Dr. Mike Israetel from Renaissance Periodization shares essential insights on proper lifting techniques for strength training. In this article, we’ll break down six vital requirements for a good lifting technique and how to implement them effectively. By mastering these techniques, you’ll be able to optimize your strength training and reach your goals safely and efficiently.

Key Requirements for Proper Lifting Technique

1. Utilize the most muscle possible: Your lifting technique should engage the maximum amount of muscle to generate the most force. For example, when bench pressing, you should arch and retract your shoulders to engage your sternal pecs and produce more force.
2. Maximize leverage advantage: Your technique should be leveraged to produce the most force and lift the highest amount of numerical load. For example, low bar squatting allows you to squat more weight, which will make you stronger over time. Coaches should help you find the right stance, position, and bar path for your individual leverage advantage.
3. Avoid needlessly fatiguing or unsafe techniques: Choose techniques that are not excessively tiring, damaging, or unsafe in the short term or long term. For example, avoid dive-bombing squats or candy cane deadlifting, as these techniques can increase the risk of injury.
4. Replicate your technique consistently: To track your progress and ensure you are actually getting stronger, your technique should be replicable from one session to the next. This also helps your body become more efficient at the specific movements and improves your overall performance.
5. Ensure stability and bracing: Stability is essential for producing high forces. Practice bracing by breathing in and bearing down around your abdomen, and ensure that your feet, shoulders, and hands are stable during lifts. This may involve using chalk, proper shoes, or squatting shoes to improve grip and stability.
6. Meet the requirements of the lift: Your technique should meet competition standards and rules for the target lift, and assistance lifts should challenge the muscles you want to improve. For muscle growth work, focus on high range of motion and tension on the target muscle, while subsystem strength work should have a proper range of motion that challenges the specific subsystem you’re training.

Conclusion

By following these six requirements for proper lifting technique, you will optimize your strength training and improve your overall performance. Ensuring that your technique is efficient, safe, and consistent will help you reach your goals while minimizing the risk of injury. By incorporating these tips into your training, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a stronger and more skillful lifter.