If you don't know your way around a weight room, heading to the gym can be intimidating -- and even dangerous. But paying attention to a few simple rules of proper technique can make you slimmer, stronger and healthier all over.
That's why we asked John Romaniello, trainer, author and founder of Roman Fitness Systems to show us what's what when it comes to strength training.
He'll be helping us tackle some of the most common mistakes we all make while building muscle, plus giving us tips and tricks for better form. This week, we're focusing on the bicep curl.
The Faux Pas: Too often, Romaniello says, he sees people swinging a barbell or dumbbells up and down with momentum, rather than isolating the bicep to drive the weight up and lower it down. The dead giveaway you're doing it wrong? If your pelvis rocks back and forth as your forearms lift and lower. 
The Fix: Tuck the pelvis slightly under, he says, and keep the abs and glutes engaged with a slight bend in the knee and the head and chest up. As celebrity trainer and HuffPost blogger Manning Sumner recently wrote, perfect form makes the bicep curl more of a full-body move. 
Tell us how it goes in the comments below, and be sure to check back over the following weeks to fix your bench press, bicycle crunches and more.
Check out more in our Fix Your Form series below:
Fix Your Form
Photos by Damon Dahlen, AOL
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