"Don’t pay attention to what other people are doing." "When you enter the gym, leave your ego at the door." "If you're not using proper form, then you're not doing it at all." These are the mantras that are always hyped up in fitness magazines, so anyone that has ever frequented a gym and got at least somewhat serious into training knows these catchphrases well. I think I have even written similar things in this forum, and yet it’s one of those things where it is tough to follow your own advice. I wrote on here a week or 2 ago that I had felt myself start to plateau (in the upper body at least…I feel like my legs have a lot of room to grow still). I’ve come to the conclusion that the main reason for this is 1 basic premise: my form is crap. If I’m being honest with myself, as I’ve started to lift heavier (for me), my form has started to break down in most of my lifts.
I 1st noticed this when I lifted with Krissy’s brother, Mike, in New Jersey over the holidays. Mike is built like an action figure, and he took me through the most difficult chest workout of my life. Going into the day, I felt pretty good about myself. I had gained some size and strength since the last time he had seen me in the gym, which was a few years before this. It wasn’t long before my confidence (and upper body) was completely shot. I was getting scolded for cheating in most exercises by using too much shoulders and arms. My main takeaway from that workout was that my form wasn’t good, but there were other things that Mike was saying that just didn’t register at the time. For example, when benching, he told me to try to not even thinking about pushing the bar, and instead focusing on "squeezing," or contracting, my pecs all the way through the motion of the exercise and to try to let my shoulders and delts overpower my chest. I basically ignored/didn’t get that part of the advice until I watched the following video earlier this week.
I 1st noticed this when I lifted with Krissy’s brother, Mike, in New Jersey over the holidays. Mike is built like an action figure, and he took me through the most difficult chest workout of my life. Going into the day, I felt pretty good about myself. I had gained some size and strength since the last time he had seen me in the gym, which was a few years before this. It wasn’t long before my confidence (and upper body) was completely shot. I was getting scolded for cheating in most exercises by using too much shoulders and arms. My main takeaway from that workout was that my form wasn’t good, but there were other things that Mike was saying that just didn’t register at the time. For example, when benching, he told me to try to not even thinking about pushing the bar, and instead focusing on "squeezing," or contracting, my pecs all the way through the motion of the exercise and to try to let my shoulders and delts overpower my chest. I basically ignored/didn’t get that part of the advice until I watched the following video earlier this week.
The monstrous dude from the clip’s name is Kai Greene, a pro bodybuilder, and for some reason a lot of the little tidbits (which I had probably heard a million times before) stuck with me when I heard him say them. "I’ll never be a weightlifter." "How much do you lift? It’s really not important to me." "This stuff, this will make you feel good, but it’s not going to benefit you." And what he kept repeating over and over throughout the clip was, "Full stretch, maximum contraction." It should be noted that in the video, Mr. Greene is using the same weight that I use for that curl move, but I’m obviously not seeing the same benefit he is (so, I must be doing something wrong). I’m not saying I want to or ever will look like him, but to say there’s room for improvement is the understatement of the century. Now, some will say that bodybuilders only care about looking pretty with their shirt off, and the real beasts in the gym don’t necessarily subscribe to a bodybuilder philosophy. However, it also should be noted that there’s another video of Greene on YouTube benching 495 for reps, so I think it’s safe to say that the top bodybuilders are beasts too. Anyway, aside from the goofy narration at the end of clip, I would say this video is worth a peek. I am going to try to, as Kai said, lower the weight and clean up the quality of the exercises. I have made some strides from when I 1st started training, but crappy form and poor lifting execution may have taken me as far as it can. Maybe it’s time to try something a little different…doing it the right way.
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