So this is sort of piggy-backing off my post about deadlifts but I wanted to do a post in general about how to clean up your form when lifting. The first thing, obviously, is to educate yourself about proper form. This can be difficult as a lot of different sites and people will tell you different things but my recommendation is shop around and find trustworthy people. Two of my favorite sites are: Bodybuilding.com and Stronglifts.com as I have found both super helpful in learning about proper form for exercises. I also listed some people I like to follow/learn from in my post about deadlift tips :)
1. Videotape your sets
My second piece of advice is again to videotape yourself. In my opinion, this is important for several reasons. First, I don't like anything messing up my concentration while I'm lifting. I don't want to constantly be checking the mirror to check form because it'll break my focus on the mind-muscle connection. As I'm lifting, I like to FEEL the exercise. I mentally check how my body is moving and try to incorporate internal feedback so that my body is learning proper movement patterns. My main goal is to rely on internal feedback to tell me how I'm executing a lift and the video (external feedback) is a secondary source of information that will let me know whether my internal feedback was correct or not.
Secondly, checking your form in the mirror can actually compromise your form. For example with deadlifts you want to keep a neutral neck which won't happen if you keep looking up in the mirror to watch yourself. With squatting, you have a lot of weight on your traps so turning your head left or right can not only mess up your neck but also affect your balance. So I stick with videos as they'll tell me a lot of things I might not be able to spot in the mirror.
Thirdly, taking videos enables you to really break down your form. I can't tell you the number of times I will watch my videos because I focus on a lot of different aspects. I check my bar path, my back, my knees, my rep tempo, check for any weak muscle spots etc. This allows me to give proper focus to each area and allow me to make any necessary adjustments for the next time.
Fourth, videos will tell you if the weight is truly right or not. If your form consistently seems off and you just can't seem to get it right, lower the weight. No buts about it. Form > weight every single darn time. Feeding your ego is not worth the injury risk. I had to swallow my pride and begin at square one with squats at 115lbs because of my lower back when I was squatting about 185 this time last year. Life happens.
I don't tape all my sets but I will usually tape at least the first set and the last set. I do this so that I can check and see where I lag once I'm getting tired. It helps me identify my weak spots so I know what to work on in the future. Once I know where I need work when I start to get tired, I can mentally focus on not doing that during my end sets. If I have to, I will do additional accessory work in order to strengthen those weak spots. For example, my lower back can be a big weak spot so I do a lot of accessory work like hyperextensions and core work to help build it up. Whatever your weakness is, work on it until it becomes a strength.
When watching your videos, some general areas that you want to check are your back, your knees, foot placement, and the alignment of your neck. That will tell you a lot of where you are keeping the weight, body mechanics, any potential risks for injury, and if you're keeping proper form or not.
2. Breathing
Another thing that I have found which can truly impact form is the way you are breathing. When I first started lifting, I paid no attention to my breathing patterns but now it's something I am very intentional with each rep. Especially for my heavier compound lifts like deadlifts, squats, and bench (those are my main three lifts). Before each rep I take a big deep breath and hold it out until I'm done with the rep. This is important for a very big reason: it will activate your core which will protect your back. The deeper the breath, the more it will expand your abdomen which will remain tight and you will be able to better stabilize your core and back.
I do not breathe at the top of a rep because deflating my stomach will put my lower back in a more vulnerable position-- with deadlifts that would be when you're standing up and about to start the eccentric movement down, for squats that's when you're squatting at the bottom about to begin the concentric movement up, and for bench that's when you bring the bar to your chest (please note: there is a HUGE debate between whether or not arch in your back during the bench press. I personally do not like to arch my back as it aggravates my lower back so I keep mine flat against the bench. Breathing this way helps me to do so but if you prefer benching with an arch then by all means be my guest. It varies from person to person.). All of those are very crucial moments where your back could become injured so do all you can to protect it! I keep holding my breath the whole rep and release it at the end of each one.
3. Accessory work is key
As I said before, I use my videos to show me my weak spots. A lot of people do not consider any other muscles during the lift besides the prime mover (the main muscle doing the work). In isolation work (ex: bicep curls) it may not be such a huge deal to overlook synergistic muscles but in compound lifts you are using multiple muscle groups in conjunction. This means that accessory work can really help you clean up your form by strengthening any weak muscle groups.
Take me for example: my hamstrings are the weakest part of my legs. I didn't really like working hamstrings, I didn't really care if they grew or not, and I hardly paid them any attention. But, I wanted to deadlift. And I wanted to deadlift well. I know that I am a quad dominant lifter and that I can also have lower back problems, which meant it was important that I really nailed my form and got my hamstrings strong. I didn't want to risk any lower back injuries or my quads trying to compensate for my weaker hamstrings. So I worked and worked and worked my hamstrings in TONS of accessory work. My hamstrings have grown an insane amount over the past few months because of it but the cool thing is it only happened once I focused on strength. I told myself that I was going to work on building them up strength-wise because I knew I'd need all parts of my legs to be strong for the upcoming programming I had in mind. I didn't want to squat and deadlift multiple days a week with weak parts of my legs.
