If this is your first visit into the weights section of a gym it may feel a little intimidating.
The area can be populated with lots of ego. Lots of guys trying to push extreme weights with lots of noise and grunt. This area can feel a little like you are stepping into there territory as well.
The reason for this is that its pretty easy to go to a gym, get into the weights section and go hell for leather. The problem is that very few people last longer than a workout or three and most of them don’t do any of the exercises correctly. This article is all about doing those exercise correctly, from now on we will refer to it as correct form.
Just on a side note, before we get started. If you do manage to consistently make it into gym, and do your weight workout with your best efforts, that group of intimidating locals will become your biggest supporters, you will get included into their community. They actually want you to succeed and want you to be there. I will always remember the time i was picking out dinner in a grocery store when one of the 150 kg power lifters tapped me on the shoulder and informed me that i had missed my Wednesday workout and wanted to know why i wasn’t at gym…when a man twice your size tells you to get back to gym, you pretty much listen…
Get your timing right
When you are working through these exercises its going to feel uncomfortable. You are putting your body under strain and your mind will be telling you to stop. When this happens you will want to rush through the last few repetitions of your set, just to make it to the end. Don’t do this, count the timing for each exercise in your head and slow it down to the correct pace. This will make you movements smooth and fluid and help you concentrate on following the correct paths with each push and pull.
make sure you have the correct weight
In another article i probably told you to go as heavy as you possible can with the weights. There is one proviso - go as heavy as you can as long as you still can hold the correct form. There are a hundred ways to cheat at any exercise, correct form is the exercise without cheating so its going to feel extra heavy and difficult. The reason for this is that its focussing on the correct muscles, when you cheat form you get other muscles to accommodate and weaken the effectiveness of the exercise.
Kill the momentum
When you perform each rep, you will find the temptation to finish a movement and swing the weight into its reverse. This is because you get a nice amount of momentum doing this and it makes the exercise easier. When you reach the top of your push or pull stop completely and count for 1 second. Make sure there is no movement again before you start.
breathe correctly
When you exert force make sure that your breathing is correct. You want to breathing out. The tendency when things start getting more difficult is to hold your breathe. This is definitely not correct form, you may even give yourself a headache from all the pressure you build. Make sure you breathe out whenever you exert force, and then in again when you return to the starting position
get someone to check you are doing it right
If you are unsure about your form, get someone who understands correct form to watch over you and make sure you are doing the exercises correctly. When i returned to gym after a long lay off i asked a personal trainer to watch over my movements. Even though i have been going to gym for years i wanted someone to check my movements until i was sure i had built enough strength to do these exercises correctly.
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