Guest viewing limit reached
  • You have reached the maximum number of guest views allowed
  • Please register below to remove this limitation

Exercise Form

Middy

New member
I have a couple of questions about building mass and exercise form.
I'm interested on the thoughts & opinions of the vets out there.
I've been lifting on and off for several years with the goal of gaining mass. ( common goal )
I pretty much stick to the basic compound exercises, squats, rows, bench press etc. and train
about 3 days per week. Tend to recover better training 3 days a week.

When I'm training I always try to use proper form on each exercise.
Average around 3 to 4 sets per exercise and rep range usually 8 to 10 reps.
I want to lift bigger weights to build more mass but I think I will need to cheat a bit with form.
E.g. bending back for heavy barbell curls.


Just want to know what the vets think
Is it ok to sacrifice some form to lift bigger weights ?
 
I think its an individual thing really, i know people who train like **** and grow, people who train strict and don't grow and vice versa, you have to know yourself well enough to known that any deviation from strict form is done at the right time in the right way that it adds to the stimulus on the muscle but doesnt increase injury risk or detract from the value of the exercise. I will say that IMO you want to go through the rep ranges, either through the week or in terms of a 3 month cycle working your way up or down from 5 reps to 15 or more, there's much better info out there than i can give you, but don't only train 8-10 because its considered the range for muscle growth, you want to hit all the fibre types at some point and prevent stagnation. I bet better minds than mine will chime in soon with more advanced knowledge
 
Proper form is debatable, one persons opinion of form will vary from another. But what I think is more important is being in control of the weight. Control the negative portion of a rep and explosive on the way up for compound movements. Guys like to Ronnie Coleman and branch Warren had the most freaky dense muscle ever and I'm sure 99% of these fake gurus would say there form is terrible and they saw someone else using that form they would say it's not going to work for them. But obviously it's not necessarily true.

If someone told me my bench press form was perfect, but it was hurting my shoulders every time I did it, it would be stupid to keep doing it that way, especially if I could slightly tweak it to make it pain free.

So let's say we need to use semi good form while controlling the weight and using poundages that are challenging yet manageable.

And this is my opinion on form. I don't believe there is such thing as a correct answer for this question
 
Here’s my .02 on form. There’s a guy at my gym that is 52 years old. Has been lifting consistently since his late teens and has done many body building shows. Back in the summer of 2021 he did a show in Atlanta and not only won his weight class but won’t the over 50 class. So this is where form comes in. I’ve never seen him do a full rep of any exercise. He does partial reps. The time under tension theory I guess you could say. It works for him and keeps his joints healthy. To repeat the others, find what works for you that helps you accomplish your goals and prevents injuries.
 
A little English/slop/sacrifice in perfect technique is generally acceptable, and probably necessary at times to push the envelope. Someone slinging 315 on a barbell row like they are trying to hump the weight up is still going to be bigger & stronger than someone moving 135 so pristine & controlled they would be allowed to do it in a library.

BUT, you can’t just slop your way to gainz indefinitely. I mean if you get a little grindy on the final rep of a squat set, that’s fine, but if every set turns into an entirely new style of good mornings that put extra strain on your lumbar, that won’t last. I bulged discs out myself learning that the hard way. Form is generally important to help us prevent injury. It’s not one size fits all, but there are principles of breathing, bracing, and body positioning that are generally applicable.

Kabuki Movement Systems has some great free YouTube content on how to brace properly, and move optimally. That can help you minimize injury risk some.

But yes, sometimes you do just need to try a little harder to gut out that extra rep. There is a blood & guts component to all this. You have to want it!
 
Thanks guys for your thoughts and opinions.
I can definitely incorporate some of the suggestions .
Think I will keep doing 4 to 5 sets each exercise with the first two sets being warm ups. Rep range for warm ups 8 to 10.
Then I will do two heavy sets and use partial reps (thanks Sammpedd).
For bench press movements I will try to slow down the negative component and grip the hell out of the barbell.
Smont makes a good point about being in control of the movement through the exercise .
Hyde has reminded me about bringing the intensity of effort and trying to grind out a couple of extra reps each set.
I will make the adjustments and see how it goes. Thanks again everyone.
 
