Bad Weight Training Techniques and Form

A lot of the time, people will descend into bad form when training. This is detrimental because it'll affect your overall performance and gains. If you want to maximize what you get from your workout, then you'll need to follow these careful steps and make sure you don't repeat the mistakes outlined in this article. Overcoming your habits is an important part of growing as a weight lifter and an athlete.

Bad exercise form is probably the most common problem in weight training. The biggest issue that a lot of people have is cheating, but some just do lifts totally wrong and end up hurting themselves. The best way to avoid this is to look over gifs, pictures, and videos or ask a seasoned trainer for advice on your form. Three common exercises that people do incorrectly are the squat, deadlift, and seated rows. When doing squats, people will often incorrectly bend their backs, which'll greatly increase the risk of injury - the same goes for deadlifts. For rows, a lot of people seem to have an issue with leaning forward; your back is supposed to stay straight, as you should only be moving the cable with your arms. You'll be using the muscles in your back, but actually bending your back will cause injury and decrease the intensity.

Cheat reps are another thing I see people doing a lot in the gym. These are okay every once in a while, but you have to realize that you're not getting a full workout like that. You may actually be causing some muscular imbalance. The two most common exercises in which people cheat are standing curls (dumbbell
or barbell) and the bench press. When doing curls, people tend to lean backward, granting themselves additional leverage with which they can move the weight. This is a good way to hurt your back or just not work your arms at all. You should not be moving your back; in fact, only your forearms should be moving. And with the bench press, I notice that a lot of people tend to only do half or quarter reps. Again, this can be useful sometimes, but it's generally a bad idea. Many will also arch their back, lift their legs up off the floor, or bounce the weight off their chest. All of these are bad, especially the middle one, as it can cause injury in the shoulder or back.