The Importance of Proper Form

Technique is key in everything you do. It's a manner in which you do things that help you reach a goal more efficiently and more effectively. I cannot stress how important technique and form is when exercising. From the simplest to most complex exercises, good form must be consistent throughout. That means not only how you push the weight, but how your body reacts to the movement.( I.e your breathing.) 

Proper technique doesn't only prevent injury, but also creates a level of efficiency that allows for quicker results. If not using proper form you can end up working an entirely different muscle group altogether, thus setting you back. For example, when doing bench press, if your grip is too closed in, you may end up working your triceps more rather than your chest.

Breathing is probably the most important part of any workout as it allows you to get the most out of an exercise. You should aim to take in your breath as your Doing the least strenuous part of your rep and exert when doing the most strenuous part. Breathing can be the fine line between you breaking a personal record or not getting the weight up at all. 

Going that extra step of doing proper form can be the difference between you being in the gym or being out of commission. I cannot stress enough how many times I've seen guys get injured because of something that could've been avoided with proper form. As mentioned in my previous entry, there's a reason why I disagree with CrossFit and that's because of the lack of form and technique that go into the exercises. I always encourage for people to do research on how they should be picking up weight or pushing weight in order to get maximum results and not hit a roadblock such as an injury.

I'm curious to know how often do you find yourself using proper or improper form. Have you ever been set back through an injury caused by improper technique? Do you feel like you get a better workout when taking that extra few seconds to do it right? I want to here your input and what advice you have to make proper technique a habit.

Here's a link to a video describing proper form on the bench press

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6I0z_d4xqY

References:

authour, u. (n.d.). Starting Strength. Retrieved June 20, 2013, from wikia: http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts