The article was written by Rachel Cosgrove and repurposed with permission from Men's Health.
What if you could instantly make any exercise 10 times more effective? Chances are, you can. That's because most people make tiny (but key) technique errors on even the most basic movements. And as it turns out, these seemingly minor mistakes may be preventing you from achieving the body you want. You see, an exercise may feel right, but smart exercising isn't just about moving your body from point A to point B. For big-time gains, you need to master the small details.
The good news: The best fitness coaches need only one sentence to tell you how to improve your results. Apply their words to your workouts, and you'll upgrade your routine instantly. Use these 18 tips from the top trainers in the industry to help you perfect your form, engage the right muscles, burn more calories, and lower your risk of injury.
It takes the same amount of time to do an exercise right as it does to do it wrong. So start squeezing more from every second of your workout.
Squat
What You're Doing Wrong
You're starting the movement by bending your knees.
Perfect Your Form
1. "Sit back between your legs, not on top of your knees," says Dan John, a strength coach based in Draper, Utah. Start your squats by pushing your hips back.
2. "When you squat, imagine you're standing on a paper towel," says Charlie Weingroff, director of sports performance and physical therapy for CentraState Sports Performance, in Monroe, New Jersey. "Then try to rip the towel apart by pressing your feet hard into the floor and outward." This activates your glutes, which helps you use heavier weights.
3. "Instead of raising your body, think about pushing the floor away from your body," says Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness. "This helps you better engage the muscles in your legs."
Pushup
What You're Doing Wrong
You're letting your hips sag as you raise and lower your body.
Perfect Your Form
1."When you're in a pushup position, your posture should look the same as it would if you were standing up straight and tall," says Vern Gambetta, the owner of Gambetta Sports Training Systems, in Sarasota, Florida. "So your hips shouldn't sag or be hiked, and your upper back shouldn't be rounded."
2. "Before you start, contract and stiffen your core the way you would if you had to zip up a really tight jacket," says Kaitlyn Weiss, a NASM-certified trainer based in Southern California. Hold it that way for the duration of your set. "This helps your body remain rigid—with perfect posture—as you perform the exercise."
3. "Don't just push your body up; push your hands through the floor," says Gambetta. You'll generate more power with every repetition.
Lunge
What You're Doing Wrong
You're leaning forward, causing your front heel to rise.
Perfect Your Form
1. "When you lunge, keep your torso upright, and focus on moving it up and down, not backward and forward," says Craig Rasmussen, C.S.C.S., a fitness coach at Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California. This will keep your weight balanced evenly through your front foot, allowing you to press hard into the floor with your heel—and target more muscle.
2. "Drop your back knee straight down to the floor," says Mike Boyle, M.A., A.T.C., owner of Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, in Winchester and North Andover, Massachusetts. Consider this a second strategy to help you remember that you should drop your torso down, not push it forward, as you do the exercise.
3. "To work your core harder, narrow your starting stance," says Gray Cook, M.S.P.T., the author of Athletic Body in Balance. The smaller the gap between your feet, the more your core has to work to stabilize your body. Your goal: Lunge so that it's almost like you're walking on a tightrope as you perform the exercise.
Click HERE to see nine more ways to upgrade your workouts from Men's Health!
More from Men's Health:
4 Ridiculously Easy Steps to Get Back on the Workout Wagon
The Crazy Way to Improve Your Deadlift
The 2-Minute Workout That Works Your Abs From Every Angle
Original article and pictures take www.womenshealthmag.com site
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