Shoulder Back and Think Tall

Fix Your Form!

There is a reason why trainers will say shoulders back, think tall, pull those abs in, and take it slow. I am always telling my class to have their belly button become best friends with their spine. It’s not to make them feel taller, it is to help protect them from injury. 

It comes down to one word “Form”. Your form will affect the quality of the exercise you are performing and the ability to progress within your program. Correct form ensures that the muscles you are targeting receive the full stress of the applied resistance while also allowing our joints to be in their proper position to be stable and strong to help prevent injury. With any exercise you should focus more on the quality then the quantity. When you don’t pay attention to your form you are just asking for an injury to happen.

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Proper form consist of being aware of your range of motion, alignment, base of support, applied resistance, proper breathing and tempo of the action. Now most people understand the reasoning behind alignment, range of motion, base of support but what about breathing and tempo? Don’t be afraid to breathe! Holding your breath during the exertion part of the exercise can cause your blood pressure to spike which can lead to fainting or maybe worse. Now, most of the time it is not a race to perform any given exercise, think about your tempo because it can affect your form. So, slow it down! Going too fast can lead to misalignment of the joints and lead to tears. Then you are down for the count. Look at the plus side of slowing it down, it can increase the intensity and apply more stress on the targeted muscle to assist in muscle hypertrophy.









No matter if you're performing bodyweight exercises or lifting 300 lbs., be aware of your form so you can prevent injury, perform better, become stronger and have the ability to progress as you go on. 

Deanna S.

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