How to Get Better Results From Your Exercise Program

In order to achieve maximum benefit from an exercise program, it's important to get movement technique and control right. Good results won't be obtained by waving weights about vaguely, squatting and lunging in a wobbly, half-hearted way, doing Pilates without the spine in correct alignment or jogging along the street leaning forward, knees knocking together. An exercise program will be far more effective (and with less injury risk) if everything is performed with strong, controlled movements.

Weight training for the upper body, for example, should start with choosing the biggest weight that can be handled in a comfortable, controlled way. The participant should then concentrate on holding the rest of the body steady and in correct alignment, while taking the muscle being worked through its full range of movement. In this way, the muscle will be trained effectively, the postural muscles will have to work to hold everything else still and whole-body coordination will improve. Once a good movement pattern has been mastered, increasing weights will increase the benefits. Weights machines are often recommended because they make it easy to follow the correct movement patterns. This is fine for beginners, but moving on to free weights will develop a better sense of movement awareness and control, as well as train all the stabilising muscles.

Lunges and squats, with or without weights, are excellent toning exercises for the leg muscles but are more often than not done with bad form. Lunges are often done with the back leaning forwards or backwards, the ankles twisted, the feet too close together or too far apart, wobbling or not taking the muscles through full range. Similarly squats may be done with the lower back arched, not deep enough or too deep (effective, but can aggravate knee ligaments), heels lifting off the floor, legs too wide, etc. Poor control and technique limits the amount of effective work done, often causes already strong muscles to do all the work and increases the risk of injury.

High impact exercise like running can cause injury to knees and ankles if done with bad form and while running may help with weight loss and cardiovascular fitness, for body toning it is much better to do a fast walk with correct body alignment. By concentrating on holding the pelvis in neutral alignment while walking, toning of the backs of the legs and the muscles which pull the abdomen in flat is achieved.

The Pilates method is an exercise method which was devised to focus on alignment and control. Trying to do Pilates exercises without fully understanding what you are trying to achieve and how is more likely to bring injury than benefits. The whole point with Pilates is that the pelvis should be held in its correct alignment, but so often in group exercise participants are so keen to progress to more advanced exercises that they just end up doing the exercises wrong and compromising safety and effectiveness.

Many people are disappointed with the results they get from their fitness efforts and give up. There are lots of reasons why exercise programs may not deliver the expected results, but making improvements to exercise technique can often significantly improve training outcomes.