mobility leads to higher performance, better training results, increase in muscle size and strength, and decrease in fat.
Proper technique is a critical part to reaching your goals. It makes sure you don’t hurt yourself while getting the most out of the exercises you do. It’s why Wellness Lifestyle at Home, LLC always recommends working with a Personal Trainer/Coach or even a friend who has experience in fitness to ensure a safe and effective fitness routine.
Intentionality is key to longevity in fitness and health.