.png)
A common gym scene would have a young guy all hyped up and ready to lift three or four plates struggling to lock his hips and make the lift. In another corner, a fully geared up guy with knee wraps, wrist support and weight belt tackles a heavy weight on his back to squat.
Seeing this, it makes me wonder if the common gym goer is preparing to compete in a powerlifting meet? In essence, all they are trying to do is get better in the conventional squat bench press and deadlift, which is not bad but all they are doing is adapting themselves to the equipment and the weight rather than making the weight and the tool adapt to their bodies.
Squat, bench and deadlift are great exercises to express and develop full body strength for everyone. Problem arises when gym goers and trainers don’t know the ways beyond standard tools and techniques around them.
In weightlifting or competition powerlifting, there is no choice but to use a standard straight bar and lift off the floor or off a certain height in all the lifts, but the beauty of strength training is that there are no such rules. For you to get stronger and use the squat, bench and deadlift in your workout programs, you are not forced to engage with the standard barbell or lift off a standard height or from the ground. In fact, you or your trainer will first need to assess your structure – posture, restrictions, weak areas and strong areas and start your lifts that give you the best mechanical advantage.
In weightlifting or competition powerlifting, there is no choice but to use a standard straight bar and lift off the floor or off a certain height in all the lifts, but the beauty of strength training is that there are no such rules.
For example, someone who has tight ankles, couple that with tight shoulders will have a hard time squatting deep. Hence, squatting with weight in front of the body and working on ankle flexibility will be the key to getting them better. Similarly, tight shoulders will cause pain during bench presses and shoulder presses. Therefore, push-up variations should be a good choice to open-up the shoulders and progress. Lastly, for safer spine friendly loading, trap bar deadlifts can do wonders for your overall strength. For deadlifts, it is never a necessity to pick the weight off the floor, our heights are different, bone lenghts vary for each individual while a common 45lb/20kg weight plate off the floor remains of the same height. My earlier article specific to deadlifts will provide more insights to you.
Talking about expressing the strength of your body, there are other compound (multi-joint) moves as well that help to load the body effectively and can provide a great stimulus. Exercises like weighted pullups, weighted dips and single leg movements like lunges/split-squats can literally transform you without bothering your spine or joint health. Obviously, you need to get better in the bodyweight variations before loading these exercises.
Thus, if you notice, keeping the primary principle the same – “progressive overload”, you don’t need to lock yourself up to certain exercises or equipment. Always work around your current capabilities and try to get better before working with tougher variations.t
More Strength!
Be the Outlaw!
__________________________________________________________________________________
Hi,
Thank you for reading this article, hope it added some value to you.
I am Vidhu Mahana, a dual certified Strength and Nutrition coach. You can connect me on my Instagram to stay up to date with the latest fitness related content, myth busting, strength training, cardiovascular training and group challenges - @outlaw_lift .
I am also an avid traveler and you can stay connected with me in all my travel journeys - @outlaw_wander
Comments