For the first week of our Technique overhaul series, we are breaking down what we think is important for ALL member and guests to know, understand and utilize to FIX THEIR FORM.
It can be a really confronting thought to scale back your current lifting weight to work on technique, ROM and body placement but its something that can elevate and improve your training more then lifting heavy weights ever could.
A starting point for all of our lifts is to think what our 3 sections of the body are currently doing before we give our movement.
Section 1- Our lower body and feet placement. Look down are my feet suppose to be parallel or am I working in sumo or laterally.
Finding our own parallel is the foundation of ALL of our lifts. This can only be achieved by paying constant attention to it and over time it will be become second nature. Squats are a golden example of this: Squatting in parallel is going to activate quads as the prime mover where as if our feet are turned out in sumo position we are now activating the glutes as our leading muscle.
This notion of parallel affects all movements from lunges & deadlifts to rows and some upper body movements.
Section 2- Hips and Core.
If you cant feel your core working during 99% of lifts then there is a body placement issue going on. Think about the movement where should my hips and core be facing. Fix section 1 first and section 2 should follow along.
Section 3- Upper body including Head and Shoulder placement.
This is a huge one! Sometimes when we are unconfident with a lift we begin to look down at the floor this is causing us now to hunch downwards. Chin and eyes up can do wonders to help this technique and help drive our shoulders back. Keep your confidence in your lift starts with eyes and chin up!.
With all these sections in place your body is now ready to focus on getting its best ROM possible. We all have different ROM ability depending on genetics and training history so we have to work within these limitations. Scaling down your weight and even using BW first will help your body reach its best ROM targets.
Some notable mentions include:
Squat depth
Lunge Depth
Seated Press (chest and shoulder)
Incline Bench
Pull ups and Chin ups
What we would love to see more of is members asking and taking an interest in getting better with their form. Not just thinking that they know what they are doing and adding excessive weight. Sometimes it might feel comfortable but you body may be completly out of whack when performing the exercise.
Having a movement mindset is key. Knowing that each and everything you do in the gym serves a purpoise. You aint here to just burn calories because you are more than that! You are here to get better and apart of that process is identifying weaknesses and working to make them strengths!