Time to Reflect on your Training
I think most gym-goers are used to seeing guys in their tight tops flexing their muscles and checking themselves out in the mirror. They are truly dedicated to themselves and seem to have no shame about it and why should they? They have worked very hard to get that physique. What most people don’t realise is that the mirrors are not there to show you how great looking you are, but in fact they are one of the most important pieces of gym equipment available.
The gym’s mirrors
These reflective walls should play a huge role in your fitness development, allowing you to watch your technique from a variety of angles. If you are really strict with your exercises then the mirror could be the cheapest personal trainer you will ever have, showing you exactly where you are going wrong. Combine the mirror with our great new Exercise Library and you will have an ideal combination to help you achieve your goals.
Why is technique so important
There are a couple of main reasons why getting the exercise technique exactly right is important.
- Safety – If you perform an exercise with bad technique then you stand a very good chance of giving yourself an injury. It could be an immediate injury or it could be long term by building a weakness in your body that takes time to appear. Either way the injury may be permanent which could prevent you from training. Even if it is not permanent, the slightest injury can keep you away from the gym which could send you back to square one.
- Benefits – The body likes to cheat in all exercises and often uses other muscles to help the movement and make it easier to do. This is what happens when you do not use a good technique. This means that the muscle you want to be training is only getting a fraction of the benefit as the exercise is being shared by other muscles. Eventually the muscle won’t get worked as hard as it should be, resulting in slower muscle development and also reduced calorie usage. This all slows down your progress and makes that fitness goal harder to achieve.
How to use the mirror
How you position yourself in front of the mirror really depends on which exercise you are doing. It’s important that you understand the exercise and which movements should be avoided: those are the movements that the body can add to an exercise that helps make it easier, but in fact spoil the perfect technique that should be your aim. You must realise that the mirror is not there to show you how well you are doing but to help you to avoid cheating and using poor technique to complete a chosen exercise.
An example
The bicep curl is a very popular exercise and you will see gym-goers using the mirror when they are doing this. The most common mistake I see is that they stand facing the mirror making faces like a constipated gorilla as they attempt to lift much more weight than they should be. There are two common errors that occur when doing the bicep curl that prevent you achieving a perfect technique: the first is arching the back to help swing the weight up and the second is rolling the shoulders again to help swing the weight up. It therefore goes without saying that if you stand facing the mirror you will not see if you are making this error in technique as well as if you stand side-on. By standing side-on you will immediately be able to see if you are arching your back or rolling your shoulders. Of course standing completely side-on could strain your neck as you try and perfect your technique, so pick an angle of around 45 degrees so that you can see a bit of everything.
Summary
The key to perfecting an exercise is to understand how the body will want to cheat. The “Don’ts” of an exercise are as important to learn as the “Do’s” and that is why we highlight these at our Exercise Library so that you can perform the exercise perfectly using your new found friend at the gym: the mirror!
We wish you all the best for all your training and exercise and hope that by perfecting your technique you will indeed reach your desired goals.
Good Luck!
October 25th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I love looking at myself when working out. I can see my position and collect it.
October 25th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Thanks for this very informative post. This is a nice blog and will be looking forward to read more from you.
March 5th, 2009 at 7:44 am
I dont know what i would do without a mirror. Its so important to get your technique correct from the start for both your training effectiveness and safety. The worst thing you can do when working out is swinging your body and using momentum to lift. By using a mirror you will notice if you are doing this and be able correct your technique.