Everyone has seen someone in the gym doing an exercise that you know must be bad for him or her. You may not be an exercise expert, but you know that the person’s form is terrible and needs to be fixed before they really hurt themselves.
Form is a frequently discussed topic by those who exercise and is generally accepted as being important. But most people don’t realize why form is important, or how important form really is. Correct form through a movement can make an exercise highly effective while incorrect form can turn a great exercise useless and will likely put you at risk of injury. Here are the top 5 exercises that people consistently do with bad form.
Top 5 “Bad Form” Exercises
5. Pillar or Plank- This is the exercise where you lie face down, and elevate yourself so your body weight is on your elbows and toes. The pillar is one of the best exercises for developing overall core strength, especially for beginners. The major issue here is when people either allow their hips to raise too high, or allow their hips to sink toward the floor. These mistakes defeat the purpose of the exercise by either taking tension off your abdominals or placing stress on your low back. Another common mistake is that people do not activate the right muscles. A plank is most effective while keeping tension in your legs, glutes, abs and shoulders. The Fix- Watch yourself in a mirror and make sure there is a nice, straight line from your head to your heels. Try and contract your abs, quads, glutes and chest all at the same time.
4. Dead Lift- This is an exercise that has been around for a long time. It is performed by millions of people in their everyday life, but for some reason, rarely in the gym. If you bend down to pick up a box or any heavy/large items you are performing a dead lift. The common error here is that people do not pull their shoulder blades back, while allowing their backs to round and sticking their butts up too high. The Fix- While you lower down, do not allow your chest to extend in front of the knees, this will make you keep a tall upper body and prevent your back from rounding. Also, rather than thinking about lowering down using your knees, think about lowering with your butt instead. Push those hips back and lower towards the floor. Do not allow your knees to go in front of your toes and you will be on track to using your hips to lower you, rather than your knees.
3. Pull Up- The simplicity of the pull up is the reason this one makes the list of bad form exercises. Although this is potentially one of the least dangerous exercises due to bad form, it is almost always done wrong. The good part is that the fixes are simple and just take a little more awareness. The majority of people don’t lower themselves until their arms are long with their elbows locked out and extended. By stopping before you are fully extended you are working only part of your muscles and shortening them at the same time. The second thing is the kipping, kicking or swinging that is done in order to squeeze out some reps. Rather than moving straight up and down, people like to use the momentum of their bodies to help out. The Fix- Very simple, lower yourself down until your arms are locked out. Think how your body would be if you were just hanging there with no intention of pulling up. That should be your starting position. Rather than kipping or swinging to get up, either hop on one of those assisted pull up machines or have someone spot you from behind. That way, you can ensure that you have correct form and still complete the pull ups.
2. Squat- The squat one of the most complex movements that a person does in the gym. As such, there is plenty of room for mistakes while doing it. A common issue is that people allow their knees to go in front of their toes, which will lead to knee pain. Also, many people squat too deep for their bodies and their tailbone will “curl under.” This can separate the vertebrae in the lumbar spine and lead to low back pain . The Fix- Think of sitting back on your heels as you perform the squat and press into your heels on the way up. Watch yourself from the side in a mirror. If you see your tail (upper butt and low back) start to roung, stop there and head back up. Keep tight abs, a tight back and think about filling out your shirt with your chest (proud chest).
1. The Romanian Dead Lift (RDL)- This is the exercise in which you keep your legs mostly straight and lower your upper body down toward your feet (almost like a toe touch). This is the most common of the incorrectly performed exercises and may be the most dangerous if done wrong. Many people keep that toe touch mentality and pay no attention to their backs while performing this exercise. The back rounds and takes the stress from the glutes and hamstrings and puts it right on the spine. The Fix- Over all else, make sure your back stays flat on the way down. Think like someone placed a million dollar bill in between your shoulder blades and you can’t let go. Allow for a little bend in the knees and sit the hips back as you lower. Don’t worry about depth in the beginning (most people’s hands will only be able to go to the knees) as you progress you will be able to go lower.
Think about these tips next time you are about to perform these exercises and make a checklist of things to look at. If these exercises are foreign to you (like a Russian), start to do them — they are all great. Take your time in making sure the form is on point before you worry about doing a ton of reps or using heavy weight.
