Shanif Dhanani is an avid fitness enthusiast that writes a series of short and sweet articles as part of the “Gym Tips” series on 20s↑.  To see other articles in this series, click here.

Image from uncleboatshoes

Have you ever been to the gym and looked in amazement at some guy that’s imitating an orangutan?  You know the type of guy I’m talking about – he’s swinging his arms so wildly you’d think he should be jumping from tree to tree.  Do you think he’s getting the sort of intense, high quality, highly focused workout that you need to build muscle?  Probably not.

Gym tip number eight is straightforward and simple, but can be hard to implement – don’t use momentum.  When you’re lifting, focus on what you’re doing.  Concentrate on getting a full range of motion from your muscles without swinging your arms or legs.  Make sure you’re actually contracting your muscles, not using momentum to lift and lower the weights.

Using momentum decreases the amount of overload you place on your muscles, and overload is the only thing that builds your muscles.  By using momentum, you’re cheating yourself, and you become that guy in the gym.  You become the one that all of the personal trainers use as an example of what not to do.  You become the guy that people point to and snicker when you’re not looking.  You look like a goof-ball.

So, plain and simple, don’t get lazy and swing your arms to lift a heavy weight.  It’s okay to go down in weight to accommodate your muscles, really, it is.