It’s so easy to stray from strict form when you’re in the heat of a good training session. You know the feeling – you’re in the groove, you feel strong, you’re handling more than you can usually manage and feeling pretty good about it, and basically it’s all going really well. It’s at a time like this that you can be forgiven for feeling that you’re in full control and making great progress.

But sadly that’s just one of those times when the way you feel can actually be leading you astray. You tend to relax your style and pay scant attention to detail, because … well, because you feel like you can’t go wrong. So, you relax your style, and you lift heavier than normal (‘cos you feel really strong, right?), and you let your focus slip. Alert!! That’s just when you start making a mess of your whole workout! And, incidentally, straying into the area where injury is likely to occur.

Remember, you’re there for a particular purpose, and only for that single purpose. You’re there to build up your muscles and get yourself in great shape. It’s not about how much you can lift. Actually, it’s never about how much you can lift, unless you’re a competitive weightlifter. And it’s not about how strong you feel, or how good you think you look (unless your trip to the gym is no more than an ego-boosting exercise). It’s about one thing, and one thing only.

Just what exactly is strict form?

In case you’ve forgotten (or you’ve never actually worked it out for yourself), let me enlighten you: you’re there solely to put certain muscles under concerted and repeated pressure in order to elicit a growth response from them. That’s it! Nothing more!

And the way to achieve that is to perform your exercises in strict form, and in such a way as to bring them to the point of exhaustion. So, what’s this strict form then? It’s strict in the sense that you do not allow the rest of your body to assist in the exercise. That’s putting it in a nutshell.

In other words, if you’re performing standing biceps curls, for example, you should be standing tall and keeping quite still, apart from the movement involving your elbows. It’s very easy (deceptively easy, in fact) to lift heavier weights by rocking backwards and forwards a bit, and by jerking the bar (or the dumbbells) up sharply, or by leaning into the exercise so that your shoulder and chest muscles become more involved than necessary.

In other words, if you’re performing standing biceps curls, for example, you should be standing tall and keeping quite still, apart from the movement involving your elbows. It’s very easy (deceptively easy, in fact) to lift heavier weights by rocking backwards and forwards a bit, and by jerking the bar (or the dumbbells) up sharply, or by leaning into the exercise so that your shoulder and chest muscles become more involved than necessary.

Yes, it’s easy to fall into that trap, but it won’t do you any good. Sure, it might mean you can add a few more discs on each end of the bar, or use heavier dumbbells, but remember … you’re not there to show off, or to congratulate yourself on lifting heavier than ever before. That kind of thing is irrelevant! You’re there to flex and stretch your biceps to their fullest extent, and to keep doing it till it hurts … and then keep on doing it some more. In fact, to keep on keeping on until you feel you simply cannot go on any longer.

Strict form is what promotes muscle growth

That’s what initiates a growth response! Your delts and chest will get plenty of exercise when their time comes. For now, they can rest. They will play a supporting role, of course – it’s almost impossible to flex a muscle in total isolation. But it’s your job to make sure they stay firmly in the supporting role and don’t stray into the spotlight.

And when the movement becomes painful, that’s not a signal to stop. Well, it is actually, but it’s a signal you must ignore. For the sake of survival, your body really wants you to keep some energy in reserve, something to depend on in case of unexpected demands. But long gone are the days of unexpected attacks by sabre-toothed tigers and the like … you can safely dispense with the warning signals that scream at you to stop so that you can save some energy. Right now you want to push further on, as far as you possibly can, ignoring the pain and flexing for all you’re worth. That’s the only way to ensure you’re creating the demand for muscle growth.

So maintain strict form and focus your mind on the exercise. I see people all the time in the gym paying virtually no attention to the exercise they’re supposed to be doing. They’re far too concerned with the screen of their mobile phone! Or they’re too involved in chatting to their training partner. Or trying to look cool because they’ve spotted a girl and they’d like to impress her. If they were focused on the exercise they’d hardly be aware there were other people in the gym, let alone concerned with trying to look impressive.

You can relax strict form … but only occasionally

Stick to strict form almost all the time. And I say almost because you might want to relax your style a bit once in a while so that you can actually lift a bit heavier. That’s understandable, and quite acceptable. But it’s an exception. Never let it become the norm. Leave the sloppy form for the hordes of gym-goers that hardly ever make any progress. Let them enjoy their music, or their Facebook chats, or whatever they’re doing on their phones. Let them chat amongst themselves, almost to the point where they’ve forgotten why they came to the gym in the first place. Let them be content to brag to each other that they go to the gym four times a week, or stay there for two hours at a time, or whatever. It’s all inconsequential.

Get to the gym. Stay there for a half hour, maybe forty minutes, an hour at most. Make sure you’re sweating and straining practically every moment. Crawl to the showers, exhausted, and try to blot out the chattering of the easy-going crew who barely if ever break sweat. Get changed and get out.

Remember, you’re there for one thing only. Do it, get a shower, get out. As long as you eat well, rest well and do it often enough, results will come.