Hire a trainer or start learning the exercise technique yourself? In just 5 minutes, you are 99% likely to know the correct answer. All novice athletes are interested in whether it is possible to learn the technique of performing strength exercises yourself? This is essential for their continued progress. If there is a good coach in the gym, then there are no problems. Unfortunately, such people are difficult to find. If finances allow, then you can hire an instructor for money, but again here everything can run into their lack.
Often, beginners independently comprehend the basics of bodybuilding, and they have to learn from their own mistakes. Now you can find a lot of information on the net, not only text, but also video. However, this would be easier with an experienced instructor. Let's find out if you can learn the technique of doing strength exercises yourself. Let's start with why it is sometimes difficult to master the correct technique.
Motor skills when learning new techniques
In order to perform the exercise correctly, it is necessary to have a combination of several levels, from which the entire movement is built. It is simply not possible to achieve this instantly and it is necessary to work a lot. Motor skills are the workings of the muscles and the brain.
Many are sure that to master any exercise, it is enough to watch the video a couple of times and everything will become clear. Unfortunately, in practice this does not happen and it is very difficult for novice athletes. It is best to start with a light weight and focus entirely on technique. When all movements are brought to automatism, you can begin to increase the working weight. When studying video tutorials, you should pay attention to the smallest details. For example, where are the elbow joints or the deflection of the lower back.
Take your time to increase your working weight by learning techniques
Many beginners want to quickly become like their idols and try to increase their working weight more often. This is especially true of the bench press in the prone position. In almost every gym, guys are figuring out who can bench the most weight. It is the pursuit of great weight and the fear of looking weak in the eyes of others that is the main reason for the lack of good technique.
Those people who are familiar with anatomy and physiology can quickly tell which muscle groups a particular exercise is developing. Although already from the name of most of the exercises, this can be found out. It should be noted that if you understand anatomy, then this will be a plus. Of course, you do not need to go deep into this, but the simplest knowledge will not be superfluous for you. As you gain experience in the classroom, it will come. For example, consider an exercise that builds your biceps. In order for only this muscle to be involved in the work, you should press the elbow joints and shoulders against the body. If the exercise is performed technically correctly, then only the target muscles work, and all others are excluded from the movement. All this leads to the growth of the biceps.
If you use a lot of weight, then physically you cannot use only the biceps and begin to help yourself using the accessory muscles. In this case, the load is distributed, and the target muscle is not fully worked out. At the same time, the biceps is a small muscle and if the technique for performing exercises for its development is violated, then you will only slow down its growth. In bodybuilding, there are movements that, if the technique is violated, can cause serious injury, for example, deadlift.
A few more words must be said about training videos. Of course, most of them will be useful to you, but they show the standard technique. This does not take into account the individual factor. Standard technique will not work for every athlete.
How to master the technique of performing exercises correctly?
All exercises have techniques of varying difficulty. If we talk about whether it is possible to learn the technique of performing strength exercises yourself, the answer is yes. Start by watching an instructional video. Moreover, one should look for those videos in which not only the movement itself is shown, but there are explanations of all its nuances.
Start with a low weight. We already said above that when using a lot of weight, you will not be able to perform the exercise correctly, and you will constantly break the technique. Move slowly and smoothly so that you can control all movement. There are mirrors in almost every room, and they will help you follow the technique of the movement.
If you do everything correctly, you will feel fatigue in the target muscle. If there were violations of the technique, then other muscles may get tired and in this case it is necessary to make adjustments. And now a few general rules that will help you master the technique of any movement:
- The back should always be flat. This applies to any exercise, and get in the habit of keeping an eye on your back position from the very first session.
- The sports equipment must be lifted smoothly. Cheating is used only by experienced athletes and you still have everything ahead.
- Be sure to warm up. This should be done at the beginning of the lesson and before performing each movement. Pay attention to the fact that even experienced athletes in the gym perform one or two sets with an empty bar.
Here are the basic rules that will come in handy in the hard work of bodybuilding. Get ready for the fact that you will not be able to do everything right away and this is normal. No one is immune from mistakes. It is necessary to show perseverance and patience. This is the only way you can build your body and make it attractive and strong. Start mastering the basic exercises first, as they make the muscles grow. For the first few months, you will not need exercise machines, and muscle mass will increase.
A visual aid for learning techniques for performing the nine basic exercises in this video:
