If you don’t like getting injured, you should be in great shape at the gym. But what exactly does “good form” mean and how much difference does it make? First, let’s talk about the purpose of the shape. That is why we turn to Jordan Syatt, a world record powerlifter and Westside Certified Barbell Instructor. According to Jordan, form has three main purposes:
- Deepen the correct movement patterns with lighter weights. As you build this habit, you will become familiar with the lift as soon as you increase the weight. It’s easier to get lazy and use a shitty shape than to work hard and anchor the right shape.
- Train the right muscle groups. Bad form can result in the wrong muscle being trained. I often see men bench press with the intent of working their chest when they are really just working their shoulders and triceps.
- Security. This should be obvious. If you lift in poor form, you run the risk of injury.
While Jordan’s definition makes sense, Care too much about your shape can be just as bad as caring too little.
Is there such a thing as “textbook form” in the gym?
There is this notion that there is such a thing as a perfect or “textbook” shape. In the case of the barbell squat, for example, there is an “ideal” foot distance, knee depth, head tilt and so on. But the textbook form is a myth because the ideal form depends on the individual. According to David Dellanave, IAWA world record holder and owner of The Minneapolis Movement:
There’s such a thing as a perfect shape, it’s just not what most people think. You can’t see and judge perfect shape from the outside because you can’t see what’s going on below the surface.
If someone does something in “textbook” shape but it hurts, is it really a good shape? Absolutely not. Any shape that allows someone to perform the movement safely and with the greatest possible leverage at the moment is such a perfect shape.
This changes over time because as you move and lift weights, your own shape changes. For example, I’ve seen several people with mild to moderate scoliosis of the spine use a lifter that placed very asymmetrical loads on the body, or more on one side than the other because more symmetrical lifts cause pain or won’t work for them. Over time, as their own structure changes, they find that more symmetrical elevators are possible again.
I have noticed that new customers who have made little progress after several years of training tend to overestimate their shape. For example, they will become familiar with the use of a. deal arched rod, instead of a straight bar, for barbell curls, because you read somewhere that the former “shows optimal biceps contraction”. Or maybe they are able to increase the load on a barbell squat, but they don’t because their knees go over their toes – something they have been told (by a “brother” at the gym, no less) .
Form is a hindrance in these cases. If you’re trying to build muscle as long as you’re not exercising in poor shape (which we’ll discuss below), the only thing that matters is progressive overload-continuous improvement in weight, repetitions, or overall volume in one session. Over-analyzing smaller details prevents you from pushing yourself.
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In fact, according to David, you don’t need perfect form to progress:
The body doesn’t know anything about shape or what a movement should look like. The only thing the body knows is stress and adaptation, and you will always adapt to the stress that is placed on the body. So even if you do something with a shape that doesn’t look like what you would see in a textbook, you will still benefit.
As long as you keep the purpose of the shape in mind and understand the limits of your body, you’ll be fine … except for the following two cases.
Avoid movements that cause pain
Ask ten different trainers about the safety of doing squats in parallel and you will get ten different answers. I’ve heard coaches say that squats below parallel is bad for your knees, and I’ve heard the opposite too. You probably have too.
Even more confusing, despite the fact that research has debunked the myth that “Deep squatting is bad for your knee“Personally, I’ve felt more pain doing deep squats than doing shallower squats. So what is there?
Health and fitness are fraught with confusion, and sports science is no different. In fact, according to David, there is only one hard and fast rule:
When it comes to bad form, the only hard and fast rule is pain. Exercise should never hurt, and pain is the most important signal to change something. If it hurts while you are doing it, stop. Change position until you find something that works, or stop that movement for the day. If it hurts later or the next day, you need to be a detective and find out what you did so you can change it next time.
When in doubt, let the feeling of movement guide your decisions; Avoid pain at all costs.
Avoid movements that train the wrong muscles
If you do decide to lift something relatively heavy, you are making a tradeoff between intense exercise and using the muscle groups you intend to use (not to mention the risk of injury).
For example, let’s say you do one Dumbbell curl. If you go a little too high with your weight, say 50 pounds, you can do the exercise, but only by swinging your back and using more shoulders.
Conversely, you might go too light with 10-pound weights. Sure, everything looks fine and you’re using “perfect shape,” but you’re probably not using enough intensity to gradually overload. It is possible to be too wrong on either side, so finding the right balance requires good judgment.
As a rule of thumb, it is best for beginners to err on the easier side. Even if you feel like you could use a more demanding weight, internalize the correct movement patterns while you are new. Don’t worry, you’ll still be gaining muscle from doing something your body isn’t used to.
However, if you are more advanced, it may make sense to be a little more aggressive as much as possible (i.e. don’t try the 200 pound bench press if your previous best is 135 pounds).
For example, let’s say you have the choice of always squatting in parallel with a light weight, or constantly challenging yourself but walking easily across the parallel. According to Jordan:
In this case, the breaking of the parallelism is arbitrary. Of course, I want my lifts to be as deep as possible, but if they’re a quarter of an inch above the parallels I could honestly give two craps. In fact, I would prefer them to stay above parallel if they feel uncomfortable walking parallel or below. In other words, I’d prefer someone get strong by crouching a quarter of an inch above the parallel than bending their ass to the grass but never putting a damn weight on the bar.
In other words, push yourself, but do it intelligently.
As “health”Form is completely context sensitive. Find out what works for you, improve yourself, and don’t let anyone tell you that your shape is wrong because of some arbitrary aspect of your movement. Sure, professional guidance can help, but the only person who can determine the perfect shape is you.
This story was originally published March 2015 and updated on June 21, 2021 to be in line with Lifehacker style guidelines.
