Powerlifting is a tough sport that will beat you into the ground if you let it. Squatting, bench pressing and deadlifting maximal weights isn’t exactly comfortable. Like Greg Robins says, powerlifting is an extreme sport and you have to be a bit crazy to compete at a high level.
But what’s great about powerlifting is that there are no age limits and it’s never too late to get started. There is such a thing, however, as waiting too long to take the appropriate steps to improve your powerlifting longevity. It’s entirely possible to get really strong, really fast, but staying strong for a long time is another story.
Staying injury-free is an essential part of getting strong. You can’t train hard if you’re hurt. Here are five ways to stay healthy and stay in the iron game for the long haul.
1. DO MORE SINGLE LEG MOVEMENTS
Specificity is king in the world of powerlifting, so two-legged barbell exercises should be prioritized to drive the squat and deadlift. But if you want to stay healthy, single leg movements like step-ups, lunges and split-squats can be a lifesaver.
Efficient squatting and deadlifting takes some serious coordination of the hips, knees, pelvis and spine. Load those movements heavily over and over and it’s easy to see how aches and pains can arise. Single leg exercises take stress off this quadrant of the body and increase resiliency of the muscles and connective tissue by taking you into ranges of motion that just aren’t possible with two-legged exercises.
Anecdotally, as soon as I started doing high-rep bodyweight Bulgarian split squats and lunges every week, my nagging hip and groin pain disappeared. Many of my powerlifting clients have experienced similar relief.
Try adding in light knee- and hip-dominant single-leg exercises as your accessory work to keep your hips, knees and lower back healthy.
2. GET OUTSIDE THE SAGITTAL PLANE
Similar to single-leg work, exercises in the frontal and transverse planes take you out of your sagittal-plane dominant world and stave off many of the overuse injuries seen in powerlifting.
Also, it’s tough to load side-to-side and rotational exercises with heavy weights. Ever seen someone do a 300-pound lateral lunge? Or a 1-rep max cable chop? Didn’t think so.
Often-overused muscle groups like the groin and rectus abdominis respond well to exercises outside the sagittal plane. Maintaining adequate thoracic spine mobility requires rotational motion too.
3. GET BACK TO NEUTRAL
Powerlifting is a sport of spinal extension. No good lifters purposefully squat, bench or deadlift in a flexed position. Extension is a position of strength and power, and while it’s useful for creating stability under the bar, it’s not so great for staying healthy, especially if you stay extended for the 23 hours you’re not in the gym.
Hanging out in chronic lumbar and thoracic extension and anterior pelvic tilt is the fast track toward movement dysfunction and suboptimal recovery. Spinal hyperextension immediately restricts movement at the neck, shoulder and hip, all of which are joints that are susceptible to injury at the hands of powerlifting.
Check out this client I assessed a few months ago. Notice the exaggerated arch in his upper and lower back and the excessive tone in his lower back muscles. A former bodybuilder who’s dabbled in the powerlifts, his massive extension posture was leading to neck, shoulder and hip pain that we quickly mitigated by getting him back to a more neutral position at rest:
Warm-up drills that facilitate flexion can restore “lost” range of motion and help you get into better positions under the bar. Try these at the beginning of your training session:
4. TRAIN LIKE A BODYBUILDER
Sometimes you’ve got to put down the barbell and build some darn muscle.
Attacking your accessory work like a bodybuilder can add muscle mass and keep you in the iron game longer. The more muscle you have, the more stress you can take off your joints and connective tissues.
Bones, tendons and ligaments don’t move weight – muscles do – so pick the right accessory exercises and the appropriate set/rep schemes to facilitate muscle growth. That means more single-joint movements, lighter weights and slower tempos. It’s not that exciting, but it’ll do more for your powerlifting career than trying to set a new preacher curl 5-rep max.
You also need to learn how to create constant tension on muscles, which may mean “cheating” a bit with form, especially when it comes to exercises like curls and rows. For example, biceps curls can be rough on the elbows and wrists, but if you cheat correctly, all the stress goes to the belly of the muscle:
Talk about a throwback! Almost three years have gone by and my face still gets that red from embarrassment when I do curls.
5. LIMIT USE OF SUPPORTIVE GEAR
It may sound counterintuitive, but NOT using supportive gear like belts, knee sleeves and wrist wraps might enhance your powerlifting longevity in the long run. That’s because forgoing these things forces you to use lighter weights and perfect your technique without the aide of supportive gear.
Belts, wraps and sleeves give you more forgiveness to train in poor positions and create passive stability. If you can learn to create active stability with proper bracing and good joint positioning without supportive gear, you’ll be even stronger when you put the gear on. I’ve never met a lifter who got crazy strong without a belt and suddenly sucked when he or she put the belt back on.
LONG LIVE POWERLIFTING
In powerlifting, you don’t have to choose between burning out or fading away. It’s entirely possible to have a long and successful lifting career if you take the right approach. Incorporate these five tips into your training plan and you’ll increase your chances of staying healthy.