Guide: How to Warm Up for a Weights Workout to Build Muscle

When I first began training many years ago, I didn’t warm up. I would walk into the gym, load the weights up and lift a relatively heavy weight without any structured ritual prior to the actual working sets. As you can imagine, I did incur injuries as a result of this poor training practice; fortunately only minor soft-tissue injuries.

It is so important to warm up for a weights workout correctly. Warming up facilitates blood flow to the muscles being used and prepares yourself mentally for the heavy working sets for maximum output. Warming up effectively reduces the risk of injury significantly and will boost your performance profoundly. So, it is imperative that you do warm up for a weights workout every single time.

I have experimented with various warm-up routines over the years, from cardiovascular based warm-ups, to various weight based warm-ups. Based on both science, professional and personal experience, here is what I have found to be most effective.

1. Perform a weights based warm-up (not cardio based)

A cardio based warm-up is going to warm you up. But, it fails to target the specific muscles being recruited in their respective proportions for the weight bearing exercises that immediately follow. Further, a cardio warm-up does tend to expend a significant amount of energy relative to warming up on a weights based exercise. You should be conserving energy for the heavy lifting sets to come.

2. Warm-up on a large compound exercise (which should be your initial set anyway)

Generally speaking, it is wise to begin a weight based routine with the most demanding exercise. This is because you will be fresh and able to exert the necessary energy for maximum results. So, warm-up by using this exercise. This will not only encourage blood flow to the correct muscle groups to be used, but you will also re-familiarise yourself with the required movement and ensure that your technique is correct for the heavy sets to come.

3. Follow a structured warm-up routine

The structure that I have found to be most effective is as follows (assuming a minimum weight of 6 reps to failure is being used):

1. 10 reps @ 50% of your working weight
2. 6 reps @ 60-70% of your working weight
3. 2-3 reps @ 90% of your working weight

The initial two sets encourage blood flow to the muscles to be utilised. They also serve the vital purpose of allowing you to critique your technique at a lighter weight and become confident in your movement.

The final set still accomplishes the aforementioned benefits, but it also allows you to adjust yourself to the weight for the heavy sets.

Rest in between sets allowing adequate time for recovery. Additionally, ensure that your repetition tempo mimics that of your conditioning sets.

4. Perform inter-workout warm-ups if necessary

Whilst not always necessary, it can be greatly beneficial to throw in a quick warm-up set if the next exercise you are to perform is quite different to the previous. This serves two major purposes:

1. You facilitate blood flow to any muscles not previously worked
2. You become comfortable with your exercise technique

Generally, you can use about half the working weight and perform about 5 reps.

If the exercise is completely different, you may need to perform a couple of sets, or more reps, until you are completely satisfied that you are primed for the new motion.

If the exercise is similar, you may only need to perform a couple of reps, if any at all.

Let’s examine a simple back day, comprising of 6 sets:

2x Deadlifts
2x Lat Pulldown
2x Seated Row

A full warm-up would be performed prior to the deadlifts, as this is certainly the most physically demanding exercise. Then, a quick warmup of 5 reps at half the weight would be appropriate when you move onto the lat pulldown, due to the different nature of this exercise. Since the seated row is a similar motion (utilising similar muscles) to the lat pulldown, I would generally just perform a couple of reps at about half the weight. There is no need for a full warm-up here.

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Effective Post-Workout Supplementation

Immediately following a high intensity workout, your body is like a sponge where it soaks up nutrients to facilitate cell repair. Therefore, it is imperative to supplement effectively and immediately following your workout. This is particularly important when seeking to build muscle, but also just in recovering from a high intensity workout.

The first vital aspect to your post-workout supplementation is to consume your protein shake immediately after the conclusion of your workout. This means as soon as you pack away your equipment and go back into the change rooms. Every minute counts – so do not wait 15 minutes to consume a protein shake when you get home. That’s 15 minutes of nutrient uptake that you are missing out on!

Within your protein shake, there should be two key fundamental ingredients:

1. A high quality, fast absorbing protein powder
2. A high GI carbohydrate

The high quality, fast absorbing protein would ideally be whey protein isolate. Whey protein isolate, or WPI, is a whole protein derived from milk and has an extremely high biological value. This means that your body is able to utilise the amino acid constituents of this protein source very effectively. Whey protein isolate is also absorbed very quickly, generally within 30-90 minutes (individual absorption times will vary), meaning that the nutrients contained within can facilitate cell repair as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, a high glycemic index carbohydrate is imperative to assist in the uptake of amino acids (which are primarily sourced from the breakdown of the proteins contained within the protein powder). This is because a high GI carbohydrate secretes insulin, which facilitates amino acid uptake within the muscle cells. Glucose, dextrose and/or maltodextrin are highly cost effective options that has an extremely high GI, suitable for post-workout supplementation.

