Gym mirrors are for checking your form, not your hair (also check out the flip side workout videoif you haven't already)
Today my scheduled run called for a slow 4 miles. It made me think back to my first lesson that running taught me: Sometimes to get faster(or better), you have to go slow, even if its a little tough on the ego.
I bring this up, because its an important lesson in fitness, even if its somewhat counter intuitive. A lot of people get caught up in the amount they can lift or how many reps they can do and forget about their form. Those mirrors in the gym are there for a reason, and no, it isn't to check your hair! Going slow forces you to focus on your form, make more efficient movements, and even build more muscle mass.
So in your next workout, try this with an exercise like the curl:
- when pulling up the band (or weight) slowly count to 3.
- At the top of the rep, count to 2.
- And before returning to the bottom count again to 3.
The whole rep should take about 8 seconds. Its going to make the exercise a lot harder, but hey, I didn't say going slow was easy!
