You can look at a lift and say, "that looks pretty good," but how do you know if it’s actually effective? Visual inspection only tells part of the story. To truly determine if your technique is optimal, you need to dig deeper into how the movement feels and how it impacts your body.
In this lecture, exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel explains that "good technique" depends entirely on your goal. What works for building muscle (hypertrophy) might be different from what works for building maximum strength. Here are the specific indicators you need to look for to ensure your clients—and you—are lifting correctly.
TL;DR: Key Takeaways
- Hypertrophy Technique: For muscle growth, good technique is defined by internal feedback. You should feel high tension, a strong burn, and a significant pump in the target muscle.
- The "Disruption" Factor: If you finish a hard workout and can still "hop and skip" out of the gym, your technique likely wasn't effective. Good hypertrophy training causes local fatigue, perturbation (shakiness/weakness), and soreness.
- Strength Technique: For strength, the priorities shift to stability and efficiency. The best technique is the one that makes you feel "rock solid" and allows you to lift the most weight safely.
- Joint Pain is a Signal: Acute joint pain during an exercise is almost always a sign of bad technique. The first fix should be adjusting execution (e.g., foot placement), not just lowering the weight.
7 Indicators of Good Hypertrophy Technique
When training for muscle growth, external appearance matters less than internal sensation. Here are the seven signs your technique is hitting the target:
1. Target Muscle Tension
Can the client feel the muscle working? If they are doing a bicep curl but only feel it in their forearm, the technique is suboptimal. Good technique maximizes the perception of tension in the specific muscle you are trying to grow.
2. Target Muscle Burn
The "burn" comes from metabolic byproducts accumulating in the muscle. If you are training glutes but your quads are burning, your technique might be off. Ideally, the target muscle should be the primary site of this discomfort.
3. Target Muscle Pump
After a few sets, the target muscle should be swollen with blood. If a client does leg presses and their glutes are pumped but their quads are flat, the technique needs adjustment (e.g., lower foot placement) to target the quads effectively.
4. Target Muscle Disruption
This includes three elements:
- Fatigue: A drastic drop in performance. If you do 5 sets of skull crushers and can still do your normal number of dips, your triceps weren't properly stimulated.
- Perturbation: A loss of fine motor control. Walking down the stairs like a "newborn deer" after leg day is a good sign.
- Soreness: While not mandatory, soreness in the target muscle confirms that the technique was at least functional enough to stimulate the tissue.
5. Lack of Joint Pain
Good technique should not hurt your joints. If a client reports knee pain during squats, don't just skip the exercise. Adjust the technique (e.g., foot position) until the pain is gone. If the pain persists despite good technique, then swap the exercise.
6. Minimized Systemic Fatigue
You want the highest local stimulus with the lowest overall body fatigue. Cheating on upright rows by heaving with your whole body generates massive systemic fatigue but little isolation for the delts. Strict technique is usually better for the stimulus-to-fatigue ratio.
7. The Limiting Factor
The target muscle should be the first thing to fail. If you are training triceps but your front delts give out first, your technique is bad because the target muscle (triceps) didn't get close enough to failure to trigger growth.
5 Indicators of Good Strength Technique
For strength athletes (powerlifters, etc.), the goal isn't "the burn"—it's moving the maximum amount of weight. The criteria for good technique change accordingly.
1. Physical Stability
Strength requires stability. A wobbly bench press or a squat where your feet shift is inefficient and dangerous. Good technique looks and feels "rock solid" and rooted to the ground.
2. Maximum Weight Lifted
All else being equal, the technique that allows you to lift the most weight is likely the best one for you. Even if it looks unconventional (like a close-grip bench press), if it results in a stronger lift for your body type, it is the correct technique.
3. Joint Comfort
Strength training puts immense load on the body. The best technique distributes this load in a way that is easiest on your joints. If a certain deadlift stance hurts your hips, switching to a pain-free stance is the superior technical choice for long-term strength.
4. Avoidance of Precarious Positions
Certain positions increase injury risk without adding benefit. Rounding the lower back excessively or "dive-bombing" (dropping too fast) into a squat increases the chance of acute trauma. Good technique avoids these unnecessary risks.
5. No Obvious Limiting Factors
If a simple tweak—like widening your grip on the bench press—instantly adds weight to the bar, your previous technique was bad. Good technique means there are no obvious inefficiencies holding you back; the only limiting factor should be your raw strength.
Final Thoughts: Context is King
There is no single "perfect" technique for every exercise. A "good" squat for a bodybuilder might involve a narrower stance to maximize quad tension, while a "good" squat for a powerlifter might be wider to maximize stability and load. Always define the goal first, then use these indicators to dial in the execution.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I'm targeting the right muscle?
For hypertrophy, you should feel tension, a burn, and eventually a pump in that specific muscle. If you feel the exercise mostly in your joints or other muscle groups (e.g., feeling forearms during bicep curls), your technique needs adjustment.
Should I lower the weight if my joints hurt?
Not necessarily. Your first step should be to adjust your technique. Often, a small change like foot placement or grip width can eliminate joint pain without reducing the weight. If technical fixes don't work, then consider changing the exercise.
Is soreness required for a good workout?
No, soreness is not mandatory. However, if you *never* get sore, feel no fatigue, and experience no disruption in performance after a workout, it's a strong sign that your training stimulus (and potentially your technique) was insufficient.
What is the most important factor for strength technique?
Stability. You cannot produce maximum force if you are unstable. Good strength technique involves rooting yourself to the ground and creating a solid, stable base to push from.