In addition to these two key ingredients, there are other important ingredients for post-workout supplementation that will enhance your results, especially when seeking to recover and synthesise muscle tissue:

1. Leucine - A very important amino acid in protein synthesis
2. Glutamine – The most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue and which has a profound benefit for boosting your immune system
3. Vitamin C / E - Both powerful antioxidant vitamins to again boost your immune system

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Testing Your Mental Limits with Exercise

High intensity training is not for the faint hearted. It takes discipline, determination and focus to create an extremely effective, intense workout. And when you do it, you will suddenly realise that exercise is far more involved than just “going for a run” or “lifting weights”.

It’s no wonder why athletes have sports psychologists to calibrate their mind to produce maximum output during a race. For, it doesn’t matter how fit you are, if your mindset isn’t in check, you will not be able to produce amazing results.

Intense training, whilst extremely effective, is really tough going! The first time you attempt a really full-on workout, you will be utterly shattered upon the conclusion of that exercise session. Whilst that may be seen as a downside, as far as I am concerned, this is a huge advantage of high intensity training. For we learn best when we are faced with a challenge. In this case, a mental challenge.

You see, when you do push yourself to your physical limits, your mind begins to tell you such things as:

• Slow down, I’m tired
• Ouch, my legs are sore, give me a break
• This is too hard!!
  
• Don’t worry about giving it 100% now, you can always make up for this workout at a later date
  
• I’d much rather be lying down at home right now

And it will come as no surprise that you can be really effective at convincing yourself to do exactly the opposite of what you initially set out to do. It’s as if there is an angel and a devil on either shoulder, so to speak.

One major benefit that is often overlooked is the mental discipline it requires to flick that “devil” off your shoulder. Even though your body is screaming out at you to “STOP!”, you have enough mental toughness to push through that pain barrier. Not only will you obtain maximal physiological benefits, but the psychological benefits of this approach is extremely profound.

If you have the ability to control your emotions in such an extreme circumstance, how is this going to affect your day-to-day life? What if you are placed in a highly stressed situation? What if you are extremely frustrated? Chances are, you will be able to control yourself with the benefits attained from constantly testing your psychological extremities with high intensity training.

I have written a more comprehensive article on this topic that you may be interested in reading, The Psychological Benefits of Bodybuilding.

With all intense training, it is always imperative to first ensure that it is safe to do so. So always consult a doctor prior to initiating an exercise regime.

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10 Quick Weight Loss Tips

One thing I haven’t written about are 10 really quick weight loss tips. So, I figured I’d post up some quick and practical weight loss tips that you can implement immediately!

Weight Loss Tip #1: Smaller Meals, More Regularly

It is far more beneficial to eat smaller meals more regularly to keep your metabolism fired up throughout the day. So, rather than having three square meals, aim for 6!

Weight Loss Tip #2: Interval Cardio

Interval cardio is far more effective than steady state cardio. But, ensure that your intensity is high and that you are fit enough to do it!

Weight Loss Tip #3: Lift Weights

It’s a myth that weights only build muscle. It is far more effective to lift weights and perform cardio, rather than performing cardio alone. That’s right – weight training isn’t just for the guys!

Weight Loss Tip #4: Drink Water

Water contains no calories, yet requires energy to digest. So, drink up and ensure that you obtain 2-3L a day under normal circumstances (more if you are particularly active or in a hot environment)

Weight Loss Tip #5: Eat Veggies!

Many vegetables contain very few calories. In fact, many veggies (including carrots, broccoli, spinach and celery) contain so few calories that your body requires more energy to digest them than what is contained within!

Weight Loss Tip #6: Consume Low Glycemic Index Foods

Under normal circumstances, opt for low GI foods. The carbohydrate contained in low GI foods are absorbed over a longer period of time than in high GI foods. So, you don’t get a sudden surge of carbohydrate which will be counter-productive to weight loss.

Weight Loss Tip #7: Eat Good Fats!

Fat doesn’t just turn into fat. So you shouldn’t aim to eliminate fat altogether from your diet. In fact, you need good fats to assist with weight loss. Fish oils, nuts, avocado and seeds are all examples of exceptional quality fats to assist you with fat loss. But be careful with your quantities – too much fat could lead to a calorie overload causing weight gain!

