I started this journey in high school and then really expanded on it in college when I earned my degree in Exercise Science. During that time, I worked at a sport specific training center and I still vividly remember my boss telling me that research compared the force production for no warm-up, static stretching, and dynamic warm-ups. The first two were basically the same and the dynamic warm-up was king. And for that reason I never stretched before training. Now I realize that it helps me achieve full ROM easier and itâs necessary to prevent (or at least limit) back pain. It has nothing to do with power output.
The guys running my local powerlifting gym were top powerlifters in their federation, and the guy who tried to talk me out of 5/3/1 trained at Westside with Louis Simmons in the early '00âs (maybe late '90âs, too). I donât begrudge their advice or anything, and it wasnât unreasonable to assume that a guy who was always training compound barbell lifts wanted to move the most possible weight with them. I did to a degree, but not if it meant re-working a squatting style I was already very comfortable with or switching to a program designed by Brian Carrol (the ownerâs coach whose book I bought). They mostly competed in geared powerlifting, so they trained for geared powerlifting and had plenty of success with their methods (if you forget about the crippling injuries sustained). They were also using other gear besides squat suits and bench shirts, whereas I remain lifetime natural with no TRT.
I observed something similar when I got into jiu jitsu shortly after. Some people were enamored with the top competitors and how they were winning matches. Thereâs nothing wrong with training the sequences they used to win - itâs all optional, after all - but I didnât see the value in using mat time for sophisticated techniques when my fundamentals were still lacking. Similar to lifting for practical strength, I wasnât training to be the best at a particular sport version of grappling as I approached middle age. I was just training to be good at practical grappling compared to most people.
Training at 46 is more about managing the inevitable decline and keeping a favorable risk/reward ratio with the movements I train.
Iâm still trying to decide/work out this for myself. I need to reiterate that point âMYSELFâ because we all need to be advocates for our own bodies over time and generic thoughts on this stuff can be worthless. I dynamically warm up quite a few things and have done for a while, but in terms of static stretching, I donât think everyone needs to stretch everything in that way, whereas I do think everyone should dynamically stretch everything. Lack of mobility is often a limitation caused by our training historys or our lifestyles, and many exercises themselves ARE mobility work. Iâm not against it by any stretch (pun intended), I do a ton of thoracic static stuff 'cause I deal with a bit of shrimp posture due to working on a computer and a couple of lifting mistakes. I feel that if I never stopped doing correctly performed overhead presses and chin-ups I wouldnât have developed the need to bother with stretching that area out though. Once mobility is aquired one of the best things to do is continue to regularly use exercises that use that mobility. (overhead squats are gold for this sort of stuff). Problem is it doesnât always stick as well as we all hope - or science tells us it should. Which is where regular static stretching DOES come in.
My understanding is ultimately that when our bodies say ânoâ to a desired reach or whatever, itâs down one of two things; a protective mechanism by your CNS because it doesnât trust it, or certain muscles are inactive causing the limitation. Some parts of my body donât have any of those issues, so I donât need to âstretchâ any of it. Other parts have a LOT of those issues⊠so I do.
Young guys often havenât been around long enough for all these compensations and imperfect movement patterns to build up and limit them. So thereâs the devils advocate, and WHY regular stretching everywhere IS needed and can prevent you from developing the limitations in the first place. So doing it not because itâs âneededâ, but because it works as regular check-in to make sure you donât need it.
I think I rambled and went full circle there, but itâs helped me figure out how I feel about it.
Yeah, extensively stretching out the Prime Movers before lifting can make them a little tired.
But those muscles are usually Not whatâs limiting ROM, and arenât what you stretch anyway.
Like stretching wrist/forearms and calves/ankles before Front Squats isnât going to limit performance.
37 y/o . . trained consistently for 10 years or so now and this past fall I started getting bad pain/discomfort in my right shoulder/ac joint area . . come to find out that my scapula isnât protracting as it should which puts a lot of strain the ac joint . . after months of doing rehab exercises on my own itâs starting to improve and I actually had my first bench session last week where I didnât have any discomfort at all
after my sonâs wrestling practice last evening we played a little kids vs dads dodgeball and my shoulder was a little touchy after heaving dodgeballs around for 15 minutes but that was worth it
My focus areas are my hip flexors, adductors, and glutes and I havenât felt like they affected my squatting at all. But I can say my hips feel better on that first set under the bar. I kind of treat them like DeFrancoâs Limber 11 with some foam rolling and static stretching. You wouldnât believe the relief I get from my knees to my lower back when I put the foam roller on my hip flexor and just lie there. And anything I can do to make my back happy prior to training is a good thing.
I think thatâs 50% of what my training log is - me thinking while typing and working stuff out.
Thatâs the price we pay as dadâs. And itâs always worth it.
I often wonder about that whole geared liftingâŠâŠ
I often think, marketing, money, get them in, entice with âgloryâ (short term) (injure) and the next crop comes in, sell the gear, market the meets etc.
See, thatâs gotta be a âmy way or the highwayâ mentality, otherwise the glory isnât really sold.
Itâs pretty simple, really. Powerlifting gear allows you to move more weight. Some federations use varying amounts of gear, others less. Thereâs no conspiracy to injure or exploit anyone.
Itâs not as simple as that man.
Does the lifter really move the weight, or does the weight move the gear?
