Just how bad is bad form?

[recent addict]

Ok, so here I am trying to do everything right, hitting a good range of bodyparts with what I think is good form and not going too heavy on the weight.

Yet I've got a mate who goes to the gym on a mission to lift the absolute max weight he can. With TERRIBLE form! I'm talking swinging his back and hips into his curls and arching his back and ass a foot off the bench while he's pressing 1.5x his bodyweight. I never hear the end of how much he's lifting.

But the kicker is, he's getting some pretty awesome results. Much more so than me.

What's up with that?

[VampireChick]

Yet I've got a mate who goes to the gym on a mission to lift the absolute max weight he can. With TERRIBLE form! I'm talking swinging his back and hips into his curls and arching his back and ass a foot off the bench while he's pressing 1.5x his bodyweight. I never hear the end of how much he's lifting.

What a dork :roll:

[rose]

If his form is that crap that he's got hips a foot off the bench etc, sure he might be getting good gains now, but he'll pay for it later on in life (or sooner, i.e. injuries).

Don't mimic a muppet.

http://stronglifts.com/how-to-bench-press-with-proper-technique-avoid-shoulder-injuries/

"If you don’t Bench Press with proper technique you’ll injure yourself sooner or later."

"Common Errors. The following Bench Press errors are either inefficient or potentially dangerous. Avoid them at all costs...

Glutes off the Bench. This makes the distance the bar travels shorter & thus the Bench Press easier. However it puts pressure on your back, especially when the weight gets heavy. You’re more stable when your glutes are on the bench. Keep them there."

Edit: next time he mentions how heavy he's lifting, repeat that part about it being easier with glutes off the bench. If he doesn't listen, leave him to it :wink:

[holdenman]

I think this has been discussed before but talking about bad form and good results just watch some of the pros training on youtube, lots of them have terrible form!

[rose]

I think this has been discussed before but talking about bad form and good results just watch some of the pros training on youtube, lots of them have terrible form!

Yeah but do they have hips a foot off the bench? :shock:

You might get away with it early on/every so often but I like to think longer term when it comes to my back. Who wants to be a bed-ridden cripple? :pfft:

[holdenman]

I think this has been discussed before but talking about bad form and good results just watch some of the pros training on youtube, lots of them have terrible form!

Yeah but do they have hips a foot off the bench? :shock:

You might get away with it early on/every so often but I like to think longer term when it comes to my back. Who wants to be a bed-ridden cripple? :pfft:

Absolutely agree, Im not saying its a good thing just that there are people out there who are successful with bad form. Wouldnt risk the injuries myself either, plus you look like a complete knob to everyone else in the gym lol.

[rose]

Absolutely agree, Im not saying its a good thing just that there are people out there who are successful with bad form. Wouldnt risk the injuries myself either, plus you look like a complete knob to everyone else in the gym lol.

I just can't see a pro getting respect for lifting heavy with his hips a foot off the bench. People'd be thinking/saying wtf, surely?

Or am I just being dumb? :shifty:

Post a link to one, I wanna see! :pfft:

[holdenman]

Absolutely agree, Im not saying its a good thing just that there are people out there who are successful with bad form. Wouldnt risk the injuries myself either, plus you look like a complete knob to everyone else in the gym lol.

I just can't see a pro getting respect for lifting heavy with his hips a foot off the bench. People'd be thinking/saying wtf, surely?

Or am I just being dumb? :shifty:

Post a link to one, I wanna see! :pfft:

Im not talking about the hips a foot off the bench thing, just that some have bad form but admittedly not that bad lol.

[1day]

Absolutely agree, Im not saying its a good thing just that there are people out there who are successful with bad form. Wouldnt risk the injuries myself either, plus you look like a complete knob to everyone else in the gym lol.

I just can't see a pro getting respect for lifting heavy with his hips a foot off the bench. People'd be thinking/saying wtf, surely?