Weight Loss Tip #8: Sleep

Sleep is a very important part to weight loss. During sleep, you recover from physical activity and secrete important hormones responsible for the metabolism of fat. Without a good 7-8 hours of sleep, you will be inhibiting your weight loss potential.

Weight Loss Tip #9: Get Support

Whether you have a training partner, join a group fitness club, exercise with your spouse or hire a fitness professional, get some support. Going at it alone can leave you feeling isolated and can really eat into your motivation levels over time.

Weight Loss Tip #10: Stay Consistent!

If you read this blog regularly, you will know that consistency is a recurring theme. A single workout here or there will have a negligible effect on your weight loss. Similarly, a good day of eating amongst many poor eating days will do nothing for your body. You need to find something that you can adhere to in the long-term and not sporadically.

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An “All-or-Nothing” Approach to Weight Loss is Doomed for Failure

I’ll admit it, I used to be a perfectionist. If something was only 99% complete, I had to spend significant portion of my time completing that last 1% of the job. After all, a job isn’t done, until it’s done…right? Well, the irony of the situation is that this final 1% would account for less than 1% of the importance of the project, yet it could take over half of my time!

I’m not here to talk about project management however, for I have plenty to learn on that particular subject! What I do wish to talk about is in regards to weight loss and undertaking an “all-or-nothing” approach to losing weight. This is perfectionism in disguise.

In case you are not familiar with what I mean by an “all-or-nothing” approach, I am simply referring to either being 100% committed to weight loss, or not committed at all. There is no in-between as you are either losing weight the most effective way you know possible, or you’re not bothering at all. This would constitute either following a full-on diet and remanding exercise regime, or pigging out on your favourite junk food whilst being a couch-potato. It’s black and white with no grey shades – you’re either losing weight or you’re not.

Does this sound familiar? If it does, ask yourself (honestly) if this approach is working for you in the long-term:

If yes, then you probably won’t get much value from this article because you’re already doing a great job at losing weight effectively.

If no, then an “all-or-nothing” approach just simply does not work for you. In fact, it doesn’t work for the vast majority of people. To be completely honest, in my years as both an exercise enthusiast and a professional personal trainer, I have never met anyone who claims that such an approach to weight loss has been effective for them.

An “all-or-nothing” approach is great for short-term, quick weight loss. If you are looking to lose weight over a few weeks, then this may be the solution for you. But there is a catch. By giving 100% to your weight loss endeavours, you will not be able to:

• Uphold this level of willpower in the long-term
• Develop some long-term strategies for weight loss
• Sustain the weight loss that you encounter in the short-term

Why? Well, an all-out approach requires you to place yourself far outside your comfort zone in regards to nutrition and exercise. You won’t enjoy it because you are depriving yourself of various aspects to your lifestyle that you love. Hence, you require willpower. Unless you want to live an unhappy life, in reality you are not going to be able to maintain this willpower forever. Eventually, you will cave in and revert back to poor lifestyle habits. These poor lifestyle habits will necessarily result in weight accumulation and you may find yourself back at square one in very little time at all.

This above scenario happens time and time again with extreme approaches to diet and exercise. It is also known as “yo-yo dieting” or more technically “weight cycling”, where you undertake a cycle of weight loss, then weight gain, then weight loss and so on indefinitely.

There is another very critical flaw in an “all-or-nothing” approach to weight loss – the guilt associated with “falling off the wagon”. Here’s a scenario:

You have been on a diet for two weeks and have lost an amazing 4kg of weight. You have been craving sugars, but have managed to summon the necessary willpower to adhere to the dietary guidelines. But then, you are invited out for a dinner at a restaurant. You see the menu and justify having a treat because you have lost so much weight. So, you order a large three course meal and have a few alcoholic drinks.

The next day you wake up and feel gross. You are disappointed with your eating last night and just feel really down on yourself. Although you don’t want to, you jump on the scales and see that you have gained a kilogram of weight. Disgusted at the sight of this weight gain, you binge all day long to comfort yourself.

You have fallen off the wagon, so to speak, and blame yourself. You cannot stick to that diet…maybe you are just meant to be overweight?

The guilt that is associated with “falling off the wagon” is a very powerful emotion. It can force you to give up on your weight loss goals altogether due to one simply slip up.

