Perfect Form Does Not Exist
Whenever I post a video of someone doing…..any exercise….there’s always some idiot in the comments who says something like.
And I’m paraphrasing.
“REEE THAT FORM ISN’T PERFECT!”
This is what the online form police look like.
It’s stupid, and it’s a non-starter.
Perfect form does not exist.
We accept the fact that everyone is unique in their personality, beliefs and temperament, but we don’t extend that same individuality to people’s bodies.
It makes no sense.
Even if you do a simple survey of the people around you you’ll see that some are taller than you, some are wider than you and some people have longer limbs than you.
Those anatomical factors have a big influence over exercise selection and technique.
Perfect form is a fantasy.
The reality is OPTIMAL form for the individual.
Here are 3 reasons why perfect form doesn’t exist.
Bone Structure
The squat police are my favorite.
“Yeah that’s a nice squat, but his knees went over his toes so he’ll probably die.”
“How can you call that a squat? Her toes were pointed out instead of forward!”
No two hip and pelvis structures are the same, so no two squats will look exactly the same. There needs to be a slight variance in order to optimize each person’s bone structure.
Everyone’s femur (upper leg bone) connects to their pelvis at a different angle and depth. The difference can be marginal, or it can be massive.
To account for these anatomical differences we need to employ slight variations. Everyone will have a different stance, depth and angle of torque in their squat.
The long and the short is that everyone’s squat will look different. Some people’s knees will shoot out over their toes, other people’s hips will push back really far. You can’t police their form without receiving feedback, because the most important factor is how they feel during the movement.
These differences are present all throughout the body. Different sized rib cages, clavicles and even the size of your elbow will determine which variation of upper body exercises is optimal for you.
2. Limb Length
Shaquille O’Neal is like 8 feet tall. You’re probably 5 foot something.
Do you think your bench press will look the same?
How about your deadlift?
Squat?
Of course not.
Limb Length plays a huge factor in exercise technique.
People with longer limbs will have a larger range of motion, meaning they will be performing each lift for a longer period of time than a shorter person. It’ll take them much longer to move a weight from point A to point B than it will for a shorter person.
Different limb lengths have different leverages, which will determine joint angle in each lift. A taller person will probably have a wider grip on the bar while bench pressing, and a shorter person will probably have a different deadlift set up.
This means that something as seemingly simple as a dumbbell overhead press can look radically different depending on who's performing it.
3. Training History and/or Strength Imbalances
Another weird truth about exercise is that a lot of people’s form changes over time. It’s why I don’t put a lot of emphasis into the first squat I see during an assessment.
A lot of times form has more to do with skill than anything else.
Meaning that the more often you perform an exercise, the better you’re going to get at performing it.
You’ll get stronger, but you’ll actually learn the motor skills needed to perform that movement in the most efficient way for your body.
Injuries will also affect this skill development and therefore form.
If someone is coming back from a torn ligament, a broken bone or recovering from years of stupid training their form will not be optimal.
It will not be their “true form”.
Developing proper technique takes time. It requires increasing mobility, developing balance in provocative positions (think the bottom of a deep squat) and developing general confidence in your physical abilities.
The only thing beginners and those coming back from a setback should worry about is “time under the bar”. They need to train as often and as safely as possible performing basic, foundational movement patterns and gaining or re-gaining strength.
The minutiae only matters once a baseline of strength has been established and a qualifying level of mastery over the basics has been achieved.
Translation: do the basic things and do them really well for a really long time.
Unfortunately for the arrogant trolls on social media: perfect form does not exist in the real world.
The only thing that matters is finding the optimal form for you, and your body.
That takes time, patience and sometimes hiring an expert.