Form, injury, and unsuitable references

     I gotta admit, exercises such as squats, olympic lifts and deadlifts look more hardcore and dangerous than sports such as football and basketball. They appear like a ticking bomb to a cracked spine or a slipped disc. And then there are evidences to support the contention that they are dangerous on Youtube that show jacked guys getting pinned by a loaded barbell while benching or an olympian's shoulders get dislocated while the barbell is at mid air. Then the average guy goes "shit man if it is possible for an experienced lifter it hell be more possible for me".

    Martin Rooney puts it best in one of his articles and i quote,"Reading is bad for the eyes, door handles are caked with germs, and pesticides are sprayed on virtually every stitch of produce at the grocery store. Are you going to stop reading, opening doors, and eating vegetables?". These show that there is an inherent risk in everything you do. I consider those who choose to lift weights are smart enough to understand this and therefore they will learn the proper execution of every lift. Bret Contreras wrote an article on this whole paranoia about risky and bad exercises and it is one of my favourite articles.

    The next question that is logically asked is how do i learn proper form? Where do i learn proper form? Obviously there are tons of established, well known, bible ranked books that you can refer to. You cannot go wrong with "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe. This book details everything you need to know about form and it also explains if you have granny form. Or any book that contains training programs will give you a brief direction of how the exercise is executed.

                                         You gotta be this awesome to deadlift with this form
                                        
    However, I do understand that you need a more live and moving visual assistance. This is where most of us will resort to Youtube (assuming we already ruled out has been pakciks and skinny bastards doing twists at the gym). The problem i have with this is that some videos are not suitable for technique learning. For example, never copy a deadlift form of a powerlifter. They have trained long enough to round their upper backs while maintaining the arch of their lower back. Another example is a video i watched Arnold doing bent over rows. Instead of maintaining that arch al the time, he lowers the barbell way lower than usual while rounding his back. He was lucky not to slip a disc.

     There are proper videos on Youtube showing techniques on exercises. Choose wisely. With constant practice and experience you are all set. I have been lifting for a few years and my form is still improving.