The lifter has to learn the gear and learn to control the weight using the gear.
Iâm not sure what youâre even getting at. Squat suits and bench shirts are just tools that a lifter can use, or not. Just like a lifting belt, specialty shoes for Olympic lifting, a monolift to eliminate the walk-out, a deadlift bar to have more whip, an axle bar to have less, a trap bar, a smith machine, cable machines, and so on and so forth.
You can always lift rocks in your underwear if thatâs your idea of strength training. It is all optional.
Extreme gear isnât just tools.
Now Donât miss understand me though, at the end of the day the strongest raw lifter will probably be the strongest gear lifter once they âlearnâ the gear, butâŠâŠ..
A lifting belt does not act as a spring at all.
If you donât like the idea of squat suits or bench shirts, I recommend not using them. If you want to compete in powerlifting, there are many feds that do not allow them.
This is similar to another setback I experienced right around your age. The doctors never pinpointed that pain either, chalking it up to heavy lifting and simply advising that I not use barbells or heavy weights any more.
My BJJ coach (who was also an Olympic lifter) is the one who actually figured it out and chalked it up to working at a desk job and bad posture. I think he called it ârotator cuff dramaâ, IIRC. Heâs also a physical therapist, so not just a bro science guy.
Long story short, he gave me a list of rotator cuff exercises to do with lightweight bands and advised lightweight, bottoms-up kettlebell overhead presses. Thatâs when you keep a loose grip on the bell and allow it to wobble a bit as you press, creating instability in the load as you press. The pain went away completely after a few months and hasnât come back. I still do occasional band work and lightweight bottoms-up kettlebell presses if Iâm just watching TV or something.
I have zero interest in powerlifting, and I already know what type of fed Iâd want to lift in if I did or didnât like equipment but thanks for confirming who moves what. The lifter moves the weight or the weight moves the gear, lol.
Thatâs good to know. Thanks for sharing.
Itâs like âguns donât kill people, people kill peopleâ`.
As an inanimate object, a barbell isnât dangerous. What you do with that barbell under what circumstances is what makes it dangerous or not. Lifting gear is the same, itâs not inherently dangerous or injurious on itâs own, but pushing past your own safe limits IS. Itâs always down to the user, and powerlifters understand the risks involved when they do what they do.. and if they donât, at some point they might be forced to find out the hard way.
A 1kg dumbell isnât dangerous, but it can be if you throw it at someone.
Iâm not arguing with anyone, this is just a chat. Twojar thinks I âdonât likeâ support lifting gear, in which maybe I donât like excessive gear but none of that was my point. To each their own.
I essentially agree with you!
But anyone who goes under the wing of these âcrewsâ are pushed to a very high and pretty dangerous level. They donât take anyoneâs shit and they will kick your azz out if not hitting those levels, BUT who all still buys the gear?
Also the barbell can certainly be inherently dangerous too. Itâs a fixed design as you add weight the design does not change, this is a danger.
If you lift a branch, as branches change in weight they change in length and thickness that makes it more natural to lift for the body.
Does that mean Iâll stop using a bar, hell no, but itâs something I should be aware of and there is a reason why lots of folks stop deadlifting when older.
I never implied that dude. I was just putting in my thoughts in on it.
This is more about individual risk vs reward than the danger of an exercise or equipment being used. And I donât disagree with the overarching theme⊠I posted something here ages ago basically saying if someones in their mid 20s with little responsibility and are trying to push themselves to achieve some sort of goal or win some competion - who cares what they do - itâs their right to do whatever they want, gear or no gear. If someones in their 40âs, fathering a couple of kids and struggling to make each paycheck but still 1RM their deadlift every few weeks then maybe there should be a question of whether itâs really worth it.
The reason I got onto that is because many people continue to deadlift as they get older, they just sometimes might find safer ways to do it for their body. That might mean staying far away from max efforts or form breakdown, it might mean switching to the trap bar or doing it off of plates, and any other number of potential solutions. I would argue it might be what keeps people young rather than any sort of risk. Because again, my point is no bit of gear or any specific genuine exercise is dangerous in itself - itâs all about who applies it, and for what reasons.
It doesnât sound like youâve ever trained with any serious powerlifters. Iâve trained in two different gyms run by powerlifters. Nobodyâs fighting or bullying anyone if they donât want to train for equipped powerlifting. Nobodyâs getting rich by exploiting and pressuring novice lifters into doing something they donât want to do. Plenty of people do it without getting seriously injured, too. The two guys I mentioned with serious injuries are, in fact, elite-level lifters by any raw or equipped measure. That was their own decision to push it to the highest levels in the world, and everyone understands the risks involved at those levels.
Even with a fused spine, the owner of Lewistonâs powerlifting gym was still strong as fuck. Iâd sometimes work in with the powerlifters on deadlifts when the platforms were busy. The owner and I were the last two guys standing that day when 585 went on the bar, and he was in his late 50âs, weighed about 180 or so at 5â6", and still pulled 585 with no problem, fused spine and everything. Heâs one of the strongest pound-for-pound lifters Iâve ever witnessed in person.
All of life is a risk/reward calculation, and nobodyâs coming to do the math for you.
Getting back on-topic, the lifter I just mentioned who was still squatting and pulling heavy in his 50âs with a fused spine swore up and down that Dr. Stuart McGill was the reason he was able to recover so well.