A question I get a lot is, “Is exercise technique important” or “What is exercise technique”. This article will discuss the importance of exercise technique and form.
Exercise technique relates to the way you do an exercise. It involves moving during an exercise in a way that keeps your joints in a correct and safe position.
Consequences of Poor Technique
Injury
There are two main negatives associated with poor technique. The first is injury. Having your joints in a poor position when exercising will lead to injury. If your back is rounded lifting weights or squatting for example it will cause the ligaments, discs or joints of hte back to be overloaded and get possibly hurt. Having your knees over your toes instead of buckled in will allow your knees to take the pressure of the exercises evenly, rather than one area being overloaded because of poor technique.
Better Results
You will not get the results you should when exercising with poor technique for two main reasons. First, you are not working the area you are targeting. Take our squat example used to illustrate the increased chance of injury. You are moving too much at the back and so the back and not the hips is taking the load. This increases the chance of a back injury but also means that the glute and leg muscles are not working as much as they should because you are not moving at your hips.
It is the same with a plank. If you are arching at your back you will be working the back muscles and not the core muscles of the stomach.
Second, there is a phenomenon called reciprocal inhibition, which means that muscles will not contract full when the joint is in a poor position. So you are trying to get fit and strong but may increase your chance of injury.
Ways to improve exercise technique
1. Awareness
Having technology like the BackAware Belt allows you to be aware when you are in a good position and when you are in a poor position. It vibrates when you are in a poor position so you can target the hips and not the back for example when squatting or doing glute bridges.
2. Start doing exercises slowly with no or low weights and high reps
Make sure you emphasize form and technique first and then you can increase the speed or add weight to the exercise. Focusing on doing the exercise correctly by doing it slowly with good technique will allow a much better build up, less chance of injury and will work out better in the long run.
3. Make sure you have the building blocks for success
Sometimes it is difficult to say squat correctly if you are stiff in your hips and ankles. Or it can be impossible to hold your spine in the correct position if you do not have basic core stability and strength. Make sure you are doing exercises to help your basic mobility and core. We provide a free trial class of Sports Pilates to try these things.
Sign up here www.everardpilates.com/sportfreetrial
