When you run, jump, and lift you force your muscle, tendons, ligaments, and bones to withstand various types of physical stress.

And when your body is forced to handle physical stress, including from exercise, naturally, there is at least some inherent risk of injury.

Now does the risk of injury mean you should avoid exercise altogether? Of course not! Incorporating exercise is one of the best decisions you can make for your body and is key to getting lean, building strength, and improving your health.

What the risk of injury does mean though is that you need to be very careful when you exercise and you have to prioritize your safety and long term health above everything else.

And to do so, you must adhere the following rule at all times.

When you exercise, you must do every repetition of every exercise with excellent form. And when you get to the point where you cannot do another repetition with excellent form, STOP!

We cannot stress this enough.

Exercise, whether cardiovascular work or resistance training, is fantastic for you. But only if you use excellent form. When you exercise with great form you reduce your preventable injury risk to almost zero. But, when you continuously exercise with poor form you seriously risk suffering an acute injury or developing an overuse injury and chronic pain.

To ensure you maintain excellent form when exercising, first, genuinely dedicate time to mastering the form of the exercises you plan to use. We know that performing repetition after repetition of a given exercise with light weights and at slow speeds isn’t the most exciting way to training, but laying a strong form foundation is critically important.

Second, if for whatever reason you just can’t seem to nail the form for a given exercise, it’s fine, just don’t use that exercise. Find another exercise that works the same muscles that you can do with correct form and use that exercise instead.

And third, do not compare the exercises you are doing, the weights you are using, or the speed at which you are going to other people in the gym. Never try to measure up to or show off for others. And never use weights that are too heavy, or speeds that are too fast, for you to be able to maintain excellent form. (This last point especially is directed at every male between the ages of 16 and 25 in every gym across the entire world. You know you can’t bench press, squat, or deadlift that much weight correctly, so put those weight down!)

We know you are eager to increase the intensity of your workouts and start seeing results as soon as possible. We hear you. But you have to be patient and take your time. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Take the time to master your form, always maintain your form, and when you can no longer do another repetition with great form, stop.

Follow these rules and you will lay the groundwork for a safe and sustainable exercise program and you will maintain your long term health.

Your exercise and dietary coaching team.

Zach Moore Training.

And everyone, if you found today’s article insightful, inspiring or enlightening and you have a friend, family member, colleague or peer who you think would benefit from what we’ve talked about here today, please pass this email on.

One of the best things you can do for someone you care about is help them build a lean, healthy, and great looking body. A body that is strong, capable and moves without pain. And a body in which they feel confident and happy.