I don’t even know the correct term for this, but my personal trainer and I have started to call this thing “body cheating”.
Body cheating happens when you focus only on the final goal. You complete the task in any way that you can, rather than use the correct technique.
And how does this work with fitness? Well, for example, you use poor form to reach a gym goal. Burn the target number of calories on a spin bike, lift a heavy weight, or score a hit in fencing. You achieve the result, but you do not complete the movement correctly.
This sounds stupid when I write it down, but I do it very often. However, I do not mean to do it. I just focus on the goal and make my body find a way to achieve it.
The purpose of this post is to warn other people who train in the same way. It is easy to believe that the end justifies the means.
This approach worked when I was in my twenties and thirties. It even worked during most of my forties. Not perfectly, but I still performed well.
However, it has caused problems in my late forties and early fifties.
In my case, my core is not particularly strong, and my hips are very inflexable. I compensate for these weaknesses with effort from my shoulders and large, full-body movements to produce the strength and speed that I need.
Now I am paying for it.
My hips are stiff, which makes my movements slower. My weak core has also contributed to several painful back problems.
My fencing becomes much worse when I am tired. This is particularly true when my core is feeling it. I try to compensate by bending forwards and hunching over. This changes my position and affects my aim.
I am now starting a period of remedial training. It will probably continue for at least six months. I must complete movements correctly and stop using my stronger muscles to hide my weaknesses.
As a result, performance has fallen in almost every area.
My spin-bike performance is poor because I cannot hunch over the handlebars. Fencing is suffering because I cannot use unnecessary effort to force each movement. I depend on muscles that I have not trained correctly.
Muscles that are my weakest link.
We cannot ignore them and return to using bad habits. We must train the weak muscles until they become strong enough to do their proper job.
This will be an interesting journey, and it will help me in the long term.
So this is a warning to anyone who thinks, “I do not need to use the accepted technique. I will do it in the way that feels best to me.”
That approach does not work forever.
People teach correct technique for a reason.
Form is important.