All the Right Moves

At the gym last night I remembered something I was taught while training with a guy. A lift done right once is better than an entire set of lifts done wrong. The first thing I ever learned in a lifting class was form. Our teacher made us lift 5 lbs until we got it right. You could see the faces of some of the students. "Really? 5lbs? I could do that all day." Well it turns out they couldn't.

I still laugh when I remember being sore the next day from lifting 5 lbs. Later on in life a guy I lifted with just wasn't impressed with my curls. I was lifting a lot of weight, but I was throwing them up. Bad habit I picked up. I just wanted to do a lot of weight. He made me take 20lbs off, and do it right. And I couldn't even get a set of 8 knocked out.

Flash forward to my fat rear getting back into the gym. Old memories come back. Old moves are remembered. Old lessons renewed. Best feeling ever. Forget how much I used to lift. That was then, this is now. That's a whole other blog though. As I'm lifting, and trying to get my work out partner to back off the weight and lift correctly, I see the guy at the weight stack. He's got 60lbs in each hand and he's doing curls, sort of. It was a whole body movement, swinging, dipping, rotation of the waist and hips... he was getting a workout, but he wasn't isolating his biceps by any means.

I can tell he's not much into accepting tips. And at this point I'm in no physical shape to be trying to tell someone how to lift. You kind of need to be able to prove you know what you're talking about. It's like a fat guy trying to tell you how to lose weight... you get the idea.

It is tough, seeing someone you see as smaller than you lifting more weight. I've found that it's fun being a little older and wiser, while still having the youth to repair fast and go hard. So, I guess the lesson I'd like to make available is this; You are only cheating yourself by not lifting right.

Slow, controlled and precise movements are better for me I've learned. I'd be willing to wager that it's a good thing for others to pick up on as well. So what if you aren't lifting as much weight. If you just want to see how much iron you can move around, then by all means, go for it. I go to the gym to look better and feel better. 


Not to mention lifting weights wrong can really hurt you!


My advise? Why thank you for asking! Most gyms will give you a couple of free session with a trainer. I always take them. Even though I went to college, I can still learn something new.


That's it for now.