The reality of the situation is that this 1kg of weight loss was probably primarily a result of fluid retention from the additional carbohydrate intake the night before. You would have still been well and truly out in front of where you began too. But in reality, it’s hard to see this when you feel like a complete and utter failure. Emotions are much more powerful that logic, especially “in the moment”.

Now in contrast to this, a “lifestyle” approach to weight loss does not allow you to “fall off the wagon”. In fact, you aren’t on a diet at all. Consequently, you do not:

• Require excessive willpower
• Feel anywhere near as much guilt if you treat yourself
• Feel as if you are on a diet

A “lifestyle” is all about losing weight in a manner that you enjoy. You don’t follow some silly strict guidelines, yet you set yourself up in an environment that is:

1. Enjoyable
2. Effective for weight loss

An “all-or-nothing” approach may be effective for weight loss in the short-term, yet it is not enjoyable. The fact that it is not enjoyable means that you will not be able to sustain this approach in the long-term. In contrast, a “lifestyle” approach is enjoyable and thus you will be able to remain at a lower weight indefinitely.

So what is your ideal lifestyle approach to weight loss? That is something that you will have to figure out, possibly with the assistance of an exercise professional. You have to allow yourself to enjoy the foods that you love to consume, yet in a moderated manner in conjunction with a healthy, well-balanced dietary intake. You will also have to adhere to some form of exercise regime that you enjoy – whether that be outdoors, in a gym, at home or as part of a sports or leisure activity.

A lifestyle approach to weight loss is all about implementing some common sense principles into your routine. Yes, good old common sense! If you would like to continue to read further on this topic, then I strongly recommend my article, How to Lose Weight. This article will expand on this “lifestyle” concept to weight loss.

I wish you all the best in your weight loss endeavours!

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Why Is Infomercial Exercise Equipment So Ineffective?

I was just thinking about the Cardio Twister article that I wrote up not too long ago. There is no doubt in my head that many people purchase this particular product with completely unrealistic expectations and fail to see the desired results, even though they may use the apparatus on a daily basis.

Upon considering infomercial exercise equipment in a general sense, I do hold the belief that the vast majority of these products are a complete waste of money for the vast majority of people who purchase them. Whilst this may be a result of unrealistic expectations, right now I am questioning why that is so. I have some thoughts on the matter which I am going to share with you.

Starting with the television advertisement itself, it’s obvious that these infomercials are not targeted to avid fitness enthusiasts. They are clearly designed for people who have little knowledge on the methods required to lose weight, build muscle and tone up. From my experience, it is commonly accepted by the uninformed individual that practically any form of exercise is going to result in weight loss. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Furthermore, it is a general belief that exercising a particular area of the body will necessarily result in a physical change in that particular area of the body. Again, this is not so.

These television advertisements seem to exploit these notions that are widely accepted, yet completely unsubstantiated. Furthermore, every single infomercial advertisement that I have viewed for exercise equipment hones in on the viewers emotions to promise them their ideal physique. Because your body shape is a highly personal attribute, it is far easier to close a sale by promising you the world, so to speak.

Being on television instantly gives a particular product a fair degree of credibility, just because it was aired on television. So really, these products don’t need to be effective at all – the marketing company just needs to have enough funds to put together a half-decent advertisement. Casting of some fitness models will add an extra degree of credibility to the machine, even if they have never used this equipment as part of their training regime (yes, this is a fact).

When I think about these infomercial fitness products in more depth, I have come to realise that they are all practically the same. Whilst the actual piece of equipment may be different and the motion in which you exercise varies, these infomercial products carry some common themes practically across the board:

• There is practically no science or research to back up the claims put fourth
• There are implications that minimal effort will result in maximal changes
• They suggest that exercising a particular area will tone that specific area
• They promote ridiculous and unhealthy transformations, such as losing 10kg in a week
• They promise that you will be amazed at the results in an extremely short period of time
• This equipment is a revolution in the health and fitness industry

Ultimately, we all want to hear that we can get into the shape of our lives with minimal effort – that’s just human nature. Unfortunately though, our human physiology does not allow for this. An abdominal machine, vibration machine, or any piece of exercise equipment for that matter is not going to change the way that the human body operates.

It has been proven over the years that consistency with a structured approach to both exercise and nutrition is the way to the physique that you desire. Using an abdominal machine or a vibration machine for a few a minutes a day as a substitute for a good lifestyle is not going to produce any noticable results.

