Good Reps

Today I want to touch on good reps and sets vs. bad reps and sets.

First off I believe that a bad sloppy rep or set is a wasted set or rep, they drain your body of strength and stamina that could have put to good use towards a good solid effective set or rep, that would have affected growth in a positive way. If you trained in a sloppy manner the entire session you will have just wasted the days training as little will have been accomplished.
Whenever I have a sloppy set I feel cheated and disappointed, I only have a certain amount of time to train each day and to burn up that time by not being careful in how I am training is disappointing.
Don't get me wrong here, you can use cheat moves such as arching your back slightly at the end of your reps on a set of barbell curls, but even they can get sloppy if you try to use your back arch as a momentum builder that will assist you in accomplishing the lift. A slight arch to help you past the sticking point is fine.
You also will not get the same results in a sloppy set, your pump will not be as full, the muscle penetration of the exercise will not be as deep (more of a surface burn than a full deep burn), you will be prone to injury. Take your shoulders for instance, Poor form during Military Presses can result in joint separations, torn rotator cuff muscles. Even minor tears that can occur during exercise can over time if not remedied can result in major injuries that can keep you out of the gym for months. Lower back issues with a lot of trainers are a result of improper form during squats, bent over rows, low pulley rows etc.
The belief amongst younger trainers is that the heavier they go the more results they will see, the bigger they will get, the stronger they will be. They often do not realise that heavy training will increase strength whereas lighter higher rep training will increase size. So each routine should have a good mix of heavy low rep sets and mid to high rep sets for size. BUT keep good form, this is a discipline that will ensure that if you practice it from the start of your training career will ensure you are training into your later years, I see many people in the gym that are in their 60's and 70's training hard and looking good. I call it a career because once you start to see results you will be in it for the long haul, you will get excited and the desire to continue grows and you will most likely train into your 70's, that hopefully will be longer than your actual career.

Protect your muscles and joints with properly formed sets and reps and you will have a long successful training career, hopefully injury free.