Is picture perfect form necessary for building muscle? You will always hear about how you shouldn't "cheat" when performing an exercise. However absolutely perfect form can actually interfere with muscle size growth and raw strength increase. This is because perfect form is designed to isolate and target specific insertions or specific sections of picked muscles. It is aimed at controlling the shape and definition of that muscle. It is not aimed at pure strength and size.
A little bit of cheating lets you put on the extra stress needed to provoke muscle growth. The leverage limits of perfect form make it impossible to go into that overload zone needed to really promote growth. That is not to say that anything goes. You should not cheat to the extent of using completely different muscle groups. Especially do not cheat just to squeeze off an extra rep. If you are doing that it is going to be counterproductive. The point is to blast your muscle by putting it into a stress zone outside of its limits.
So don't think you have to have perfect form at all costs. A little bit of cheating can help build size and strength. But don't overdo it or the only person you will be cheating is yourself.
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