I Respect the Little Guy with Good Form

I saw something interesting the other day at the gym.

I saw an average-sized guy in his mid 20’s who was obviously trying to build up some muscle. He looked like he had some padding (weight) on him, but he didn’t look too out of shape. The thing that caught my eye is what I saw him doing.

He was using the cables to do cable crossover flyes. I watched as his arms wildly flapped up and down in an uneven way. His upper body lurched forward and downward with each rep as he strained to move the weight at all costs. I watched him move on to other exercises and perform them with a similar style.

Who knows, maybe he really didn’t know how to lift weights. But then again, like a lot of other people out there, maybe he was just too embarrassed to lift the proper amount of weight for his strength level.

If his goal was to avoid looking silly in the gym, he certainly didn’t achieve it. Honestly, I thought he looked a lot more like a monkey trying to figure out how to fly than someone who’s serious about getting in shape.

Was I impressed by the big weights he was lifting?

Nope.

The Little Guy with Good Form

Perhaps I’m being a little too harsh on the poor guy, but I’m just trying to underscore the importance of staying within your limits as you exercise. Pushing your limits is always a good thing, but not at the expense of doing your exercises correctly.

I’d like to contrast this with a smaller guy I’ve seen in the gym lately. He’s a really short little guy who’s built about like your average pencil. I watched as he took a light dumbbell in each hand, laid on a bench, and slowly did a set of dumbbell bench presses.

With each repetition, he lowered the weight all the way down and pressed it back up. He lifted with good form and complete control, and I watched him continue pressing until he struggled to get his last rep. Most importantly, he chose a weight that was right for his strength level.

The fact that he was struggling to lift very light weights didn’t matter. I remember being in that position; I know what it’s like when you first start. I had respect for the fact that he was doing what was best for his strength level.

Just Do What’s Best for You

Unfortunately, it’s far too common to see people trying to lift more weight than they can handle. The funny thing is, trying to lift too much weight is exactly what is keeping them weak. In order to compensate for the heavy weights, it becomes necessary to use awkward body movements to move the weight, and this takes the stress away from the muscles that should be doing the work.

Think back to the monkey guy. Is it worth looking like that just so that you can lift more weight? Are you really afraid of people laughing at you because you are too weak?
Nobody will laugh at you if you stay within your limits.

Here’s why: many of the people in the gym were also overweight or weak at one time in their lives. They know what you are going through. They can remember their first time in the gym. They probably think to themselves, “I remember when that weight was hard for me too.” Even more likely, they’re not paying any attention in the first place.

If you are a beginner, use nice slow movements so that you can keep your exercises under control. You will be able to move to faster and use more explosive movements as you build strength and as your stabilizer muscles improve.

So forget about how you look and go to work. If you use good form in all of your exercises and stay within your limits, you won’t look stupid. People will respect the effort that you are making to improve. With time, you will become much stronger.

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This article was written by Jason, an author with World Fitness Network. World Fitness Network focuses on the art and science of building lean muscle mass – and an awesome physique. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to the World Fitness Network Blog.