I have a few things to keep in mind. First is the exercise. Cheating up a few reps on dumbbell curls or lateral raises can give you a little extra without too much strain, but if you’re doing a max deadlift, if your form breaks down, you could really hurt yourself. Definitely consider injury risk.

Second, I always go by feel. Most major compound movements I end up with excellent form, there’s not a lot of deviation from proper ness because lots of people have figured out the best way to lift the most weight without hurting yourself. So squats and such end up being acceptable for a powerlifting contest. But there is SO MUCH wiggle room in smaller isolation exercises. I saw a video of Larry Scott showing how he does lateral raises. He leaned forward and bent his arms to do it. He’s like “your shoulder doesn’t care where your hand is.” So I would say tweak any of those to your liking. Most isolation movements, I think I do slightly different from most people. When you’re trying to apply tension to a muscle, you’ll feel the tension. If you aren’t feeling it, change it. Doesn’t matter if it isn’t how a certain book or video said you “should” do it.
 
Jeremyk1 said:
I have a few things to keep in mind. First is the exercise. Cheating up a few reps on dumbbell curls or lateral raises can give you a little extra without too much strain, but if you’re doing a max deadlift, if your form breaks down, you could really hurt yourself. Definitely consider injury risk.

Second, I always go by feel. Most major compound movements I end up with excellent form, there’s not a lot of deviation from proper ness because lots of people have figured out the best way to lift the most weight without hurting yourself. So squats and such end up being acceptable for a powerlifting contest. But there is SO MUCH wiggle room in smaller isolation exercises. I saw a video of Larry Scott showing how he does lateral raises. He leaned forward and bent his arms to do it. He’s like “your shoulder doesn’t care where your hand is.” So I would say tweak any of those to your liking. Most isolation movements, I think I do slightly different from most people. When you’re trying to apply tension to a muscle, you’ll feel the tension. If you aren’t feeling it, change it. Doesn’t matter if it isn’t how a certain book or video said you “should” do it.
Click to expand...

Great advice here.

Cheating on some things can bear a lot more fruit with lower risk than others. Rows & most isolations pay out better; squats & pulls and most pressing should probably be more focused. Even guys not doing full ROM have consistent standards they’ll follow; you shouldn’t squat to depth and then suddenly start cutting it high to keep going.
 
Hyde said:
Great advice here.

Cheating on some things can bear a lot more fruit with lower risk than others. Rows & most isolations pay out better; squats & pulls and most pressing should probably be more focused. Even guys not doing full ROM have consistent standards they’ll follow; you shouldn’t squat to depth and then suddenly start cutting it high to keep going.
Click to expand...
 
Because I'm trying to build mass I tend to mostly use the basic compound movements. However I have always used side lateral raises for delts. As Jeremy said this is one exercise which has minimal injury risks and scope for using different ranges of motion. I guess bodybuilding is trial and error and we all need to keep experimenting
till we get it right.
Before I do squats on leg day I always do leg extensions. This is another isolation movement with minimal injury risks and form wriggle room.
Deadlifts are something I am super careful doing. I think of Ronnie Coleman and his back injuries from lifting 800 pounds. I guess that's the risk and the price we pay sometimes.
 
Middy said:
Because I'm trying to build mass I tend to mostly use the basic compound movements. However I have always used side lateral raises for delts. As Jeremy said this is one exercise which has minimal injury risks and scope for using different ranges of motion. I guess bodybuilding is trial and error and we all need to keep experimenting
till we get it right.
Before I do squats on leg day I always do leg extensions. This is another isolation movement with minimal injury risks and form wriggle room.
Deadlifts are something I am super careful doing. I think of Ronnie Coleman and his back injuries from lifting 800 pounds. I guess that's the risk and the price we pay sometimes.
Click to expand...
I sh!t you all not, i tweaked my back doing 150lbs deadlift last month, the 1st time trying them in 2 years. At the age of 39 i have never been able to deadlift consistently or heavily and have gotten injured so many times its a joke, I'm at the point now where I've accepted they're not for me
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top