Goals

With the excess complaints of shoulder/back pain, strain and injury among fitness hobbyists surely there is some change that can be made to negate this. So many people want to do a 5x5 program like StrongLifts or Starting Strength. They want the numbers to go up on their squat, deadlift, benchpress which is admittedly satisfying. When you track your progress, training becomes really satisfying until you plateau. What do you do when you can no longer increase that number? Your body will tell you when you’ve added enough weight.

Learning the essential compound lifts is a positive change for the average person. Being functionally strong definitely has it’s uses but what about goals beyond that? What training methods will you use in the future so that you won’t get bored. How does your training fit your health goals now and in the future?

At some point you won’t be able to lift more weight, then what? The internet fitness communities are inspiring ego-lifters. Don’t get me wrong the popularity of fitness on the internet is promoting positive change in people. I just think that our gym goals should go beyond ‘look fit’ and ‘deadlift 4 plates’.

It’s all too easy to remain committed to one idea, one method of training. Do some Nordic Curls in the gym and tell me you don’t get odd stares. People have a narrow focus on right and wrong in the gym. It’s not that popular training methods aren’t useful. What I am promoting is that people set their own goals and train accordingly rather than train the ways others tell them to.

I want to be that old guy on the beach in speedos who’s still got it. I won’t throw that away because today my program says to add weight to a lift that made me sore last session.

My Fitness Journey

Honestly, my knowledge is limited and I’m not huge but I have been less experienced than I am now. I first learned a bro-split in the gym when I was 18 and a couple of years later I got into bodyweight fitness. Now I create my own programs incorporating both, with the goal of linear progress and longevity in mind.

When I was a beginner training with weights I got sore too often. I fell into the classic pitfall of trying various exercises and adding weight before being able to perform them correctly. When I swapped to bodyweight fitness I was never as sore after a workout, in fact I felt more loose and nimble. While performing bodyweight exercises you’re forced to hold everything tight throughout the entire movement. This actually increased the “mind-muscle connection” for me.

Now when I perform lifts with free-weights I don’t get sore because I control the weight throughout the eccentric movement. When I was new to weightlifting I would essentially relax to allow the eccentric movement before tightening to perform the concentric portion of the movement. For example, on my bench press I would relax the muscles to allow the weight to drop then tense to lift it back up.

Everyone has their own experiences and learns in their own way, but I still constantly see people moving weight around with very little control. Yeah maybe the rep counts but the price is a greater risk of injury. Injury tends to hinder progress.

Look After Yourself

The shoulder’s ball and socket joint is supported by the anterior(front), lateral(outside) and posterior(rear) deltoid heads, the scapula and the rotator cuff. It’s common to see people perform and promote internal/external rotation exercises to prevent injury to the rotator cuff, yet shoulder issues are some of the most commonly complained about.

The rate of injury varies between studies for gymnasts, powerlifters and olympic lifters but are fairly similar overall as mid-range risk of injury among sports. They rank lower in injury rate compared to sports such as football, rugby and softball. The most common locations for injury is different between them though. Gymnasts most often injure wrists and ankles whereas olympic lifters commonly injure their lower back, shoulders and knees. Related studies #1 #2 #3.

I don’t believe that focusing on bodyweight fitness will interrupt the typical goals of developing size and aesthetics. One look at elite level gymnasts will demonstrate this. Just throw in some extra leg work. Who wouldn’t want to look like this? I’m certain they get mistaken for gymbros all the time. They do a bunch of pushing and pulling but no isolation yet it’s still a well-rounded physique.

But what about lift numbers?

I don’t deadlift at the moment. Who cares? Only other people who want to enforce their own ideals upon me. If your actions align with your goals then what others think of the way you train is irrelevant.