5 basic techniques to help improve and strengthen your workout
Why is technique important?
By understanding the technique of the movement you’re doing, you’ll be able to incorporate and activate more muscles. This means you’ll work at an optimal level and reach your goals faster.
The correct technique helps to prevent injuries from occurring as well as re-strengthen muscles that have been injured.
With proper technique, you’ll be able to train for longer without causing injury to your body.
The correct technique needs to be practised before adding weight to build your strength. By focusing on making small changes to your muscles makes a huge difference in the long run.
Two technique tips to keep in mind for every exercise are:
- Keep your core engaged by squeezing your abs.
- Keep your shoulders away from your ears by locking your shoulder blades down and back.
Nathan’s got 5 basic techniques for your full body workout. You can check out his full Technique Fundamentals video and read more below for tips on how to reach your goals more productively.
The Squat
- stand with feet shoulder width apart.
- keep your torso tall and squeeze your abs.
- sit back as if you were sitting on a chair and keep your chest over your knees and heels.
- drive through your heels to then stand upright.
- do this in a controlled manner i.e don’t just flop down onto the chair!
The Deadlift
- stand with feet shoulder width apart.
- keep your shoulders locked down and back and squeeze your abs at all times.
- keep your arms straight and pointing down in front of you.
- lock your shoulder blades down and back.
- keep your knees soft and not locked in straight.
- start moving your hands down towards your knees while pushing your hips back.
- keep moving your hands until they are half way down your shins, with a slight bend in your knees/
- make sure your shoulder blades are locked down and back!
- push through your heels and glutes back to the starting postition.
This is a good technique to get right to help lift objects and prevent hurting your back!
The Push Up
- start in a plank position either on your knees or toes and make sure hips are in line with your spine, not up in the sky.
- make sure your hands are in line with your chest and not your shoulders or neck.
- squeeze your abs and lock your shoulder blades down and back.
- slowly bend your arms and come down as slow as possible.
- press your upper body up and extend your arms to come back up.
The Bent Over Row
- stand tall with your shoulder blades locked down and back.
- run your hands down to your knees and push your hips out.
- have a slight bend in your knees so they are not locked in straight.
- squeeze your shoulder blades and pull your arms back in line with your ribs to work the back of your arms.
Cuban press
- lift up your shoulder and elbows up and create a ‘T’ shape.
- move the arms up by rotating towards the sky and touch your fists together above your head, then reverse the movement on the way down. This is working the shoulders and back.
- if you feel yourself leaning back then take a step back with one leg to keep you straight.
Practice your technique in these workouts
Mathew’s Back And Biceps Workout
Chantelle’s Upper Body Workout
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