By Alina Muller, MS, OTR/L & Keiller Morash, BA, CSCS
Before we get too far into this, let us be clear that there is a time and place to focus on form. That said, the fitness industry's obsession with perfect form is, in our opinion, often more harmful than helpful.
One of the top reasons people seek out a personal trainer is to ensure they’re exercising with proper form—often citing a fear of injury. While form plays a role in optimizing performance and aesthetics, the truth is that the correlation between form and injury is weak at best. In fact, this fear-driven narrative can inadvertently limit progress and even heighten pain sensitivity.
The Myth of Perfect Form
The idea that there is one ideal way to move, and that deviating from it inevitably leads to injury, is rooted in outdated, biomechanical models of pain. Mounting evidence shows that pain is far more complex than simply the result of improper movement patterns. The Biopsychosocial (BPS) Model of pain tells us that pain, injury and discomfort are influenced by:
Biological factors (strength, mobility, tissue health)
Psychological factors (fear, stress, beliefs about movement) [1]
Social factors (environment, support systems, cultural influences on pain perception)
This explains why two people can move in the exact same way—one might develop pain while the other feels completely fine. Pain and injury are rarely the result of a single “bad” movement. Instead, they stem from an accumulation of stressors, both physical and non-physical.
Another reason that perfect form is such a nebulous concept? It’s person-specific and goal-dependent. We see a huge range of effective techniques for high level athletes that clearly work for them, but that may not work for others. This may be due to anthropometrics (body proportions), history of injury, or certain muscle groups being stronger in relation to others.
Why Chasing Perfect Form Won’t Prevent Injury
If avoiding injury isn’t about nitpicking form, what should we focus on instead?
1. Load Management
Think of your body like a bucket:
Load is everything that adds stress—training intensity, frequency, life stress, sleep deprivation, etc.
Capacity is your ability to handle that load—your strength, fitness level, recovery, and overall well-being.
Injury happens when load exceeds capacity, not when you perform a movement with slightly “imperfect” form. The best way to prevent injury is by progressively building strength and taking really good care of yourself so that your capacity keeps pace with your load.
2. Strength and Movement Variety Build Resilience
The human body is meant to move through a wide range of positions, including frequently demonized positions like spinal flexion (rounding) and hip internal rotation. The pursuit of “perfect” form tends to restrict movement variety. Our bodies should be able to tolerate some asymmetrical loading and deviations from neutral. Avoiding these movements entirely means we fail to build strength in positions we’re bound to encounter in real life [4].
3. Confidence and Fear-Avoidance in Movement
Beliefs about movement influence pain [1]. If you’ve been told that rounding your back is dangerous, you’re more likely to experience pain when you do so—even if the movement itself isn’t inherently harmful [3]. Fear-driven coaching creates a self-fulfilling prophecy where clients become hyper-aware of their form and hesitant to move freely, ultimately increasing their injury risk. Instead of fostering fear, trainers should help clients build confidence in their movement, emphasizing adaptability rather than rigidity.
When Form Does Matter
Again, we are not saying that technique adjustments are useless. As coaches, we’d be nothing more than cheerleaders or barbell loaders if that were the case. There are certainly times when modifying form is beneficial. A few of those times include:
Targeting specific muscles: If someone’s goal is quad hypertrophy but they consistently good-morning (hinge) their squats, adjusting their form (or choosing a different squat variation) can help them better target their quads.
Improving efficiency: In sports and high-level lifting, optimizing technique can improve performance. A sprinter benefits from refining their stride mechanics, and a powerlifter can lift more with proper bar path.
Working around pain: If a particular movement causes discomfort, modifying the technique or selecting an alternative variation can be helpful. However, this should be done with the goal of increasing capacity and confidence—not avoiding certain positions out of fear.
The fitness industry sells perfection – flawless form, pain-free training, and “fixes” for every asymmetry. But the reality is that some aches and pains are a normal part of the human experience and the idea that we can live entirely pain-free just isn’t true [2]. Asymmetries are human. There’s no single “correct” way to move. Strength, confidence, and consistency matter far more than micromanaging every rep.
A practical approach is to follow the 80/20 rule: Aim for “good” form about 80% of the time, but allow for some movement variability and compensation for the other 20% of the time. This allows you to train hard, build resilience, and adapt to real-world demands.
If you’re spending more time stressing over knee positioning in a squat than actually training, it might be time to rethink your approach. Get stronger. Train consistently. Trust your body’s resilience. Because in the grand scheme of things, perfect form is pretty overrated.
About the Authors
Alina Muller, MS, OTR/L is the owner of Eastside Athletics in Bellevue, Washington. She holds a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy and has a strong background in strength training, rehabilitation, and movement science. Alina believes in empowering her clients to build resilience and confidence through progressive strength training.
Keiller Morash, BA, CSCS is the General Manager of Silicon Valley Athletics in Sunnyvale, California. Keiller specializes in strength and conditioning, helping athletes and general fitness clients train effectively without fear-driven constraints.
Both Alina and Keiller are accomplished athletes with backgrounds in healthcare and social sciences. They share a similar training philosophy that emphasizes hard work, but also the resilience and adaptability of the human body.
References
Louw, A., et al. (2016). "Pain neuroscience education: Is it effective for chronic pain?" Physical Therapy, 96(6), 930-940
Moseley, G. L., & Butler, D. S. (2017). "Explain pain." Noigroup Publications.
Caneiro, J. P., et al. (2019). "It's time to move beyond 'body region silos' in musculoskeletal care." British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(23), 1489-1490.
O'Sullivan, P., et al. (2018). "Unraveling the complexity of low back pain." British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(14), 858-859.
Photo Credits: Danielle Barnum Photography.
Cara Merak is the owner of the Unscripted Clinic in Newcastle, Washington. She
champions a holistic healthcare approach, prioritizes identifying and
addressing the root causes of health issues and sharing them with her community on UnscriptedClinic.com/blog and Instagram. @UnscriptedClinic. She welcomes requests to cover specific topics and can be emailed at Cara@MerakFunctionalWellness.com.
If you are looking for personalized health support,
we highly recommend, contacting the Unscripted Clinic or
click here to schedule a discovery call with Cara.
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Environmental Working Group. (n.d.). EWG research: The trouble with ingredients in sunscreens. Retrieved from https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/
Krause, M., Klit, A., Jensen, M.B., Søeborg, T., Frederiksen, H., Schlumpf, M., Lichtensteiger, W., Skakkebaek, N.E., & Drzewiecki, K.T. (2012). Sunscreens: Are they beneficial for health? An overview of endocrine disrupting properties of UV-filters. International Journal of Andrology, 35(3), 424-436. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2605.2012.01280.x
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