No one can argue that proper form will give you less results than wrong form will yet some people still fail to exercise it. I have had many experiences where using proper form gave me noticeably larger gains than my previous methods. This can be said for both high weight and low weight exercises.
First, and probably the exercise that is most commonly done improperly, are squats. My legs have never been strong and probably never will be. I’ve always hated working my legs out and I never did legs until last spring. When I would squat, I wouldn’t get low enough. I would barely hit 90 degrees and sometimes I wouldn’t even go that low. After 4-5 weeks of lifting legs, my strength hadn’t increased significantly, and I could only squat 315 lbs for one repetition and even that single repetition wasn’t a very quality rep. Due to my less than passionate feelings for legs, I stopped working on them until this semester.
For the past 4-5 weeks I have been lifting legs again but with a new strategy. Instead of trying to get more reps, I have been focusing on getting quality repetitions. I drop down below 90 degrees and I immediately noticed the results. In 5 weeks, I went from squatting 315 lbs once to doing it 4 times. The results are clear that better form equals more results.
I’ve experienced this with bench press as well so it’s not just a one time thing. If you don’t drop the bar all the way to your chest when you’re benching you need to. I guarantee that you will be lifting more weight in no time. To be seriously successful you need to check your ego at the door into the gym. Anytime you change your workout style like this, for the first few weeks you won’t be able to lift as much weight because your muscles are not used to being used to being pushed so hard. Only people who can suck it up for a few weeks while they lift less weight will excel in the long run.
I hope that this will inspire you to push your body to new limits and help you break through your plateau as I have in the past. It’s worth it, believe me.
I hate squats so much. I just did a leg day yesterday, and I spent the entire workout thinking about how I wouldn't have to do it again for a week. I have been told though, to never go below parallel to the floor or 90 degrees. At that point you're putting too much stress on your knees. Do you agree?
ReplyDeleteI have heard both sides. From my experience, it is not bad to drop below 90 degrees. You keep your back up and straight by looking up. Send your ass backwards as you squat down instead of pushing your knees forward. If you can maintain good form while doing it, than it shouldn't hurt your knees. When I squat real deep I feel it burn more and more in my muscles not my knees which leads me to believe that lower is better.
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