SMITH: Let go of ego: How ego lifting is hurting potential gym gains
There is always that one person at the gym who loads up the squat rack with four 45-pound plates on each side, chalks up their hands, tightens their belt, braces themself and then pumps out several quick partial repetitions with absolutely horrendous form.
I used to be one of those people who would improperly lift when I first started weight training, but I soon realized that lifting incorrectly would get me nowhere with regard to getting in shape.
There are a lot of different mistakes lifters can make when working out. These mistakes can often be the result of ego lifting. This is essentially when someone tries to lift considerable weight to show off to others and make themselves think that they can lift more than they actually can.
There are a few different attributes that I have noticed in my prior lifting habits and the lifting habits of others that are representative of an ego-lifter.
One of the most notable signs of an ego-lifter is someone who lifts at a greater intensity than they can handle. It is tempting to load up on weight to see how much you can lift just for the heck of it. I have been guilty of this in the past when performing the leg press, stacking it with several 45-pound plates and performing shaky reps.
But lifting unmanageable weight for your specific fitness and strength level is ill-advised. In fact, this only increases the risk of injury as the majority of injuries that occur when weightlifting are caused by lifting too heavy and fatigue. One example of the many injuries that can result from overtraining is lumbar spine injuries.
Another sign someone is ego lifting is performing partial reps. This means that someone is not performing the full range of motion required to properly work the muscles of the exercise they are performing. Partial reps can often be the result of an individual lifting too heavy.
Squats are usually an exercise I see where people perform partial reps. Regarding partial reps with squats, the muscle growth and development rate varies depending on the squat depth. Deep squats usually yield more muscle growth and development than shallow squats.
Partial reps can also result from another sign of ego lifting, which is using improper form during a lift. A common example of an exercise that many perform improperly is deadlifts.
When deadlifting, I used to do everything I could to deadlift as much weight as possible. I never considered proper deadlift setup, neutral spine alignment, bar path or foot placement. As a result, my lift looked uncontrolled, and my back rounded, resulting in an uncontrolled deadlift.
I have noticed many others at the gym make the same mistakes I used to make, and it hurts to watch. Deadlifting is an exercise that people especially want to avoid using improper form for, as it is one of the common causes of injuries. This is especially because it is a compound exercise that works multiple muscle groups.
Injuries such as a herniated spinal disk or spinal disk damage can occur from poor deadlift technique.
Considering all the elements of ego lifting, how can people prevent themselves from falling into bad lifting habits?
The first important piece of advice is to lower the weight and intensity. Many times, when I was lifting too much, my form started to break down or my range of motion became more limited. Once I started lifting with manageable weight at a manageable rep range with a full range of motion and proper technique, I could get more prominent muscle growth.
Another important thing to consider is researching proper exercise forms and filming your form. A lot of times, people who ego lift may just not be fully aware of the fact that their form is suboptimal. But by filming themselves, they can gradually correct lifting form mistakes over time by practicing good form.
A gym trainer can also help individuals stop ego lifting as they are trained to lift properly. There are many other ways to work on preventing ego lifting tendencies, but these are some of the most important methods.
It is easy to want to be able to outlift everyone at the gym, but that mentality is detrimental to achieving gym gains. Ultimately, ego lifting will only result in minimal muscle gain and injury.
Some people may think that not being able to lift a certain amount of weight is embarrassing, but it is far more embarrassing to lift heavy weight with atrocious form and shallow reps than it is to lift lightweight with solid form and a full range of motion.
David Smith is a senior in the School of Arts and Sciences, majoring in journalism and media studies and minoring in psychology. Smith's column, "David's Diary," runs on alternate Thursdays.
Columns, cartoons, letters and commentaries do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.
YOUR VOICE | The Daily Targum welcomes submissions from all readers. Letters to the editor must be between 350 and 600 words. Commentaries must be between 600 and 900 words. All authors must include their name, phone number, class year and college affiliation or department to be considered for publication. Please submit via email to oped@dailytargum.com and eic@dailytargum.com to be considered for publication.