A final thought. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Please be skeptical when you see exercise equipment advertised on television. These “too good to be true” products are only going to burn a hole in your wallet, make you feel bad about yourself from lack of results and waste a lot of time in the process.

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Is MSG Safe to Consume in Your Diet?

Yesterday, we published a really interesting article on MSG, or technically known as Monosodium Glutamate. Prior to editing this article ready for publication, I must admit that I knew very little about MSG. I did find this article really interesting, so I wanted to blog about some important points raised within the article.

I guess it’s fairly common knowledge that MSG is associated with “Chinese food”…but is MSG safe to consume in your diet?

Interestingly, MSG was discovered at the turn of the twentieth century in Japan. So this particular molecular compound has been around for a little while. It was actually first made by boiling dried kombu seaweed.

In 1968, MSG began to obtain it’s bad reputation when the New England Journal of Medicine published an article on what was referred to as “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”, which began the bad stigma of MSG today.

Here’s the thing – MSG is a natural substance. As I mentioned above, it was derived initially by boiling seaweed. But MSG is found in a variety of foods naturally, such as grape juice, peas, beef and walnuts.

To date, there is no conclusive evidence that does suggest that MSG is dangerous. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t dangerous – it just means that we don’t know whether MSG is or isn’t safe to consume in your diet.

Much like artificial sweeteners, consuming MSG will come down to personal preference. It is used in a variety of foods, so if you do make the choice not to consume it, I do recommend that you read the full article. Within the article, we have listed a range of aliases used on food products that are the equivalent of MSG.

The full article is here:

The Truth About MSG – Is MSG Dangerous?

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How to Get a Six Pack or a Flat Stomach with Crunches

Crunches can be a very effective tool in developing abdominal muscle tissue. The rectus abdominus is your “six pack” muscle, which is the outer most abdominal muscle group that is visible when you have a very low body fat percentage. The better developed your abs are, the more prominent your six pack will be.

The same is true for people wishing to obtain a flat stomach, rather than a well defined six pack. Apart from lower your body fat, if you develop the rectus abdominus, you will have a far more toned midsection.

Abdominal work targeting your six pack muscle can come in a range of forms. You can perform floor crunches, ball crunches, cable crunches, cable ball crunches, decline crunches and a variety of other exercises. It’s important to note two major things:

1. Crunching work is effective for rectus abdominus development. Sit-ups are not. The difference lies in your motion – with crunches you go from a straight back to a curved back. With sit-ups, you keep a straight back and pivot from the hips.
2. Crunch work is effective for muscle development, not fat loss. You cannot spot reduce fat from the midsection specifically. For fat loss, you should consider a combination of weight training, cardio training and smart nutrition (I have a link to an article of interest at the end of this post).

So, the question remains:

How to Get a Six Pack or a Flat Stomach with Crunches?

You may be surprised to find out the answer:

Keep it short and intense.

In fact, performing too many sets can induce an endurance response. This is great if you are trying to perform hundreds of crunches for a particular reason (fitness test, competition, personal goal etc.). But if you are trying to develop the abs, this is going to be a big waste of time.

As a very general rule of thumb, 3-4 high intensity sets can be more than enough to stimulate a strength and hypertrophy (or muscle development) response. Aim to keep the repetitions low, below 12, so you are overloading the abdominals with a fair degree of load.

If you are inexperienced, then this would probably not be the best approach. You do need to have a good foundational abdominal and core strength before you can begin lifting heavy loads without an unncecessarily increased risk of injury to your spine. If this is the case, aim for around 15-20 reps under the guidance of a professional personal trainer.

The key is this – the rectus abdominus is just like other muscle groups – it is a functional muscle responsible for movement and is capable of significant growth. Whilst the muscle fibre composition of the rectus abdominus may vary from other muscles, the abs grow in the same manner as all other functional muscle groups. For example, many people will perform a few heavy sets on chest because this has been shown to be quite effective for hypertrophy. However it baffles me why those same people perform 10 sets of crunches with a total rep count of 50 or more!

I hope this helps in your quest for a six pack. Keep it simple and stick to scientifically proven methodologies, rather than following what everyone else does.

Because obtaining a six pack or a flat stomach is often the result of weight loss (as fat tissue will cover the outer layer of your rectus abdominus), I strongly recommend that you have a read of my article, “How to Lose Weight“. This article will explain the basic principles behind weight loss, which will help you in significantly reducing your waistline.

