There are three aspects of fitness we don’t always think about while working out. These three things are so important, yet often overlooked. I’m talking about form, flexibility and fatigue. Knowledge is power when it comes to the fitness world: the more you learn and understand, the better the results you will obtain.
FORM
This is the most important part of working out because, if you perform an exercise incorrectly, at least one of two things are bound to happen: a lack of results or, worse, a chance of injury. If you’re performing an exercise, such as a squat, you need to make sure your form is absolutely perfect before you decide to add any weight. If you can’t do the exercise correctly with just your own body weight, you have a very high chance of hurting yourself, and on top of that, you will not be working the muscles correctly.
Good form for a squat is sitting back and down, placing your body weight into your heels and not allowing your knees to go past your toes by keeping them in line with your toes. Your upper body should lower down into a 45-degree angle at the base of the movement, making sure not to lean too far forward, while also maintaining a straight spine.
If you can achieve perfect form, then you can start to add weight.
Start by holding a dumbbell or a plate to your chest. If you can achieve perfect form with that weight, it’s safe to move up in weight again by holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides. You can keep increasing weight to the dumbbells, or move to the barbell with plates, and you will begin to see results without injury — as long as you can keep perfect form and alignment.
FLEXIBILITY
A lot of people don’t stretch enough. Flexibility is very important, not only for keeping the muscles loose enough for injury prevention, but also for allowing an increased range of motion. For example, if your hamstrings are so tight that you can’t touch your toes, how would you effectively perform a full leg curl? The muscle cannot work at its full potential when it only stretches to a certain range.
Stretching the muscle will allow deeper range and, in turn, more work will be loaded into it. The bottom line is the greater the flexibility, the greater the results. And remember not to stretch cold muscles: always warm up first or stretch immediately after your workout. When you put a rubber band in the freezer and pull it apart, it will break, and your muscles will react the same way. They need to be warm in order to stretch safely.
FATIGUE
Short-term fatigue (lifting heavy weight, sprinting, etc.) is different than long-term fatigue (running a marathon, taking a spinning class, etc.) In short term fatigue, we can skip or shorten our repetitions in our sets or even take a break before we add on another set. Once the muscle starts to fatigue from the heavy weight, usually in the last one or two sets, that’s when you will see change happen in muscle growth.
If you aren’t at the point of fatigue yet you may want to add on another short set until you feel that muscle fatigue setting in. Having a spotter is great for forced reps, so that they can assist you to finish the set.
Long-term fatigue is a whole other animal. Feeling tired and lacking oxygen pushes your body to the max. To increase long-term muscle fatigue resistance, you can train in short interval bursts. Try to sprint for 20 seconds after every few minutes of a run. Try a HIIT class, such as the G.R.I.T. Series or if you’re just getting started you can even set your treadmill or activity tracker to a quick jog/long walk interval.
Above all else, make sure you listen to what your body is telling you. Slow down if something doesn’t feel right. If you’re taking a steady-state cardio class like Zumba or BODYCOMBAT and you feel light-headed, take a break and join back in when you feel you’re ready again.
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
Our bodies are machines. If you take care of yours by using proper form, stretching to prevent injury, and listening to whether your body should push through the fatigue or take a break, you will start to notice change. And, most importantly, you can stay consistent with your progress because you are able to come back the next day and do it again, safely and effectively. If you’re new to working out, start slow and steady. Ease into it and take it one workout at a time. No matter if you’re new or if you’re already in a routine with your workouts, listen to your body. It will thank you and give you great results in return.
Heather Dykstra is an AFAA certified personal trainer and has been a group fitness instructor for over 13 years. She is currently involved with the Plant City Family YMCA.