How to learn muscle exercise techniques on your own?

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2014-09-20

This question is perhaps the most challenging one that people face when training independently. These individuals typically train either at home or in a gym without a trainer. It doesn't matter why a person is without a trainer; what matters is that there is no one to demonstrate the exercise technique. If there is no one to teach them the proper technique, it becomes a serious obstacle to progress.

So, can one learn exercise technique on their own? To be honest, the technique of most self-taught individuals I've seen leaves much to be desired. This is despite the fact that there are a vast number of videos on YouTube dedicated to this topic, and many of them are of good quality. But why, despite such an abundance of materials, do most people still struggle to learn good technique on their own?

Reasons Hindering Self-Learning

1. Lack of Motor Skills

Often, it is quite difficult to simply watch a video and then apply what you saw to yourself. Any motor skill (and exercise technique is indeed one) requires learning not visually but by actually reproducing it with your body. Visual watching alone will not help form a motor skill.

So, a person watches and tries to replicate what they see. But they lack the motor skill! One time they do it one way, the second time they do it differently. And there’s no one to correct them. Thus, the motor skill cannot form. Or, even worse, it forms incorrectly. That is, the person, without realizing it, learns the wrong technique. And getting rid of such errors can be very challenging.

2. Individuality of Technique

The second reason lies in the fact that videos primarily show classical (averaged) execution techniques. However, different individuals may have various characteristics when performing certain exercises. People can have different body proportions, muscle strength, flexibility, etc. There may be injuries, illnesses, or surgeries they have undergone. All of this can modify an individual's exercise technique.

So, a person might try to "fit" the standard technique, which might not be suitable for them.

3. The Pursuit of Weights

This is a scourge not only for beginners. However, when a person trains alone, there is no one to monitor them from the outside. Often, beginners, after correctly performing a few repetitions, immediately grab for heavier weights in their excitement. And all the technique they just learned goes out the window.

How to Learn Exercises on Your Own?

1. Watch videos. This is the first step. It is also desirable that the video not only shows the exercise but also explains various nuances. Moreover, it’s important to watch several videos, as most exercises have several variations in execution techniques. On our website, in the EXERCISES section, we have gathered the best and most informative videos on exercise technique.

2. Use a deliberately light weight. For some exercises, even no weight at all. Perform the exercise for several dozen repetitions per set. If the exercise allows, do it in front of a mirror and slowly. That is, use weights that are too light and perform the exercise slowly.

Ultimately, you should feel the most fatigue in the muscles targeted by the exercise. If you feel other muscles working, you are doing it incorrectly. Or perhaps this technique does not suit you. Try changing angles, grip width, foot placement, etc. Repeat the exercise and pay attention to the sensations in your muscles.

You should experiment until you clearly feel fatigue in the muscles that need to work in the exercise.

3. If you have found your style and ascertain that those muscles designed to be activated are indeed fatigued, your technique learning is still not complete. The motor skill has yet to be formed. One session will not be enough.

You must memorize the technique that suits you and try to recall it at your next workout when that exercise comes up again. When, after several weeks or months, you can perform the exercise correctly and automatically – congratulations! You have learned to do that exercise. Moreover, you do it automatically. This means that even if you stop training for a year or more, you will easily recall the necessary movements afterward.

Conclusions

Today, the internet provides you with an enormous amount of information. Sometimes, this information can even be of very high quality. But knowing something theoretically and applying it in practice are two very different things.

To correctly repeat what you have seen and heard, you need to be patient and not jump ahead of yourself. If you perform exercises correctly, the weights will come. But not the other way around. I hope this article encourages you to approach learning the technique of strength exercises in a more detailed and systematic manner. Good luck!