Is Exercise Technique Overrated?
My Saturday began with my daughter's ballet performance, including jazz, tap, and hip-hop routines by kids of all ages. I then joined my wife to see MJ the Musical—a show dedicated to the life and music of Michael Jackson.
Overall, I witnessed a broad spectrum of movement talent that I do not have. Throughout it all, I found myself appreciating how remarkably adaptable and capable we are at adjusting and accommodating various movement patterns.
Many others in the fitness space would agree.
Still, since I entered the industry over 20 years ago, coaches, trainers, and enthusiasts alike have emphasized achieving flawless form above everything else, assuming that any deviation could lead to instant injury.
Yet, the winds are shifting.
The emerging perspective suggests that our fixation on movement mechanics may be largely overstated.
I agree that it's time to reevaluate the narrative that perfecting movement mechanics is essential. But I also don’t believe we should throw all coaching out the window.
The Complexity of Injuries
When I talk to most athletes in the gym about their pain, there is usually an underlying belief that they “moved something wrong.” What often gets overlooked is that the etiology of injuries is multifaceted, involving genetics, lifestyle, nutrition, recovery, psychological stress, and—most importantly—workload.
By focusing solely on movement mechanics, we risk oversimplifying injury causes and neglecting more significant contributors.
In most cases, injuries occur not because of flawed movement mechanics, but because of excessive load and poor load management.
In my experience coaching thousands of athletes across many settings, the person who walks off the street with zero knowledge of proper mechanics is often at the lowest risk of injury.
Why?
Because their inefficiencies act as a governor on their loads and volumes. It’s when someone becomes proficient—one to two years later—that pain often starts creeping in. Confidence rises. Loads increase. Volume expands. Recovery doesn’t always keep up.
Additionally, neglecting the psychological and social aspects of training can influence pain and injury risk. Stress, anxiety, and external pressures can heighten pain perception and alter recovery capacity.
By addressing the holistic well-being of an athlete, we are better positioned to keep people moving pain-free than by obsessing over the minutiae of movement mechanics.
Should We Throw Mechanics Out the Window?
This is not an argument to stop coaching technique.
As mentioned earlier, focusing on mechanics can restrict loads and volumes—the most important variables for injury prevention. It’s a valuable principle for new athletes to focus on how a lift looks rather than how much weight is on the bar. That emphasis naturally slows progression.
There are also mechanical principles that improve efficiency.
For example:
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We are stronger and more stable when squatting with our heels on the ground rather than rising onto our toes.
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We lift more effectively by bending at the hips and knees rather than rounding through the lower back, because it optimizes leverage and recruits larger muscle groups.
Even if injury risk were equal between “good” and “bad” techniques (which research suggests is often more nuanced than we think), athletes still want to feel capable and confident when they leave the gym. Thoughtful coaching helps accomplish that.
Let It Flow
The real argument is against the obsession with a one-size-fits-all movement template.
Human bodies are diverse. Anatomical structure varies. Motor learning differs from person to person. What works beautifully for one athlete may be uncomfortable or ineffective for another.
As coaches, we should hone foundational principles—but also appreciate that variability is normal, expected, and often beneficial.
Trying to force everyone into identical movement patterns like robots can be frustrating, counterproductive, and occasionally harmful.
We’ll explore movement variability more deeply in next week’s edition of The Movement.
