Is good form more important than lifting heavier?

On the WarriorBabe Show, Nikkiey explains that heavier only helps if the right muscle is doing the work. Coaching Julie, a 70-year-old client with two partial knee replacements and scoliosis, she noticed Julie's form looked fine but her hamstring wasn't the main muscle working because the weight was a little too heavy. Once the weight came down, the hamstring took the load. If you can't engage the muscle, she says, it isn't getting stronger. On Ep. 267 she adds that feeling the muscle contract is more transformative than adding 5 or 10 pounds, and it helps protect your joints.

She calls skipping connection to hit bigger numbers ego lifting. Her fix is simple: drop the weight until you feel the target muscle, trust the feel and forget the number. She says she sometimes uses 10-pound dumbbells because her muscles feel them better than they would ever feel a 25.

Form first does not mean staying light forever. Nikkiey also says that if a weight feels too light and you're just going through the motions, increase it, because nothing happens with weight that's too easy. Julie was adding 2.5 to 5 pounds when she could, and Nikkiey pushed her to try a little heavier. Weight comes once the form and the connection are there.