Has anyone had a silly “lightbulb” moment while exercising?

[m32s]

Today while I was lifting, I had a “oh, duh!” moment and had to half roll my eyes at myself and half be thrilled that it finally clicked. I’ve been lifting consistently for ~8 years, but recently really started focusing on strengthening my glutes over the past year. Hip thrusts are obviously a core exercise to building the booty. I am 5’2 and realized quickly that the bench is too high for me to correctly and comfortably do
the movement. So I have been using the adjustable platform bench with steppers to be lower to the ground. I just realized today that I was still building it too high, decided to build it lower to the ground, and PR’d the lift with ease. It was a lightbulb moment that I’m so glad I finally realized.

Has anyone else had an experience where they were doing an exercise (even just slightly) incorrectly and had a lightbulb moment? Bonus points if you’ve been doing it the wrong way for a while!

 

[dawn16]

@m32s Moved my heels a bit farther forward (away from my butt) in glute bridge (bodyweight) and... oh, that's why they call it GLUTE bridge, not lower back bridge.

 

[msgee]

@m32s That you don’t have to do HIIT to lose fat or be fit. Fitness is a lifestyle and if I don’t enjoy the exercise then I can’t maintain it. Moving in ways I enjoy are great for my health and a shredded woman making me miserable for fifteen minutes is not my version of fitness.

 

[cybersaint]

@m32s Deadlifts. I had been doing them for about a year but didn't realize or figure out they are primarily a hip hinge movement. While doing landmine deadlifts, because the other deadlift platforms were being used, it clicked I'm supposed to move my hips first before pulling up". It was just more noricable with the landmine. So now focusing on hinging those hips while sticking your legs to the ground, improved my Deadlift instantly.

 

[pammarie]

@m32s 1) Yes, there is indeed proper form - but there is also something to proper form for YOUR body. Learning how to actually listen to my body and learn how my body moves (and how it doesn't move) has be been instrumental. In the past I would get so stuck trying to force my body to look like the fitness model/'best form' photo looked to "try to prevent injury and progress" and in the process...it was actually counterproductive. insert plug for more body inclusive fitness/form examples
2) Side planks make me deeply unhappy, so why am I forcing myself to do them? I can build a solid full-body exercise routine and build fitness and sweat without forcing myself to do things that I hate. Shifting my mindset has made turning movement/exercise into something inherently enjoyable versus a chore/punishment.

 

[3rdday]

@m32s Do you mind if I ask how high off the ground it is? I’m also 5’2 and I’m pretty sure I’m making the same mistake as you were, but I’m not sure what the right height is.

 

[m32s]

@3rdday I was using 5 steppers on each side with the platform on top of it and lowered it to 3 on each side and it was instantly better!

 

[3rdday]

@m32s thanks so much!

 

[jammie]

@m32s I was assuming that my tight hamstrings etc after training was due to me getting older... Forgot that I was constantly stretching on the floor whilst watching TV or using kitchen benches to swing my legs and I got out the habit when I stopped training frequently in my early 20s. As I've resumed those habits it has gotten a lot better

 

[eshaun92]

@m32s I can change my shape within reason. I started working upper body and instead of being a pear I now have a balanced figure (still a pear but hips look leaner even though they aren’t any smaller). I gained five pounds and in general look stronger and clothes fit better. I also have chest muscles which makes up for my lack of breast tissue.

 

[jassy]

@m32s My lightbulb moment is a bit different.

My job closed due to covid and I’ve been struggling with the idea of doing the same job, somewhere else. I decided I needed a change but I couldn’t figure out what. In the before times, I had my perfect balanced schedule of work/life/gym. I haven’t been back to gyms (sub-par home workouts & yoga in the meantime) in over a year and it has been really difficult witnessing my mental health slip. I was worried a new job would compromise my motivation to get back in the gym even more, even though I know how beneficial it is for me.

That’s when I realized (with some help from my therapist, bless him) my academic background is actually very well set up for me to pursue getting certified as a personal trainer. So I am!

I know how intimidating the gym can feel. I know how intimidating it is to start from zero as an adult. I know how scary the free weight section is. I know how crappy it feels to work with a disengaged trainer. I know how beneficial exercise is for moving forward in life gracefully. I have had overwhelming personal successes in my own fitness journey, and I’ve decided that my dream is to help others find their strength.

It’s mildly terrifying, but I’m fucking going for it.

 

[igorotel]

@m32s Yes.... guess what, it continues to happen to me after 20+ years! Keep learning! Your body is a mystery

 

[dawn16]

@m32s This is more of a rec sports thing. I'm left handed. My whole family is right handed. I learned everything right handed and badly. Even stuff like mini golf was embarrassing because I'd hold up the entire group. My mother in law caught me playing mini golf right handed and taught me to putt with my left hand. All the stuff I've been doing badly is just because I've been using my non-dominent hand. I'm not bad at sports. I just learned wrong. I think some of my gym teachers just assumed I was bad at stuff because I'm a girl. I would've gotten into athletics a lot sooner if I'd known that I wasn't awful at them.

 

[crosswalk1991]

@m32s Mind-muscle connection was one of my dumbest light bulb moments. I hear this term ALL the time but never knew how to execute it. I was very good at lifting weights and I was strong, but I wasn’t building muscle. I realized one day that I have to really think about THAT muscle. Doing RDL two different ways (focused on back vs focused on hammy/glutes) have different effects. And now I know.

And also eating at maintenance and lifting heavy. I can almost eat whatever I want as long as it fits my macros. It’s amazing how working out boosts your metabolism. Once I get to a stable weight and strength I want, I can start to eat at a deficit again.

 

[lucywu2012]

@m32s This post made me realize my bench is also too high for my hip thrusts... but I can’t figure out how to adjust it

 

[m32s]

@lucywu2012 I’ve also seen people lower the smaller end of the bench and hip thrusts off the front of it, if that makes sense? Like instead of long ways on the bench, the end of it where you would usually be sitting with it upright if you were doing shoulder press or other upper body exercises.

 

[gilbertkatongo]

@lucywu2012 If you dont have the option of lowering your back support you can always build a platform with plates for your feet!

Just make sure you can safely lower the barbell after your reps. Using Smith machines are perfect then bc of the stoppers, but if you dont have access to one it can be fixed in other ways

 

[jessisback77]

@m32s Not necessarily about lifting incorrectly but more mindset..

I would compare what I was lifting to others in the gym and kind of beat myself up about it bc it wasn’t very heavy. But one day I was like “what tf am I thinking.” I’m in there with men literally twice my size, at least. So what I’m lifting for MY weight is going to be wayyy different. 135 for me is already more than I weigh. Not to mention everyone is at different levels of fitness

So yeah stop being so hard on yourself and stop comparing yourself to others and focus on you my workouts have been significantly better since I made that realization

 

[tuyetanh]

@jessisback77 Yes I always tease my husband that when you scale for weight I'm actually stronger than he is.

 

[riv%D0%B5r]

@jessisback77 i did this too! i was feeling really down looking at our ladies leader board and then my bf pointed out that the girls at the top all weigh more than me, and have been lifting longer so obviously their numbers will be bigger.

plus the realisation that working long hours in my job means i’m going to take much longer to get to this numbers than the women that are sports coaches/personal trainers.