Form is the posture and positioning of your body during each movement of any exercise. Slow deliberate movements are essential to exercise. Your movements during exercise should be slow and concise. Whether you are weight training, doing yoga, or working your abdominal muscles, you must use slow deliberate movements. This doesn’t mean your exercise routine must be slow paced. This means your movements should be concentrated, focused, and intentional. Slow movements ensure you are performing the exercise properly, not using the joints and momentum to complete your repetition. Performing each movement slowly allows you to concentrate on your form. And your form influences the gains you make. Make each repetition count.
Most people underestimate the importance of stretching. Stretching takes up extra time that could be consumed with more important activities. Perhaps you think if you stop to stretch you will have to reduce the time spent on the rest of your workout. If that turns out to be true, don’t fret. Stretching is an essential element of health. Stretching is as important as the exercise. Stretching prevents injury and prepares your body for your workout. Stretching after exercise increases flexibility, another element of health. Flexibility allows you to maximize your movements while you perform each repetition.
Work your muscles evenly. Many people concentrate their efforts on specific muscles. Time is limited and most individuals don’t want to waste a second’s worth of time on a body part that doesn’t accentuate the parts they most wish to emphasize. The problem with this mentality is that your muscle groups work in conjunction with one another. Each muscle group has a corresponding “partner” group. When one set of muscles is contracting, the opposite muscle group is relaxing to allow the movement. If one muscle group is worked more than the other, that muscle group will be stronger. The stronger muscle group may respond quicker to a movement. If the weaker corresponding muscle group doesn’t react as quickly, an injury to the muscle will occur.