THE PERFORMANCE EDGE | ISSUE 001

In this issue: Does lifting form really matter? And can a $15 pair of orange glasses improve your sleep?

Does Lifting Form Matter?

The other day I saw a trainer post a video of a client working out. She was a beautiful woman. Maybe he thought the video would get more views and bring in more clients. I don't know.

What I do know is that her form was horrible, and she wasn't being coached well.

I watched the video and thought: THANK YOU for showing us that you don't know how to coach.

In almost 30 years of coaching, nearly every client who has come to me has already tried another trainer, class, or program. CrossFit. HYROX. F45. Spin. Personal training.

They're putting in the work. And yet, they still don't look how they want.

"It's just my body." "It's my metabolism." "It's my age."

No. Before we blame your genetics or your age, let's look at what you're actually doing in the gym. Sometimes the problem isn't effort. It's bad coaching.

What actually changes muscle?

One of the main drivers of muscle growth is something called mechanical tension. Put simply: a working muscle produces force against resistance. Repeat that with enough challenge, progression, food, and recovery, and the muscle can grow. [1, 2]

But here's what people miss: moving a weight and making the muscle you want to build do the work aren't always the same thing.

Technique changes where the work goes. The range of motion you use can also influence how a muscle develops. [3]

The dumbbell gyration

Some time ago, a gentleman came to me for mobility work. After our stretch session, he asked, "Can I show you a couple of exercises and have you critique them?"

Sure.

He picked up two dumbbells and started gyrating. Hips shifting. Arms swinging. Weights flying up and down and across his body.

When he finished, I paused.

"Walk me through your intention. What are you trying to accomplish?"

"It's a curl. I'm working my biceps."

"No. You're swinging the weight with your body and letting your hips do most of the work."

He argued. It was a curl, he insisted.

Call it whatever you want. If your goal is bigger biceps, why are you doing everything possible to get the weight up without making your biceps do the lifting?

That's not a great biceps exercise. That's an ego gyration.

Why form matters

Good form isn't about looking pretty for the camera. It's about getting the result you came for: directing the work toward the intended muscles, challenging them consistently, and progressing without turning every rep into a full-body negotiation.

One of my clients came back from a beach vacation with a bright red stripe down the middle of his chest.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Usually when I put sunscreen on, I just swipe across my chest. Now that I have pecs, I missed the middle."

He had built enough chest muscle that his old sunscreen routine didn't work anymore.

Form matters. The right form builds strength. The right form builds shape. The wrong form builds injuries. The wrong form builds egos.

Next time you pick up a weight, ask yourself: Am I actually training the muscle I'm trying to build?

Can This ONE Cheap Trick Help Your Sleep?

Some time ago I became obsessed with sleep. I read books, dug into studies, and followed people like Bryan Johnson, the "Don't Die" guy.

I'll spare you how weird people get about this. Sleep optimization has become its own little fitness cult. Sometimes I wonder if anyone still has a life.

But one $15 experiment surprised me: those bright orange, dorky-looking blue-light-blocking glasses.

I started wearing them about an hour before bed. My Apple Watch HRV readings improved the first morning, stayed strong the second, and by the third I was paying attention.

I kept tracking for roughly a month. My usual yellow/red recovery readings shifted more consistently into green. My watch also reported longer periods of deep sleep and better sleep scores. When I took a warm shower and then wore the glasses, things looked even better.

I'm still wearing them.

Why might it work?

Evening light helps regulate your internal clock, and reducing short-wavelength light exposure may help some people sleep. The research on blue-light-blocking glasses, however, is mixed: some studies report benefits; a 2025 review of small randomized trials did not find statistically significant improvements in objective sleep outcomes. [4, 5]

The warm shower has its own evidence. A systematic review found that a warm shower or bath about one to two hours before bed was associated with better self-reported sleep quality and falling asleep faster. [6]

And one important distinction: my Apple Watch estimated more deep sleep. Wrist wearables are useful for watching trends, but they're not sleep laboratories. [7]

Would everyone get the same result? No idea. That's why I call it an experiment, not a cure.

Try it for two weeks

1. Take a warm shower roughly 60–90 minutes before bed.

2. Dim the lights and put on your orange glasses.

3. Keep bedtime reasonably consistent.

4. Track how you sleep and how you feel the next morning.

You don't need to turn your bedroom into a laboratory. Sometimes the useful stuff is cheap, simple, and worth testing.

The Performance Edge is my weekly look at the training, nutrition, recovery, and decisions that help build a better-performing body.

Know someone who works hard in the gym but isn't seeing the results? Send them this issue. For a new issue every Wednesday, subscribe at crestmont.fitness/blog.

Steve Cutler
Founder, Crestmont

Research & Further Reading

1. Wackerhage et al. (2019). Stimuli and sensors that initiate skeletal muscle hypertrophy following resistance exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology. Why muscle loading matters.

2. American College of Sports Medicine (2026). Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Evidence on progressive strength training.

3. Kassiano et al. (2023). Which ROMs Lead to Rome? A Systematic Review of the Effects of Range of Motion on Muscle Hypertrophy. How movement range affects growth.

4. Interventions to reduce short-wavelength ("blue") light exposure at night and their effects on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis(2023). Earlier research on blue-light reduction and sleep.

5. Luna-Rangel et al. (2025). Efficacy of blue-light blocking glasses on actigraphic sleep outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled crossover trials. Why the evidence remains mixed.

6. Haghayegh et al. (2019). Before-bedtime passive body heating by warm shower or bath to improve sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Shower timing and sleep.

7. The accuracy of Apple Watch measurements: A living systematic review and meta-analysis (2026). Limits of wearable sleep-stage estimates.

© 2026 Crestmont. All rights reserved. This publication is general educational information, not individualized medical advice.