Technique!!!

Sorry this tip is coming to yas so late- it's just been one of those days! *smiles*

I was at the Stratford Town Hall today to workout, and there was a man there who inspired today's tip. He stood beside me and was doing bicep curls with about 35lbs and let me tell ya, his biceps were barely getting any of the work done.

The poor man was using momentum to swing the dumbells up and down. His elbows were moving forward and back and after about his third rep he was swinging the weight so hard he was coming off his heels onto his toes. I'm surprised he didn't fall over! Now, I'm not trying to be mean, but this is why it's so important to educate yourselves on how to preform an exercise properly so the appropriate muscle is working, and so you don't get injured!

When preforming a bicep curl, you first need to keep your elbows in place at your sides, and your upper arm shouldn't move. Second, you need to set your shoulder girdle. Everyone raise your shoulders up towards your ears, now draw them back and your shoulder blades together, then drop them down. This is how you set your shoulder girdle and is the proper form you should be in for pretty much every single exercise.

Setting the shoulder girdle will produce a much greater contraction in the muscle you are working! Don't believe me? It sounds like such a simple thing but go grab a weight or heavy-ish object around you and try doing a bicep curl as you normally would, then set your shoulder girdle as I explained above and feel the difference.

So that's the proper form for your shoulders and arms; the form for the rest of the body is pretty straight forward; stand with a slight bend in the knees to support your lower back and engage your abdominals. Exhale as you bring the weight up, inhale on the way down and don't lock your elbow at the bottom, keep a slight bend to protect your joints.

Remember, quality over quantity. If you find yourself using a lot of momentum to preform an exercise, be kind to your body and pick a lighter weight.

I'll make sure tomorrow's tip comes earlier! Thanks for reading :)