Whether you are new to working out or have some experience, you need to know that posture and form are so important when doing any type of exercise. This applies to exercise equipment and bodyweight training too. 

The complex system of muscles in the body can become strained and cause problems when you don’t know what you are doing. This is often why people injure themselves which can put them off exercising and enjoying the benefits of healthy living. 

If you want to get great results and reduce your risk of injury a personal trainer in your local area of Dubai can make sure your technique and process is correct. 

Why is technique so important? We asked a professional PT in Dubai for advice.

Q1: Many people chose to train at home to go to the gym in Dubai and start exercising without giving any consideration to the correct and safe way to exercise. As a fitness professional in Dubai can you summarise why exercising and training correctly is so important?

Exercise helps people lose weight and lower the risk of some diseases.

Exercising regularly lowers a person’s risk of developing some diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Exercise also can help keep your body at a healthy weight and condition.

Proper form helps you work out more efficiently so you can use your energy for the extra push rather than wasted movements. Improper form may mean you are targeting unintended muscles or muscle groups.

The better your form the better your results – run faster, lift more and jump higher when you do it right and Using good technique in sport is beneficial because it promotes high performance and reduces the risk of injury.

In this way the players benefit from the use of correct technique, which will optimise performance and minimise the risk of injury. All sports contain activities that have an element of injury risk.

What is ‘technique & form?

Q2: When we talk about training and exercising correctly two terms that are used are ‘Technique’ and ‘Form’ Can you explain what is meant by each and how these are important.

Technique and form are two totally different things.

Technique is the way you perform an exercise in order to target specific muscle groups.

For example, bench pressing with a close grip or wide grip are types of techniques used to target different muscles in your chest.

Form is all about injury prevention. Proper form helps you work out more efficiently so you can use your energy for the extra push rather than wasted movements.

‘Improper form’ may mean you are targeting unintended muscles or muscle groups. The better your form the better your results – run faster, lift more and jump higher when you do it right.

Don’t be too eager

Q3: What advice would you give to a personal training client who might be over-eager to just get on with it and dismiss any instructions or advice?

In my opinion as a professional Dubai PT I always advise my clients to:

1. Get into the specifics of what you aim to achieve
2. Put more focus on the long term
3. Correct form is a must
4. Correct technique will prevent injuries

Reduce your risk of training injury in Dubai

Q4: If someone doesn’t learn the right way to do an exercise or use an item of fitness equipment is there serious risk of injury?

Training injuries can be a real pain – both physically and mentally too. When you become injured during training it can mean a disruption to your training schedule and also take time to recover. These injuries include:

• Muscle strains
• Sprained ankle
• Shoulder injuries
• Knee injuries
• Tendinitis
• Wrist sprains

The only way to try and void such injuries is to make sure you exercise and train correctly. Correctly means using proper technique and form. This is especially true when it comes to lifting weights in Dubai. Not only is going in full throttle dangerous is can also cause injuries that can last for weeks. 

Learn how to train from a professional

Q5: Training without learning and training without instruction can lead to limited results. Does a professional personal trainer help to overcome these issues? 

You wouldn’t get in a car and be expected to know how to drive it properly without some form of teaching and training. The same applies to physical fitness.

The internet is full of training videos, blog posts and more but what many of these fail to do is inform you of the risks associated with not using correct technique and form. 

Being educated while exercising is essential in maximizing effectiveness and reducing risk of injury.

A personal trainer in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah will teach you everything you need to know about exercising. They will put together the perfect routine to help you achieve your goals, demonstrate the correct posture for each exercise.

Top 10 tips for exercising correctly

Q6: Finally, what are your top 10 tips for trainees when it comes to using proper form and technique when it comes to any type of exercise?

My top 10 tips for proper form and technique for all ages and abilities. 

1. Lift an appropriate amount of weight. Start with a weight you can lift comfortably 12 to 15 times.
2. Use proper form – learn how to do each exercise correctly from a professional male or female fitness coach.
3. Work on your breathing techniques too. Too many people hold their breath when exercising.
4. Get your balance right. Being off balance can put strains on opposing muscle groups.
5. Add weight training to your fitness regime. It can help build your strength which will then help with other exercises.
6. Rest between sets.
7. When training focus on the muscles you are working on, make sure it feels right and not overly painful. 
8. For muscle building and weight lifting concentrate on slow movements.
9. Hydrate yourself really well – water is your best friend when it comes to hydration. 
10. Get plenty of sleep to give your muscles time to recover.

Personal Trainer Aly was recently interviewed on Sky News Arabia – click the image below to view the interview.