Technique is Better: 04/13/2012

Good Technique is Better for Adding Mass and Developing Strength

When is comes to building muscle mass and increasing strength nothing beats good old technique. Having good form during a lifting or training session limits unnecessary compensation to perform an exercise. Also, when you are not compensating you are targeting the desired muscles for any given exercise. Having good form is also important when it comes to injury prevention.

How do you know if you're compensating?

• Observe yourself in the mirror while performing any exercise without weight 
• Then perform the exercise with weight
• See if you notice any of the following changes
• Use of your hips to force the weight up
• Swinging of the arms or shoulders
• Lifting of the shoulders
• Changes in the length of your sides or back
• Or any motion that you didn't notice when performing the exercise without weight

If you noticed any changes in your technique when moving from no resistance to resistance

• Practice again without weight or resistance to get the correct motion down
• Use a lower weight so you can focus on the technique at hand (lower doesn't mean light, just low enough that you can perform the exercise without compensatory actions.
• Always have a mirror available when spotting your technique
• Ask an expert to watch your form and to give you corrections

There is no excuse to continue working out with bad form or technique, because the only one that you will hurt is yourself. You may find that while you are working on form and technique that you may be unable to lift as heavy as you had before. Don't get discouraged. You will, in time, be lifting the same amount of weight with more efficiency and power from the muscle that count.