When exercising we often hear we need to focus on how we execute exercise more than how much weight or number of repetitions we want to accomplish. Although majority of us understand this; however, majority of trainees and even trainers seem not caring as much as they preach. Before going in to answering question of whether the exercise form is important or not, let’s think in different perspectives.
Foundation of House
When building house, it is built on something called foundation. If you live in area where there are frequent earthquake and the foundation of house is not designed to withstand earthquake, even at the minor magnitude, the house can be demolished. If the foundation is not designed properly, doesn’t matter how amazing the house look, it is already getting ready to fall.
Imperial or Metric
Have you ever wondered why world is using metric system, but some countries use imperial unites (inches, feet, etc.)? To be honest I’m not sure, however, if it were to change to unify across the globe it can be chaotic. You may know that 1 inch is equal to 2.54 centimeters, but this is about, and it is not exact. Which means if we were to change nuts and bolts in the cars or refrigerators mechanics will need to change the entire design to make the changes fit because original foundation is different.
Running and Sprinting
In English language, run can categorize into running and sprinting. When we say runners, we usually talk athletes who are trained to run long distance. When we say sprinter, we talk about athlete who can run from point A to B in short amount of time. I’m not going into minor details of skill difference between running and sprinting; however, they are different.
When you look at athletes who are not trained in sprinting, we can see that they are working on running fast with running technique, which is like trying to travel from Seattle to NY by car as fast as you can where you can go faster with plane. You can run faster with running technique; however, sprint technique can be faster. If you are long distance runner, you should learn the technique of running.
Why is this important? When the technique is different, the mechanics of movement is different, which also means that the way we use muscles will be different. When training using the wrong technique to accomplish goal that is not suited for the skill, the body will become stronger with the wrong technique, however, results are limited due to wrong technique.
Exercise Form and Individuality
By now you understand the importance of exercise form. Understanding the basic skills and basic movement pattern is critical in increasing the strength and performance. Inappropriate form can not only lead to injury due to poor foundation but limits the possibility of getting stronger and improvement in performance just like in sprints. Once the poor foundation is set, relearning the technique does take time just like house with poor foundation.
Yet, there are some considerations must be made. Every human body is slightly different from one person to another. Which means, exercise form may need to vary though fundamental is still the same.
For example, I have a short leg length compared to my torso length. During deadlift, although it is ideal to keep the back flat and parallel to the floor. However, because of my short leg, my hip cannot be high enough to make the upper body parallel to the floor unless I lock out my knees. Basics are still the same, however, I needed to adjust my technique based on my skeletal structure. And yes, I wish I had longer leg.
When talking about exercise form there are several variables need to be considered. Understanding of basic techniques and individualize according to their skeletal structure. Therefore, it is very important to have a trainer (if you hire any) who can explain and monitor this fine detail rather than counting repetitions and telling “great job!”. This is the difference between training versus workout. Training is like practicing skills in sports, where focus is on improving quality of skills by increasing resistance, repetitions, and various movement pattern to see if you can still maintain the technique.
If you have exercise that you like, work on improving the technique. First, learn it. Second, practice it. Third, improve it.
Kota Shimada
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