Or am I just being dumb? :shifty:

Post a link to one, I wanna see! :pfft:

Im not talking about the hips a foot off the bench thing, just that some have bad form but admittedly not that bad lol.

i hear what ur saying, i think every1 slips into a bit of bad form as they try to push themselves on either moving up a weight of pushing for that last rep out. i think if u realize ur doing it ,ur 1 step ahead of those who dont relize, therefor because ur aware of it u try to stay on form with the other 80-90% of ur workout.

my 2 cents :roll:

[rose]

Im not talking about the hips a foot off the bench thing, just that some have bad form but admittedly not that bad lol.

Phew. I thought I was missing something really important that everyone else knew, thereby leading to epic FAIL etc :pfft:

[musclenz]

I just can't see a pro getting respect for lifting heavy with his hips a foot off the bench. People'd be thinking/saying wtf, surely?

Or am I just being dumb? :shifty:

Post a link to one, I wanna see! :pfft:

Im not talking about the hips a foot off the bench thing, just that some have bad form but admittedly not that bad lol.

i hear what ur saying, i think every1 slips into a bit of bad form as they try to push themselves on either moving up a weight of pushing for that last rep out. i think if u realize ur doing it ,ur 1 step ahead of those who dont relize, therefor because ur aware of it u try to stay on form with the other 80-90% of ur workout.

my 2 cents :roll:

I agree 1day that there is occasionally time for the use of "Bad Form" as long as you know it is bad form. ie on a very heavy DB curl last few reps, where you are pulling up the whole stack on the seated row after moving down the stack doing sets, etc. But its not a good idea to use bad form on certain exercises where damage & injury can result ie. deadlifts, squats, bench press to name a few.

[Bobsta]

I think strict form is very important when you 1st start out, you need to have good form so that you learn how to feel your muscles working through their full range of motion, feel them stretch and contract without the risk of injury, simply because you dont have enough experience to know what could hurt you and what feels right.

However as you progress and gain more experience you can start loosening up your form to a degree, you would have developed a feel for things by this stage and kinda create your own style of lifting which might not look like text book good form but you get a better feel doing it your way.

Dont forget you need to have quite a bit of experience behind you before you can graduate to this stage.

The pros that you often see that seem to have imperfect form compared to what you've been taught or read in books, have just developed their own form that suits them best and stimulates their muscles the best simply because of years of training they know what feels right and what doesnt.

After all we all have different biomechanics and its not the case of one form fits all

[recent addict]

I think this has been discussed before but talking about bad form and good results

Yes in a nutshell "bad form and good results" is was what I was questioning, apologies for not seeing a prior discussion.

What I've taken from the above responses is that technique that risks injury is always bad but that sometime 'incorrect' form may just be using a range of motion that suits the experienced lifter and, with reasonable limits, can help up the weight.

I've deliberately not been fussed about what weight I'm lifting and just make sure that I'm in the right rep range when I reach failure/exhaustion. Is there much to be said for the mindset of focusing on increasing the weight (strength) and letting the rest (size/shape) take care of itself?

[recent addict]

I just picked up on this comment in another thread

does what your doing come under the catagory of strength training? in which case you would get better at that excersize but not necessarily get muscle mass gains from doing so?

I think my friend's bad form / heavy weight routine has resulted in great strength gains but comparably minimal size.

How does strength training differ from bodybuilding?

I'm sure there'll be a nice article or previous post somewhere, could anyone point me in right direction?

[SoaringSwine]

I just picked up on this comment in another thread

does what your doing come under the catagory of strength training? in which case you would get better at that excersize but not necessarily get muscle mass gains from doing so?

I think my friend's bad form / heavy weight routine has resulted in great strength gains but comparably minimal size.

How does strength training differ from bodybuilding?

I'm sure there'll be a nice article or previous post somewhere, could anyone point me in right direction?

A bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. But there are many other factors determining strength e.g. neural efficiency, central nervous system response, tendon strength, leverages and technique. Strength training focuses on training improving all of these factors (not leverages though, but getting bigger/smaller can change them), typically strength training uses lower rep ranges. But higher reps are still used for hyperthophy on occasion.