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Positioning Yourself for Perfect Form

Summary & Participants

We've all heard about folks who have thrown out their backs picking up a box. And most of us have received the advice, "Lift with your knees!" at one time or another. You can imagine how important it is to adhere to the rules of good posture if you're a weight lifter. Good posture and maintaining strength in the center of the body are two golden rules of proper weight training. Join our experts as they discuss the principles of proper posture and "core strength."

Medically Reviewed On: May 07, 2008

Webcast Transcript

JIM RAMSAY: I think a lot of fitness facilities today have hired excellent staff. Certified strength and conditioning people that are nationally certified work with individuals in the gym, or persons coming in off the street for the first time getting involved in weight training. A lot of gyms will set them up with a personal trainer for their first couple of sessions. So that person automatically is learning proper technique, proper form, and what's going to maximize their workout, what's going to allow them to get to their goals.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: I know we have some video and one of the most common exercises at the gym is the bench press. I usually think everybody likes to go to that because you're lying down. "Oh, I can lie down in between reps." But we're going to take a look at some video right here you see rolling. We have an unidentified man bench pressing there. Why don't both of you guys take turns commenting on his form there?

JIM RAMSAY: One of the main things we try to stress with our athletes is a neutral spine. Basically what that is, David, is it's contracting the abdominals and the low back and trying to keep the abdominals in a contracted position. It puts the spine and your pelvis in neutral, reduces the risk of back injury and at the same time, while you're doing any exercise it's going to condition those muscles. This individual is arching his back off the bench. You can actually see daylight coming through underneath his back. So he's not maintaining a neutral spine and that can lead to injury in his low back and actually reduce his ability to lift the proper weight and lift it properly.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Jonathan, what's your take on this video?

JONATHAN GLASHOW, MD: Well, just to start with, I think the bench press is probably a horrible exercise for most day-to-day people. I think everybody loves to do it and loves to do it too aggressively, and I wind up seeing a lot of injuries brought on by that one exercise.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: What kind of injuries?

JONATHAN GLASHOW, MD: I think people over-challenge themselves and they tend to lift too much and when doing so, going back to what Jim was saying earlier, their form is slightly incorrect and the shoulder is in a very precarious position in the bench press. Now with the Rangers and with supervision like Jim gives them, that's great. But for most athletes who walk into the gym off the street for the first time and the first thing they happen to see is the bench press, all their buddies ask them, "How much can you bench press?" So it's a natural attraction to that machine.

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