The Form Police
As Youtube video clips become more and more popular, it appears that there has been a simultaneous increase in self-certified exercise form freaks. It is officially time for the form police to return their crack jack badges. I am calling for a worldwide recall.
Just recently, the following video clip was posted to my forum. Within the clip, you will see an absolute beast (Matt Kroczaleski) perform rows with a three hundred pound dumbbell.
Matt Kroczaleski is an accomplished powerlifter with some incredible lifts. He’s squatted over 1000 pounds, benched over 700, and deadlifted over 800. You can read more about him here.
Most members of the forum were blown away by his strength display. Anyone with any experience in any strength related activity will realize how impressive Kroc’s strength truly is. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before the form police came out from hiding.
I had someone email me asking what was so impressive about the video. Rather than offering a written response, I wish I could have instead strapped three hundred pounds to his arm and let him find out for himself. He ridiculed Kroc’s form, and of course had his own suggestions. Such a response is typical from the form police. They almost always include a line such as, “What I would do is…”
No One Cares!
Do these people ever stop to think that no one cares what they would do? I don’t mean to sound rude or offensive, but if someone wanted your opinion, I’m sure they would ask for it. I find it particularly amusing when members of the form police hold down other positions such as armchair quarterbacks or 120 pound 15 year olds who struggle to carry in a few bags of groceries.
These self-appointed know-it-alls are quick to offer advice and suggestions on topics that they don’t understand. If knowledge is power (as suggested by Sir Francis Bacon), these people need to buy a generator.
Despite what some might like you to believe, working out isn’t a sport. Unless you compete in a specific lifting event, no one is keeping score. You don’t get judged on how you pick up a piece of iron or how you perform a pull-up. There are times when you need to go for broke. You bite down and use everything that you have to lift the weight or complete the exercise. Yes, there are benefits to this kind of training!
Just for example, did you ever play tug of war as a kid? Did anyone judge how you pulled the rope? Did your parents comment on strict pulling form? Did they offer advice on controlled pulling to maximally target the latissimus dorsi? Of course not! There was only one thing that mattered and that was pulling as hard as you could to ensure your side won. You clenched down and pulled with every ounce of strength that you had. No one had to tell you to do it. It’s just what you do. You naturally wanted to win!
I knew this even back in the 1970’s at age 3! (I’m pictured in the middle)
And I still know it now…
If you’ve never lifted a significant load the way that Kroc demonstrates, how can you comment on potential pros and cons? It doesn’t make sense. I don’t offer advice to NASA on how they should improve their space shuttle design. I don’t know what I’m talking about. My opinion on the subject is about as useful as pissing into a windstorm.
And please don’t misunderstand this entry. I’m not suggesting that we disregard form entirely and seek out ways to injure ourselves. Conversely, we all need to realize that others often do things for specific reasons that we may not realize or understand. For example, in the video below, Kroc discusses his use of the row and how is has benefited him significantly in terms of improving his deadlift:
Clearly, his use of heavy rows has benefited his performance significantly. Whether the resident expert on a fitness message board approves of his form is irrelevant. No one cares. Improved performance is what truly matters to the competitive athlete. The results don’t lie. Kroc’s results speak volumes to the effectiveness of his training.
Talk Is Cheap
No one wins an argument on the Internet.
To the former form police officers (who have returned their badges), we don’t hold your past against you. We’ve all made mistakes. I simply encourage you to focus your time and energy on yourself. Worry about your goals and needs, and realize that others are likely doing things for different reasons. There is a good chance that you won’t understand these reasons. You don’t walk in another man’s shoes, so you have no idea why another man does what he does. Whether or not you understand doesn’t matter. Athletes don’t do things in the gym to satisfy the form police. Athletes work in the gym to better themselves for specific events. Competition is specific, and working out isn’t a competition.
Athletes don’t argue with each other on the field or inside the ring. Athletes compete. What you do in the gym is often unknown by all spectators. No one cares. Fans come out to see you compete. Differences are settled not through verbal insults, but instead through live competition.
When it comes to training, the ends often justify the means.
26 Comments so far
Leave a reply
“No one wins an argument on the Internet.”
Truer words were never spoken.
I totally agree.
Being able to lift in proper and safe form is important for obvious reasons. But people need to realize there will be times when breaking form is necessary in order to achieve certain goals.
Exercise form has always been a touchy issue.
[...] reading on Ross’ blog. Find out more on Ross at http://rosstraining.com/ This entry was written by Darryl Holtby and [...]
Recently, the athletes I coach were deadlifting and another coach hopped in with them to show he could lift more. The kids wanted to see me lift something heavy so I obliged and simply did 135, 225, and 315. They asked me to do 405 as well and I did, but not soon after the other coach called me out claiming “that was ALL back coach. you’re gonna hurt yourself.”
“oh really? then, by all means, please show me how to do it right.”
“I can’t lift that,” was his reply.
“exactly.”
and, honestly, its 405 lbs. anybody with a little bit of serious strength training can pull that.
Damn, that is just insane. 300 lb. rows. That’s power. They were not textbook form, but damn, who cares. He’s a POWERBUILDER, not a BODYBUILDER.
As usual, you’re right on the money, Ross. If only we could get this idea out to everyone as much and as often as the “form police” do their bizarre rules.
The form police run rampant on youtube videos featuring kipping. The majority of the people that run around talking shit on youtube have zero credibility and zero videos to back up their claims.
As always, excellent words of wisdom, Ross.