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Gym Busy? How To Workout In A Busy Gym

I like my workouts to be really short, preferably under half an hour excluding my warm-up. So naturally I don’t want to be waiting around for exercise machines if the gym is particularly busy. Whilst I am fortunate not to work in a 9-5 job and thus be forced to train during peak times, there are still days where the gym is more crowded than usual.

So, what do you do about this? You’ve basically got to do the best with what you have available. Here’s a few tips that I utilise whenever I run into such a problem.

Avoid peak gym times if possible. Pardon the obvious, but if you can, try to avoid peak training times. These are often before work, during lunch break and after 4pm in the afternoon. Often Saturday mornings are particularly crowded also.

Ask to work in with other people. If the machine you wish to use is in use, ask the person if they mind working in with you. Whilst they are resting in between sets, you can perform your set. This way, no one is inconvenienced. Be sure to return the favour – after all, the gym is there to share.

Be flexible in your weights routine. You may have a great routine, but if you don’t have the apparatus to execute that weight training plan, there isn’t much use now is there? An intense 30 minute session will often be far more productive than a drawn-out 60 minute session. So, find an alternative exercise to perform that utilises similar muscle groups and that is suitable for your goal. A little improvisation can save you a lot of time and frustration!

Perform a free-weights or body weight based regime. Free weights are often far more freely available than machines. A gym may often only have one smith machine, a couple of lat pulldowns or other cable machines. If you try to utilise your bodyweight, dumbbells and barbells as much as possible, you may be able to significantly decrease the possibility of having to wait for any required equipment.

Modify your workout days. If it is really that bad in the weights room (I know it can get quite hectic in there), try switching your days around. You could train another group of muscles that day, which is particularly useful when everyone is training chest on Monday! Alternatively, you could switch around a cardio and weights workout, as cardio often requires far less wait time in a busy gym environment.

Sign up to another gym if it is really that bad. If you can’t get an effective workout completed in a reasonable time, you may be better off finding an alternative gym with more facilities or less people around. You may even prefer to set up your own home gym, which can be done without too much outlay.

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Should I Cheat When Weight Lifting With My Form or Lifting Technique?

“Cheating” when weight lifting is really common. Look around the gym and no doubt you will see people sacrificing their lifting technique to pump out a few more repetitions. Is this an effective method of training?

Possibly for muscle growth in specific circumstances. The jury is still out as to whether or not having “textbook” form is more effective than cheating with your weight lifting form. There is no solid scientific evidence to date that proclaims cheating more effective than having strict form with absolute certainty. There are many people who would swear black and blue one way or another, but the science just isn’t there to conclusively prove either point.

One benefit to cheating is that you can obtain additional repetitions. This is of use especially if you are training with an eccentric, or negative phase focus. You are much stronger on the negative phase of any exercise than on the positive (or concentric phase). Therefore if you cheat on the concentric, you may still be able to control the eccentric phase and thus obtain the benefits associated with eccentric training – including hypertrophy and strength development.

One problem with cheating with your lifting technique is that you take the load of the muscles you are targeting, at least on the concentric phase. Consider bicep curls – if you swing, you will recruit your legs more than your biceps. Alternatively on seated shoulder presses, if you move your hips forward you may recruit more chest muscle tissue than is desired, thus taking the load off the deltoids (the shoulder muscles).

If you are cheating just to obtain more reps, or lift more weight, without any other reasons (such as focusing on the eccentric phase), then in all likelihood you are taking the load off the targeted muscles are thus reducing the effectiveness of that exercise.

The other major issue associated with poor form is the significantly heightened risk of injury. As soon as you begin to throw weights around without particular consideration of correct lifting technique, you do run the risk of hurting yourself. Injuries can come in all shapes and sizes from a minor muscle tear, to chronic tendinitis or an acute back injury. If you have minimal weight lifting experience (less than a few years) and do not have a specific reason for cheating with your technique, then I would very strongly advise to drop the weights back and focus on correct weight lifting technique. It just isn’t worth the risk.

Finally, if you are cheating just to lift more weight because you feel that:

1. This is more effective because you are lifting more weight
2. This impresses other people
3. Your self confidence is improved

Drop the weight back – no question about it:

1. Lifting more weight whilst sacrificing your technique is dangerous if you do not know what you are doing for the reasons explained above.
2. Other people don’t really evaluate your worth as a human being based on the amount of weight you can lift.
3. The amount of weight you lift should not be a function of your self confidence. If you feel that it is, you will need to do some internal work on how you feel about yourself. I’m no psychologist, but training to boost your own ego is an accident waiting to happen.

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