Maybe you have worked out in the past. Maybe you haven’t. But you have decided to turn your life around
and sign up for a gym. You start full of ambition and willpower and start hitting those big weights, and…there’s your first slip.
One of the most common mistakes when working out is weight overload. In other words, lifting more weight than your body is capable of, therefore risking injuring yourself. It happens that trainers will teach the exercises correctly with proper form and technique, but when it comes to action, things fall apart.
Why does this happen?
One of the issues when adding weight is that technique is often thrown out the window for the sake of
lifting big weights. This arises from the archaic mentality that lifting heavy weights is all it takes to
become stronger and get super fit. Of course, to build muscle and get fit increasing weight is necessary,
as well as having a proper nutrition program.
Stop obsessing over weight-load, start focusing on technique
Regardless of what muscle you are working, the same reason applies to every context. The right technique leads us to work the muscle more efficiently. We have established that increasing the weight is indeed important, but it is not as important as having proper technique. The better your technique gets, the less work you have to do to get the results you are looking for. Four quality sets with great form and high intensity are worth more than eight sloppy sets.
Incidentally, this is one of the reasons that many people get stuck in their training and thus not make much progress in the gym: they spend too much time thinking about the amount of weight they’re lifting, and less about managing to do the movements correctly. It is understandable you want to make progress as quickly as possible and see the results you have been longing for, but focusing on laying the groundwork first will make your journey more long-lasting and satisfying in the long run. Remember patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
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