Gil
I think it’s good that you drew the distinction that working out and competing are not the same thing. Automatically I thought about chess and how training with precision and form IS all important. I guess that can be likened to specific skill training, whereas with work outs, as you say, it’s much more about the effort and results than form. Your philosophy of exercise as “means not an end” is helping me pick stuff that is fun that I’ll actually DO, instead of stuff I hate but people say is optimal.
Todd – One of the points that I’m trying to make is who says what constitutes good form? Unless it is a competitive event, there is no scoring. If an exercise helps an athlete improve in his event, that is good form in my eyes.
And that is the message I hope to convey.
Ross
I rather like this blog. I often use a technique on barbell bench press where I do not go all the way down. In fact I stop 1.5 Inches from my chest in order to isolate my chest and not get my shoulders too involved in the lift. People often tell me that it is poor form, and ignore the fact that I am experimenting. Certainly if I was in a competition lift, it wouldn’t be counted, but the only person I compete with is myself.
Form police are candy asses who have never really pushed themselves to their own breaking point. they will never know the joy of it!
wow at this awesome display of strength…thank you for this blog entry…you are the man Ross
This is why I always disable comments on any video I upload. It’s always guaranteed the know it all’s, asswipes, etc will come out of the woodwork
I see it all the time too. Sometimes you have to go for broke and dig in.
Two things from that video really stood out to me. Firstly, Matt is a beheamoth! Unbelievable physique for a guy that is a function first athlete.
Second thing that stood out was… did you see the size of that DB??? I didn’t even know 300lb DB’s existed! It must have been custom made. Just looking at the size of it is crazy, let alone Matt lifting it with one arm! That’s more than most people squat or deadlift!
On the exercise form, the “body english” does make me wonder, maybe that’s WHY these guys are as strong as they are. I wonder if the whole concept of “perfect form” really does have as much merit behind it as people think. Just about every strong man I have seen train uses some body movement when lifting. Pushing the legs when benching, slight leg kick on shoulder press, torso movement on rows. Maybe this is the key to strength, more weight, teaching the body to work as unit, not over exaggerating to the point of injury.
Sometimes I think people follow the “perfect technique” mantra, not because they know or have proved to themselves that it holds true, but because they’re following the old “everyone knows it to be true” route.
I really enjoyed reading this post and thoroughly enjoyed the video clip. Thanks Ross!
[...] a recent post on his blog Ross Enamait complains about Form Police in regards to criticisms on the performance of someone [...]
It’s crazy with the youtube commenting form police. Plus, rows are an exercise that cannot benefit you unless you do it with biomechanically optimized form. Which means to do them the way your body wants you to do them.
[...] thing I want to dispel here is the dogma of form. In the gym, if you’re lifting a maximal weight for one rep, you’re probably going to [...]
Er, I just saw this. This is pretty damn good form for a 300 pound lift!! I mean, he took that MF load and pulled it up from a full stretch.
Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman (past Mr. Olympias) are freaky strong (especially Coleman, with 700 lb deadlifts), 250+ plus in contest shape, and lift with a similar technique.
These wannabe cops are missing the most obvious point – if the form doesn’t compromise safety, it would be natural to conclude that the PROFESSIONAL athlete is doing such incredible feats to a greater end that they (so-called police) cannot fathom.
I recall another incident by the “form police.” This was in the ross training forums. There was a post to a video of an Iowa wrestling strength and conditioning workout. There were all kinds of posts about the so-called horrendous form they were performing. But when you get down to it, they were doing a workout that would cause most men to walk away scared.
IT is about the competition and not the means to get there. The Iowa program is renowned for taking their athletes to their mental peak. Sometimes an athlete needs to look at an overwhelming “workout” and determine what they are made of.
Iowa won the national championship last year without a single national champion. IT took these wrestlers a tremendous amount of intestinal fortitude to accomplish what they did, being knocked off the front side of the bracket and fight back on the back side. This video gives a glimpse of one piece of the puzzle on what developed this kind of mental toughness.
Great post. When I was a sophmore(I’m a senior now) in high school i got pulled up to varsity some loser 3rd string quarterback said something under his breath about my form on a 110 dumbell row… little did he know my ipod had the wire pop loose so i heard loud and clear. The conversation turned into
“You got a problem with my row asshole”
“Nahh i just said you have bad form”
“Yeah well it seems to have worked for me considering im 2 years younger then you and start and you get to go in for the last minute to kneel the ball”
Havent spoke to him since
i showed a “master trainer” and head inhouse instructor [6yrs experience] with a major luxury fitness chain a viddy of KB specialist Steve Cotter [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcvHaRaqJNo] specifically because i knew what his reaction would be to the hopping pistols beginning at :29
“his form sucked”
“you’re f*cking kidding me right? you just watched a man do 5 bounding pistols onto a standard height table without touching down and THAT’s al you have to say?”
“but it wasn’t [whatever BS he babbled- i can't be bothered recalling]”
“can YOU do it ONCE?”
“that’s not the point”
“no, actually it kind of sort of is the point”
but then this was the guy who opened his lecture series to newbie trainers telling them that bodybuilding doesn’t work.
but then his skinnyfat *ss never actually tried.
just sayin’
Totally agree with you Ross!
Basic principle of human movement is that we are designed to move through up to 3 planes of motion with all of our body systems working together to achieve any given movement. Isolation training has its purpose but its not how we are naturally designed to move.
Sometimes you just got let it rip and put yourself to the test!