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Lift Tip: Check Your Form Regularly
You've been working out with hand weights for a while now, and no doubt you had perfect form when you first learned your favorite exercises.
Ahhh. .
Bicep Curl Rehab
One of the most common arm strengthening moves is the bicep curl. At any given point you can find someone doing bicep curls at the gym. Problem is, that at any given point you can also find someone doing them wrong by cheating.
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Lifting Tips
Since strength training has been added to the new exercise guidelines you might be looking for a little guidance. Here are a few tips to help.
- The new guidelines recommend strength training 2 days a week.
Lifting Tip: Vary Your Lift Speed
Just like it is important to challenge and confuse your cardiovascular system by doing interval training or using fartlek techniques, you can increase the benefits of weight training by varying the tempo of your reps.
While very slow repetitions challenge the endurance strength of the muscle, it is important to incorporate a variety of tempos to your workout, including medium speeds as well as super slow. You can also lift slowly and recover quickly for a set and then reverse by making the return much slower.
Lifting Tip: Start at the Bottom and Work Your Way Up
When strength training, there are so many exercises, and so many muscles to work, how do you know where to begin? Start from the bottom of your body and work your way up.
Since your legs are your largest muscle group, these moves require more work than exercises that target your upper body.
Lifting Tip: Complete the Full Range of Motion
Whether you're using dumbells or a weightlifting machine, you aren't doing yourself any favors by cheating. So make sure that for every rep, you complete the full range of motion for the exercise.
If you're using free weights, this means returning to your starting position after every rep: If you're doing bicep curls, lower you hands all the way down and bring them all the way back up.
Lifting Tip: Relax the Muscles That Aren't Working
When I see people strength training at the gym, and working hard to lift a heavy weight or do those last few strenuous reps, it's hard not to notice their face scrunching up. If this sounds like you, the next time you lift, remember to relax the muscles that aren't involved in the exercise. It's the muscles in the face, neck, and shoulders that are most often engaged when they don't need to be.
Lifting Tip: Stop Before You Lose Form
If you've been lifting weights and looking for good results then be sure to keep a few things in mind: Try and lift to the point of muscle fatigue; however, stop before you feel yourself losing proper form. If you continue lifting with poor form, you're not only putting stress on your joints but also increasing your risk of injury. Pushing will not give you the results you're working so hard to get in the first place.
Lifting Tip: Keep Your Head Straight
Correct form and posture are essential when it comes to strength training. It not only helps prevent injury, but it's also necessary to ensure that you're working your muscles effectively. What you want to avoid doing is cranking your head to take a peek at the muscles being worked, because you can end up straining your neck or upper back.
Lifting Tip: Stand When You Lift
When you're strength training, there are definitely certain multitasking moves where you sit, kneel, or lie on the floor or a balance ball. I think that is fine, but for all other upper body exercises, be sure to do them standing instead of sitting on a weight bench. Standing makes the exercise more challenging to your entire body.
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