Don't Rush Into Big Lifts

Long-time, no-post.

I've been wanting to make this blog post for a while but haven't had a lot of time available. I see this a lot in young athletes that come into the clinic to workout and even some in the adult population that want to return to exercising/working out regularly.

Are you or your kids beginning "big" lifts before you (they) are ready? Read on for more info.

This conversation is one that can be occasionally heard between myself (or one of the PTs in the clinic) with a young athlete after one or two sessions (and sometimes on day one):

Athlete: "When can I do squats or dead lift with the bar? Or do cleans? Snatch? (etc. etc.)"

Me: When you're ready. When you can move properly under those stresses.

Athlete: But I am ready. I do it at school/gym all the time. I just recently squatted/benched/deadlifted/cleaned/etc.  (insert perceived large amount) pounds.

Me: Are you sure? Let me see your bodyweight squat.

What typically follows should be recorded on a blooper reel. Or maybe used as a Before-and-After video and shown to every athlete that repeats this conversation.

Many athletes confuse the bigger lifts with being more athletic or stronger. While this may be partially true, it doesn't mean everyone is ready for those big lifts. Many of the athletes that come into the clinic cannot properly load their hips in the first place. They can't correctly do a bodyweight squat or hip hinge. Why would we add weight to these athletes?

I tell a lot of my athletes quality over quantity. I tell them that I'd rather see them do five correctly vs. 100 incorrectly. The same applies here. I'd rather see my athlete do 10 bodyweight squats properly vs. 40 squats with 500 lbs improperly.

My point is this: Don't rush into doing these major lifts just because many others are. Make sure you're moving efficiently and are able to recruit the correct muscle groups during the movement with body weight or light weight before advancing to greater weights. Speed hides deficiency. When your body gets placed under a load that it is not properly prepared to handle, it will look for the "path of least resistance." This means that your body is likely to compensate in a way that allows it to achieve the movement, usually incorrectly. So just because you're able to dead lift/bench press/squat/etc. X-amount of pounds, doesn't mean you are actually helping yourself. In all likelihood, you are teaching your body a way to "cheat" the movement, placing yourself at greater risk for injury today, and in the future.

Thanks for reading.