FORM FORM FORM! When ever you start out on a training program it is easy to let ego or excitement overtake your better judgement. You might see someone in the gym doing an exercise for 10 reps and make it your mission to outdo them and perform 11 reps. This is fine, as a bit of competition is a good thing, however, when it is at the cost of form it is catastrophic! I have seen guys in the gym load up hundreds of kilos on the squat bar, scream, slap themselves and then move it one inch for three reps (the last two were spotted). Seriously, the only thing they got right was the slap in the head. Walk into any gym and it wont be long until you see someone cranking out too much weight for not enough reps. I can remember a guy approaching me in the gym to ask me if I would spot him for his bench presses. I said I could and followed him to the power cage. He would have weighed 65kgs and had 250lbs on the bar. I asked him how many reps he was aiming for and he told me he wanted to get about 8 for the set. I asked him if hed lifted this heavy before and was told it was fine. I weighed 61kgs at the time and had a personal best single lift of 238lbs so for this guy to lift 250lbs for reps would was going to be some mean feat indeed! I stood on the spotters plate and told him to quiet his mind and visualise the successful lift. He let out a mighty roar, arched his back like he was doing the limbo and pushed like hell to get the weight off the rack. I, seeing he was in strife quickly helped him dislodge the weight from its resting brackets. I quickly said Are you right mate, have you got this? He replied through a face that now resembled a slab of black pudding with human features YEAH!! HELL YEAH!!! I allowed him to take the weight down and watched as it bounced off his chest like Wreck it Ralph performing CPR. He immediately yelled SPOT!!!!!!!! At once I sprung into action and helped him back with the barbell. I went to rack it back in its resting place only to hear Blood Pudding cry Cmon, seven more reps mate! I looked down at him having just recovered from my own upright row personal best of 250lbs and said You are joking arent you? He was dead set on his task and for the next 60 seconds I did seven more upright rows as he yelled, grunted and thrashed his head about like a man possessed. Once it was over I said to him Bit heavy mate? He puffed himself up like a peacock and replied I reckon I could have done 260lbs I simply looked at him and replied Yeah easy! It was just a classic example of when ego gets in the way of quality. Ask anyone I train and it is always FORM 1st no exceptions! One glimpse at the video of ASH CARD performing her FITBALL PIKES will show you that. Her back is straight, her elevation is perfect and her control is superb! Never neglect form, ever! It is you vs you, always. Your body doesnt know you are lifting 200lbs, all it knows is that you are placing a load on it to lift. It has no interest in breaking records or impressing fellow gym trainers. Your task is to place a load on it which is slightly heavier than before but with the same form you employed previously. THIS GROWS MUSCLES! Now you cannot keep on adding weight upon weight to the bar, its impossible to continue in this manner, so what you must do is mix things up with more reps, drop sets, time under tension reps, negative sets, exercise variation and many more tactics. THIS WILL KEEP THE BODY ADAPTING = CHANGING = DEVELOPING = CONDITIONING! So, like ASH CARD, place form at #1 and the rest falls into place. ps - Dont ever ask me for a spot!
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 09:31:38 +0000
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