If you were that person mentioned earlier who has terrible form, please pay special attention to this article. Not only are you at risk for injury, but you are wasting time by not activating the right muscle groups. And you’re scaring people.v
Everyone has seen someone in the gym doing an exercise that you know must be bad for him or her. You may not be an exercise expert, but you know that the person’s form is terrible and needs to be fixed before they really hurt themselves.
Form is a frequently discussed topic by those who exercise and is generally accepted as being important. But most people don’t realize why form is important, or how important form really is. Correct form through a movement can make an exercise highly effective while incorrect form can turn a great exercise useless and will likely put you at risk of injury. Here are the top 5 exercises that people consistently do with bad form.
Top 5 “Bad Form” Exercises
5. Pillar or Plank- This is the exercise where you lie face down, and elevate yourself so your body weight is on your elbows and toes. The pillar is one of the best exercises for developing overall core strength, especially for beginners. The major issue here is when people either allow their hips to raise too high, or allow their hips to sink toward the floor. These mistakes defeat the purpose of the exercise by either taking tension off your abdominals or placing stress on your low back. Another common mistake is that people do not activate the right muscles. A plank is most effective while keeping tension in your legs, glutes, abs and shoulders. The Fix- Watch yourself in a mirror and make sure there is a nice, straight line from your head to your heels. Try and contract your abs, quads, glutes and chest all at the same time.
4. Dead Lift- This is an exercise that has been around for a long time. It is performed by millions of people in their everyday life, but for some reason, rarely in the gym. If you bend down to pick up a box or any heavy/large items you are performing a dead lift. The common error here is that people do not pull their shoulder blades back, while allowing their backs to round and sticking their butts up too high. The Fix- While you lower down, do not allow your chest to extend in front of the knees, this will make you keep a tall upper body and prevent your back from rounding. Also, rather than thinking about lowering down using your knees, think about lowering with your butt instead. Push those hips back and lower towards the floor. Do not allow your knees to go in front of your toes and you will be on track to using your hips to lower you, rather than your knees.
3. Pull Up- The simplicity of the pull up is the reason this one makes the list of bad form exercises. Although this is potentially one of the least dangerous exercises due to bad form, it is almost always done wrong. The good part is that the fixes are simple and just take a little more awareness. The majority of people don’t lower themselves until their arms are long with their elbows locked out and extended. By stopping before you are fully extended you are working only part of your muscles and shortening them at the same time. The second thing is the kipping, kicking or swinging that is done in order to squeeze out some reps. Rather than moving straight up and down, people like to use the momentum of their bodies to help out. The Fix- Very simple, lower yourself down until your arms are locked out. Think how your body would be if you were just hanging there with no intention of pulling up. That should be your starting position. Rather than kipping or swinging to get up, either hop on one of those assisted pull up machines or have someone spot you from behind. That way, you can ensure that you have correct form and still complete the pull ups.
2. Squat- The squat one of the most complex movements that a person does in the gym. As such, there is plenty of room for mistakes while doing it. A common issue is that people allow their knees to go in front of their toes, which will lead to knee pain. Also, many people squat too deep for their bodies and their tailbone will “curl under.” This can separate the vertebrae in the lumbar spine and lead to low back pain . The Fix- Think of sitting back on your heels as you perform the squat and press into your heels on the way up. Watch yourself from the side in a mirror. If you see your tail (upper butt and low back) start to roung, stop there and head back up. Keep tight abs, a tight back and think about filling out your shirt with your chest (proud chest).
1. The Romanian Dead Lift (RDL)- This is the exercise in which you keep your legs mostly straight and lower your upper body down toward your feet (almost like a toe touch). This is the most common of the incorrectly performed exercises and may be the most dangerous if done wrong. Many people keep that toe touch mentality and pay no attention to their backs while performing this exercise. The back rounds and takes the stress from the glutes and hamstrings and puts it right on the spine. The Fix- Over all else, make sure your back stays flat on the way down. Think like someone placed a million dollar bill in between your shoulder blades and you can’t let go. Allow for a little bend in the knees and sit the hips back as you lower. Don’t worry about depth in the beginning (most people’s hands will only be able to go to the knees) as you progress you will be able to go lower.
Think about these tips next time you are about to perform these exercises and make a checklist of things to look at. If these exercises are foreign to you (like a Russian), start to do them — they are all great. Take your time in making sure the form is on point before you worry about doing a ton of reps or using heavy weight.
If you were that person mentioned earlier who has terrible form, please pay special attention to this article. Not only are you at risk for injury, but you are wasting time by not activating the right muscle groups. And you’re scaring people.v