Is there such a thing as "perfect" form when it comes to exercise?
You probably already know the answer, but we're gonna talk about it anyway
The idea, to me, that there is only one correct way to perform an exercise, and that if you don’t perform it precisely that way under the exact correct conditions you’re going to get hurt or achieve a substandard result is a bit unrealistic.
Where else in life is there only one solution for everything and everyone?
It’s not something you see in sports, music, or art. Of course there are people that tout their methods as the one right way in these pursuits as well, but often those who we admire as the very best often have some kind of supposed flaw to their art that makes it unique.
This flaw is what we commonly call style. Exercise as we currently know it saps any essence of style or personalization from physical activity. Exercise is supposed be done in the most mechanically sound way, with exact cadences, ranges, and positions. It is choreography to an ideal movement pattern.
The point of the exercise in this situation becomes to perform it to some external standard - not to get the result we desire from it (getting stronger, body awareness, skill acquisition, etc).
So how do we change from performing an exercise to get it “right” to molding the exercise to our individual needs and goals?
We can create this shift by prioritizing appropriate exercise selection based on a clear intention and feedback from our body, and a sensible approach to intensity, volume, and recovery.
Seems too easy, right?
Think about it like this: the purpose of exercise is to expose the body to graded amounts of stress, gradually increasing over time to improve the body’s ability to handle more and varied stimuli. In short: you do stuff that’s a little hard and different to be able to do more hard and different stuff in the future.
If it’s not hard enough, the body won’t adapt. It won’t need to, since it already has the capacity to do that thing.
If it’s too hard, you won’t be able to do it.
Example: say your goal is to be able to run faster. You decide that you want to run a mile in 8 minutes, but currently it takes you 9 minutes. If you walk slowly, you won’t get better at running, because, well, you’re not running. If you try to sprint as hard as you possibly can, you probably won’t be able to run a mile at that speed. It’s too much. The key is to run a little bit faster over time, giving your body enough stimulus and enough time to adapt and actually get faster.
“But Tyler, my couch to 5K program says I should run sprints, that I need a mix of steady state and high intensity interval training. What about that?”
Yeah, probably. Try it and see. Maybe that’ll work for you. Most exercise programming is anecdotal: either a person who was successful in that pursuit was asked enough times “how did you do it?” and they decided to create a program to share their “secrets,” or they trained enough people to do the thing that they felt they figured out how to do it well enough to share widely.
Think of that more like a suggestion from a friend, or a piece of advice. It’s not the be all, end all truth. The issue is that most exercise advice masquerades as such. Even the things I post in this newsletter are just suggestions - not absolutes.
Shocking, I know.
The truth is (and I’m breaking the magicians code here), most anything will work if you’re going from doing nothing to doing something. Famed (in small circles) strength coach Dan John says “anything works for 6 weeks.” That doesn’t mean go bananas and try to do everything all at once, driving yourself into the dirt for the next 6 weeks. It’s more about realizing how adaptable the body is, if you give it a chance.
The point is this: exercise is more about figuring the right amount of what to do, not knowing the exact perfect way to do a movement. Think more about sets, reps, weight, frequency, and recovery, and the rest will fall into place and your risk of injury will probably be reduced as well.
What you do is a different story, and depends entirely on what you’re trying to get out of exercise. That’s your intention - your goal, purpose, or motivation. That is the North Star that guides what, how much, and how often you practice your exercises. Use that to inform what you do and how you do it when you exercise, and the rest will fall in line
.
I always say “exercise” and “form” are man-made inventions that came about from a huge mismatch in our lifestyles. Because most people are so disconnected from their bodies, I think it was easier to just set blanket statement and universal “rules” across the board to keep anyone who participated in this new endeavor of exercise safe.
Great read, Tyler.