Exercise form - control

For me, proper form when performing difficult work sets is all about control. If you are not in control of the weight, how can you train with it in a productive manner? When I say control I mean not shaking to balance the weight, not lifting it unevenly or too speedily. Not letting it crash down in between reps. Lifting the weight smoothly and in a measured fashion. Lifting it strictly, respectfully, aesthetically. To the onlooker, movement should look precise and deliberate. Please do not take this to mean that the load must not be taxing: quite the opposite.

The challenge does not solely lie in lifting the weight. Not simply getting it from start to finish. It is the way that the weight is lifted. It must be dominated. Not in a reckless fashion, thrown up and down, but with the same care that a craftsman uses a tool. This is where the difficulty lies. It takes a great deal of focus and effort to lift a weight that is heavy in this way for a handful of work reps in the bench press, or complete a set of 20 rep squats. Just like the swan analogy: it may appear close to effortless, but actually the lifter is straining to ensure that the correct form is maintained in the lift.

This level of control requires total focus and enough proficiency in the correct performance of the exercise so that weight follows the correct path almost automatically. Stuart McRobert talks of the pause test, where a lifter should be able to stop at any point and hold the weight briefly and then continue. He advocates this as a test of form and control.