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Exercise Form and Body Types
Fitness | February 08, 2015
Following proper form is important when exercising at the Zgym, but remember: form is a guide, not something set in stone. The varieties of different body types for men and women are as numerous as people on this Earth. Everyone has different physical peculiarities. Some of us have long legs and short torsos, long torsos and short legs, wide or narrow hips, etc. Therefore, our form when performing exercises at the Zgym may look slightly different when compared to one another.
However, don’t get me wrong. The basic principles of form still hold true. For example, when I’m discussing squats, your knees should never buckle inward, your lower back should never round and you should always drive from your heels. These general rules hold true for all of us across the board.
What may differ are some details within the movements. Let’s stick with squats as my example. The differences in form that can occur from person to person are contingent upon multiple factors. These include the length of our limbs, height and mobility. When performing squats some may prefer a wider or narrower stance or pointing your toes outward to achieve a fuller range of motion and maintain proper form.
Also, some of you may not be able to achieve as deep a squat without losing form and risking injury. While a limited range of motion for any exercise is often a mobility issue with our ankles, hips, shoulders, back, etc., our range of motion can also be limited or differ based on body type and bone structure. In other words, don’t fret if your form does not look exactly like mine when you’re working out with me at the Zgym. It shouldn’t. Not completely anyway. Most importantly, don’t force yourself past your range of motion if you’re feeling tension or strain. That’s how injuries occur.
One of the reasons why I’m a firm believer in body weight exercises and HIIT routines is that they easily translate to various body types without increasing the chances of injury. While proper form is a crucial detail to effectively workout with me, the risk of injury is infinitely less than weightlifting routines because we are not burdening ourselves with heavy barbells and dumbbells that can exponentially increase the chances of hurting ourselves.
What adjustments do you make with your form when working out with me? Any specific movements you find troublesome?
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My Exercise Equipment
Bodyweight only | Exercise Ball | Hand Weights | Jump Ropes | Kettlebells | Pull Up Bar | Resistance Bands | Sliding Discs
Private Member |
curitiba, parana, brazil
Hi Zuzka, nice article! I have one doubt, when doing figure 8 squats with KB, the person should move the upper body little sideways or we should try to avoid moving? Because I realized when I do it, I hardly move the upper part of the body, so I would like to know if moving the upper body makes the exercise more effective or keeping it steady? Thanks, see you take care.
Private Member |
PISTOL SQUATS! I love just about every single body weight move that exists except these. I have very strong legs but also very long legs and I don’t know if it’s because of that but I have a very hard time with them… I probably don’t have as much strength as you Zuzka, because I can never manage to go down all the way, or at least I can only on one leg, and I am so slow. Hence I do these sort of half pistol squats. The thing is that when it comes down to it, although I am usually a stickler on form, I just hate pistol squats so much and I have no complaints with the way my legs look at all, and so I struggle with being motivated to actually get through a whole set of 10 of them, properly, one each leg. It is almost impossible 🙂
Private Member |
Definitely the pistol squat is my major contender. I can do them better when I am holding a weight out in front of me but my knees are very weak due to an annoying condition I have and therefore I can only do a few at a time. It always kills me when there are like, 20 in a row in a workout because I always have to either modify them or do regular squats after a few.
Private Member |
For me with the pistol squat is my ankles aren’t flexible enough! Pistols are a very difficult exercise. I have a dance pole in my workout room. I usually just do them and balance holding on, not resting my weight, just slightly hold it for balance.
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
deep squats definitely, I can’t do them. I have been squatting in ballerina style for more than 30 years… I can’t remember if I was able to do a full deep squat as a small kid as every kid is flexible and supposed to be able to do so. Either I have a slanted slope and can do the exercise or I will do a half squat.
Private Member |
santa cruz, ca
Thank you for this. I have noticed how differently people are able to do certain exercises depending on their body proportions. Zuzka, I’ve noticed that when I perform most of the abdominal exercises that you do, it looks different because my torso is very, very short. I literally have barely 2 inches between my lowest attached rib and the top of my iliac crest! So when I’m doing a sit up, it’s really, really, really hard to go up very high without bending my lower back.
And with squats and leg exercises, because I have proportionally long legs, I can go quite deep without bending my low back. There’s more distance to work with in my lower body.
I’ve wondered if this is why my abdominals have always been the weakest parts of my body, whereas my upper and lower body are very easy for me to train.
Short torsos are annoying. 🙂 Let me tell ya!
Private Member |
Hi Z!
LOVE all your workouts!! Really loved your Lifted Butt Series on your old site. Can you start a new LBS on your new site?
Have a great day!!
Erin
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
I have a lifted butt series in the Zgym – it’s just scattered throughout the different workout categories.
Private Member |
hola zuzka. te escribo desde PERÚ veo tus vídeos por you tube. comense a averiguar mas sobre ti y me encontré con tu pagina. me di con la sorpresa de tus vídeos y de un pago que se tiene que hacer, yo encantada lo hago!!.
tengo muchas dudas. el idioma de mi país es el español entiendo ingles mas o menos y se me hace difícil entenderte DEL TODO. somos muchos de habla hispana que te seguimos. por favor necesito que me respondas los pasos a seguir para poder hacer el pago desde PERÚ y poder tener acceso a tu gym cibernetico, por que eso es lo que pude entender y haber si te grabas algunos videitos en español jijij… seria chevere.
ESPERO TU RESPUESTA . BESOS
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
I don’t speak spanish,but thank you 🙂
Private Member |
Pistol squats!! Just can’t do them…but hopefully one day soon! 🙂