When Is It Okay to Have Messy Form?
okayokayokay, we’re all aiming to have perfect form when we exercise, right? (RIGHT?😅)
Buuuuut there are some inevitable moments when it’s NOT perfect.
And this can be frustrating if you’re seeing judgment all over the internet any time someone does something imperfectly OR when all the personal trainers (sorry) won’t stop talking about moving better.
Some people seem overly relaxed about messy form.
Others seem so type A it becomes an impossibility to progress.
I don’t have THE ANSWER because this one is kind of relative, but I do have an experienced answer.
One from the lens of someone who’s been hucking around heavy weights for 10 years AND helping hundreds of others do the same. Take it or leave it. Here’s my insight:
Yes, we do aim for concise, clean, mechanically sound movement.
It’s the first stop.
It’s the foundation we build.
I teach my clients the movement patterns first, how to activate the right muscle groups next, and how to bring intention to every rep.
After they nail allllll that, they’ve EARNED their messy reps.
What Are “Messy Reps”?
I call them Exposure Reps — and no, they’re not an excuse to flail around with poor mechanics.
They’re a strategic progression tool I use with lifters who:
Are ready to push past plateaus
Know how to move well
Have no pain or red flags during movement
Are working with limited equipment and awkward weight selections that go from 15lbs to 35lbs (at home people stand UPPPPPPP, I know your weight selection is random as hell😂)
Why Do We Do Them?
Because progress is rarely linear.
Let’s say you're doing single-arm 3-point rows. You’ve mastered 25lbs for 8–12 controlled reps. But your next dumbbell jump is 35 or even 40lbs.
Instead of HAVING to order a 30lb dumbbell or making you do 20 repetitions of rows with your 25lb-er, we do this:
3 sets of 1–4 “messy” reps at 35–40lbs
You might bounce a bit
You might grunt like a wild animal
You might need to really brace and power through
THEN immediately drop the weight and finish with 5–6 clean reps at 25lbs
What’s the Point?
You expose your tissue and nervous system to a heavier load.
You tell your body:
“This weight is coming back. Prepare & adapt accordingly.”
And because the body loves adapting to repeated demand (in a cutie effort to make your life easier), it listens🥹.
Next time, those messy reps get a little cleaner.
Then again next time.
And again.
Finally, you’re repping out a weight that once felt impossible & messy.
You slowly exposed your body to the bigger demand and the body gave you a salute and went to work.
Now, here’s the thing.
This Only Works If…
You know how to move with proper form when the load is lighter
You’re not in pain
You’re intentional with your training & you KNOW you’re being messy
Otherwise, you’re not doing exposure reps — you’re just reinforcing poor movement patterns. And that’s not the move.
Another bonus to messy reps?
They build a tolerant body.
A body isn’t just about gym PRs with impeccable form. We aren’t constantly performing in life, we’re LIVING. Lifting is also about real life readiness. At least for me. I train about 2-4 hours a week. That leaves me with 164 hours of living my life outside of counting reps, setting, bracing, moving like a machine, and holding heavy objects shaped perfectly for me to move.
Those messy reps also build a body that tolerates real life.
Your dog yanks the leash after spotting a chipmunk? You’re ready. This isn’t a time for perfect row form.
You pick up your squirming, screaming toddler with one arm and haul them to the car? You’ve done the wonky overhead presses and suitcase carries and squats. You’ve got this.
You’re moving weird shaped furniture for your friend who’s moving? Nooo worries. Remember that deadlift PR where you had to rolllllll your spine to the standing position? That prepared you, along with all the clean reps you did with your lighter loads.
We’re not training just for aesthetics or sport, we’re training to move through life with power, adaptability, and confidence. Doesn’t that sound NICE? (yes).
Learn to Train With Intention
If you want to learn how to safely build strength — strict and messy — I can help. I sprinkle all these nuggets of wisdom. & permissions throughout my program, Hypefit Method, showing you how and when to do your messy exposure reps and letting you know when to back off and keep them clean.
This is what it looks like to learn the rules so well you can bend them any time you need to. THIS is why the women who work with me are successful looooooong after out time together.
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