Fitness 101 - why proper exercise form matters

Proper exercise form can be the difference between injury and the results you are looking for. One of the biggest challenges I encounter as a personal trainer is watching people get carried away with exercise and their desire to push themselves ever harder, often at the cost of progress.

Don’t misunderstand me when I say this: It’s fantastic to see people pushing themselves to be more than they are today, and as a coach, I promote this mindset as often as possible.

Things go wrong when people don’t stop and think, “Why am I doing this? “What should it do, and how exactly should it feel?”

A row is a great exercise and, when performed correctly, a fantastic muscle builder for your back. Things go wrong, however, when we mindlessly go through the motions.

Or grabbing a dumbbell and throwing it up and down super fast, then feeling tired and never improving. Many people wrongly believe that rows are an arm exercise and use poor technique because they don’t take the time to fully understand the movement's benefit and how to determine if it is working.

Of course, the row exercise will challenge your grip and arms but is intended to focus primarily on the lat muscles of your back.

If you don’t get the correct starting position, the proper path of travel for the weight and the speed is off, you won’t see the long-term benefits the exercise should deliver. It’s the same for all exercises.

Always ensure that you listen to your coach when performing an exercise, fully understand the movement's main objective, and pay attention to any demonstrations they give.

Ask them where you should feel it working. Should it be a slow movement? A fast movement? Should you pause at any point? Also, ask them how you should be positioned and where you should focus your view.

You are paying for their time, so use it wisely.

Only by taking the time to grasp the details will you improve and find the correct form that will deliver a result.

I guarantee all exercises will feel vastly different when you adopt this strategy across every exercise in your workouts. This is just another reason it makes sense to work with a personal trainer regularly.

Don’t just guess and do things willy-nilly; invest in your health long-term and grow.

I’m always here if you have questions, just send me a message.