Exercise has incredible physical and mental health benefits, but poor form can cause more harm than good. When it comes to exercise, proper form is essential. Perfect form while running or lifting can enhance sports performance and prevent injury.
When you don’t practice proper form, common injuries are bound to happen, including:
- Muscle pull and strain
- Sprained ankle
- Shoulder injury
- Knee injuries
- Tendinitis
- Wrist sprain or dislocation
4 benefits of practicing proper form
Proper form when exercising is all about maximizing your results while keeping you safe. The benefits of practicing proper form includes:
Avoiding injuries
The primary reason for proper form is injury prevention. When you lift heavy weights with poor form, it can cause the body to become misaligned, placing stress on your muscles, joints and tendons, which can potentially cause strains or tears.
Doing a specific exercise with improper form can lead to injury, which can stop you from training for prolonged periods, depending on the severity of the injury. For example, every beginner has done the deadlift exercise with a rounded back, which places a ton of stress on the spinal discs, causing major injury to your lower back. The proper way to perform the deadlift exercise is by having a straight back, using the glutes and hamstrings to help pull the weight.
Each exercise is created to target and strengthen specific muscle groups. That is why practicing good form and technique when performing such exercises will benefit you in the long run. To train in the most efficient way, you need to pay attention to your form.
Effectiveness
If you have been going to the gym and maintaining a healthy diet, yet you see little results, your form is most likely delaying your progress. Doing each exercise with proper form allows you to use your body’s full potential. Without proper form, your results won’t be as noticeable because you are restricting your body from complete extension and contraction of the muscles during each exercise.
Breathe more effectively
Unfortunately, poor form and technique can affect your breathing. Every breath you take while exercising can help your performance, such as lifting that extra weight, increasing your energy levels, and even affecting the ability to burn fat. Proper form helps you breathe more effectively and supports increased oxygen intake, allowing you to get more out of your workouts.
Less energy waste
Improper form causes your body to expend more energy than necessary. Instead of finishing that last rep, you have to stop because you feel exhausted from wasting your energy on certain motions that ultimately don’t benefit you.
With less energy, you are also at risk of ignoring your form to get the exercise over with, which can lead to injury and reduce the effectiveness of the exercise.
Whether you are a professional athlete or a weekend warrior, always be mindful of your form.
Our multi-speciality team at Comprehensive Medical Care can get you on the path to recovery. If you are experiencing pain while performing certain exercises, contact our team.