4. Practice, practice, practice
This one seems like another no-brainer: the more you practice, the better you get. Some days I'll literally just do squats on squats on squats to practice my form. Last week I did 10 sets of 10 (at a lighter but still challenging weight) to simply practice. I taped each set, would analyze over my rest period, and then make any necessary adjustments. I also like to compare old practice videos with my newer ones to see what overall changes I have made.
5. Leave your ego at the door
Now this has been a difficult one for me #realtalk because like I said this time last year I was squatting about 50 pounds more, and now I stick to 135 MAX. Usually for most of my working sets I use 115-120lbs and then will occasionally test out 135 just to see where I am strength-wise. It honestly all depends on my volume of training for the day and what percentage of my max I'm working with. However, form is oh so much more important than the weight you are lifting. Sometimes you just gotta suck up your pride and work with a lighter weight. It's not worth the injury, and you'll thank yourself in the long run. Instead of feeding your ego, feed your quads muahahaha. But really, feed your muscles.
When watching your videos, some general areas that you want to check are your back, your knees, foot placement, and the alignment of your neck. That will tell you a lot of where you are keeping the weight, body mechanics, any potential risks for injury, and if you're keeping proper form or not.
2. Breathing
Another thing that I have found which can truly impact form is the way you are breathing. When I first started lifting, I paid no attention to my breathing patterns but now it's something I am very intentional with each rep. Especially for my heavier compound lifts like deadlifts, squats, and bench (those are my main three lifts). Before each rep I take a big deep breath and hold it out until I'm done with the rep. This is important for a very big reason: it will activate your core which will protect your back. The deeper the breath, the more it will expand your abdomen which will remain tight and you will be able to better stabilize your core and back.
I do not breathe at the top of a rep because deflating my stomach will put my lower back in a more vulnerable position-- with deadlifts that would be when you're standing up and about to start the eccentric movement down, for squats that's when you're squatting at the bottom about to begin the concentric movement up, and for bench that's when you bring the bar to your chest (please note: there is a HUGE debate between whether or not arch in your back during the bench press. I personally do not like to arch my back as it aggravates my lower back so I keep mine flat against the bench. Breathing this way helps me to do so but if you prefer benching with an arch then by all means be my guest. It varies from person to person.). All of those are very crucial moments where your back could become injured so do all you can to protect it! I keep holding my breath the whole rep and release it at the end of each one.
3. Accessory work is key
As I said before, I use my videos to show me my weak spots. A lot of people do not consider any other muscles during the lift besides the prime mover (the main muscle doing the work). In isolation work (ex: bicep curls) it may not be such a huge deal to overlook synergistic muscles but in compound lifts you are using multiple muscle groups in conjunction. This means that accessory work can really help you clean up your form by strengthening any weak muscle groups.
Take me for example: my hamstrings are the weakest part of my legs. I didn't really like working hamstrings, I didn't really care if they grew or not, and I hardly paid them any attention. But, I wanted to deadlift. And I wanted to deadlift well. I know that I am a quad dominant lifter and that I can also have lower back problems, which meant it was important that I really nailed my form and got my hamstrings strong. I didn't want to risk any lower back injuries or my quads trying to compensate for my weaker hamstrings. So I worked and worked and worked my hamstrings in TONS of accessory work. My hamstrings have grown an insane amount over the past few months because of it but the cool thing is it only happened once I focused on strength. I told myself that I was going to work on building them up strength-wise because I knew I'd need all parts of my legs to be strong for the upcoming programming I had in mind. I didn't want to squat and deadlift multiple days a week with weak parts of my legs.
4. Practice, practice, practice
This one seems like another no-brainer: the more you practice, the better you get. Some days I'll literally just do squats on squats on squats to practice my form. Last week I did 10 sets of 10 (at a lighter but still challenging weight) to simply practice. I taped each set, would analyze over my rest period, and then make any necessary adjustments. I also like to compare old practice videos with my newer ones to see what overall changes I have made.
5. Leave your ego at the door
Now this has been a difficult one for me #realtalk because like I said this time last year I was squatting about 50 pounds more, and now I stick to 135 MAX. Usually for most of my working sets I use 115-120lbs and then will occasionally test out 135 just to see where I am strength-wise. It honestly all depends on my volume of training for the day and what percentage of my max I'm working with. However, form is oh so much more important than the weight you are lifting. Sometimes you just gotta suck up your pride and work with a lighter weight. It's not worth the injury, and you'll thank yourself in the long run. Instead of feeding your ego, feed your quads muahahaha. But really, feed your muscles.
So there you have it! Just a few simple tips that I have found effective while improving my form. As always, it's a work in progress but I promise you that if you put in the time and work, you'll get the results.
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