The Importance of Form and Technique in Your Fitness Journey: Why It Matters.

Q&A with Personal Trainer Ryan Guthrie

Correct form and technique are key ingredients to success in the gym - a good PT will keep a close eye on both.

Here Personal Trainer Ryan explains why it's so important to find a trainer who pays attention to these, not just increasing weights or burning calories.

Why is this so important?

• One obvious benefit of exercising with correct form is to prevent, or reduce injury risk.

• Making sure the correct muscles are being targeted also ensures better results and more effective breathing.

How does this apply to every day life?

It can be transferred to daily life, the way you pick up heavy items when cleaning, or posture when you're sitting down.

Can you talk us through the Romanian Deadlift (RDL) in the image above?

In the image above you can see the correct form for a Romanian deadlift, the feet are positioned hip width apart and the toes are facing forward, to provide stability throughout the lift.

• The knees should be soft but not bent, this allows for more tension through the hamstring as well as keeping the focus on the hip extension and preventing the exercise to transform into a squat.

• The hip extension in an RDL is a key ingredient for a successful lift.

• A coaching point I like to use during this lift is that: if there was a piece of string around your waist when standing still and someone pulls it from behind, the hips will follow the imaginary string while every other aspect of your body remains, allowing a perfect hip hinge.

• All of these points contribute to great form and technique for the exercise.

• But the most important aspect shown in the image is holding a neutral spine. This is crucial , the spine should remain neutral and straight throughout the movement, with the core engaged. This prevents injury from common errors such as curvature at the spine.

• There are many little coaching cues used in multiple exercises that can help you remember and in turn, lift more effectively. Form is fundamental!