Powerlifts....just fucking up my joints?

[FrancisK]

I love myself some squats, lunges, deadlifts, bench and military presses. Pretty much all of my workouts start with a power lift and then some pump stuff then end with a lighter power lift variation. I go heavy but I don't get crazy trying to look like billy badass.

The thing is though I always read from some old bodybuilder or even some of my 30's age friends where all their joints are shot to hell from it. It would feel strange not doing deadlifts or squats anymore but at the same time I swear I get better pumps from the bs excercises than from the big power ones. Maybe just because my body is conditioned so well to the powerlifts?

For example I feel my chest a LOT more with cable flys than with any press or I feel leg lifts more than I feel squats.


I don't know, I want to be doing this for the long term and sometimes I think what I'm doing isn't conducive to that.

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[gungalunga]

Talk to any powerlifter in his 50's.....he will probably still be very strong, but he might walk with a slight limp...or have trouble with stairs....or his shoulders might be slightly leaning one way,etc. Powerlifts are great compound exercises that will put mass on your frame, but if you are constantly using heavy weight and doing low reps you are eventually going to have aches and pains...or injuries.
Doing deadlifts, squats, and bench presses is a good thing...just don't let your ego take over and try to do too much too soon. Plus the fact that I tend to get much better chest development using things like the Hammer Strength wide grip bench press than I do from barbell bench press.

 

[Dens228]

Well, I'm a former powerlifter in my early 50's. Yes, my joints hurt.

Actually not all of them, just my right shoulder, both elbows, lower back, neck,and right knee. They've improved quite a bit since I gave up powerlifting and went into a bodybuilding type workout, but I need to be careful and do a lot of preventative work.

 

[ALLEX]

Well, I've never been a powerlifter and my joints hurt too... Like all day every day...

Anyone over 40 has perfect joints?

 

[buck]

People are not designed for extremes. Whether it be lifting, running eating. Moderation is the key to comfort and longevity. But it is not much of a challenge. For people that like to be challenged you pay the price for what you have chosen to do.

 

[tokon]

People are not designed for extremes. Whether it be lifting, running eating. Moderation is the key to comfort and longevity. But it is not much of a challenge. For people that like to be challenged you pay the price for what you have chosen to do.

Wise words!

 

[maldorf]

I think doing the major three lifts is great for bodybuilding, only you don't want to go heavy/low rep for too long. Every once in awhile is ok but no need to lift life a powerlifter and doing so wont build the best physique anyhow. Not doing any bench and just doing isolations movements would certainly not overload the muscles as well and not produce the same hypertrophy.

Do bench, deadlift, and squat just keep the reps higher and put most of the stress on the muscle and not connective tissues. I don't think you need to do flat bench though. I always got great results off of dips, decline press, and a low angle incline.

 

[goal245]

As long as you can do 12+ reps with the weight you are not doing any joint damage, once you go heavier you will screw something up over the years

 

[heavyhitter]

As long as you can do 12+ reps with the weight you are not doing any joint damage, once you go heavier you will screw something up over the years

I don't think that could be a more generalized or untrue statement. You can most definitely still be causing joint damage when doing 12 reps or more if the form is shitty. That being said....you are more likely to suffer from joint pain when training with ultra heavy weights for long periods of time

 

[alfresco]

Well, I've never been a powerlifter and my joints hurt too... Like all day every day...

Anyone over 40 has perfect joints?

Me.

Perfect @ 63, despite my attempts to eff them
up in my 'youth.' Started lifting when I was 18.
Did all kinds of crazy stuff; PL, martial arts,
rock climbing, bla, bla bla . . . Guess I'm just
lucky.

So far, so good. Fingers crossed

 

[ALLEX]

Me.

Perfect @ 63, despite my attempts to eff them
up in my 'youth.' Started lifting when I was 18.
Did all kinds of stupid stuff. Guess I'm just lucky.

So far, so good. Fingers crossed

Awesome to hear... :headbang:

Mine have been fucked up since I can remember.

 

[maldorf]

Maybe joint damage is correlated with the amount of weight you end up lifting. So if for one guy doing a triple in the squat with 405 is all he can muster maybe he wont have much damage when compared to a guy that can do 650 lbs for a triple? Perhaps there is a finite amount of weight joints can sustain without damage. Both guys are doing triples to failure but one is using a considerable greater amount of weight.

 

[fit2grow]

I love myself some squats, lunges, deadlifts, bench and military presses. Pretty much all of my workouts start with a power lift and then some pump stuff then end with a lighter power lift variation. I go heavy but I don't get crazy trying to look like billy badass.

The thing is though I always read from some old bodybuilder or even some of my 30's age friends where all their joints are shot to hell from it. It would feel strange not doing deadlifts or squats anymore but at the same time I swear I get better pumps from the bs excercises than from the big power ones. Maybe just because my body is conditioned so well to the powerlifts?

For example I feel my chest a LOT more with cable flys than with any press or I feel leg lifts more than I feel squats.


I don't know, I want to be doing this for the long term and sometimes I think what I'm doing isn't conducive to that.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Don't learn the hard way. What your saying is completely logical. It's always a hard to watch a power lifter or even a bodybuilder go to far and then can't do something they love. There's a great thread on here now called "What are you guys passionate about besides bodybuilding?" Letting your brain and body focus on something else besides lifting helps. Doesn't have to be like the movie the wrestler

 

[tri-terror]

Trick is to use the middle 2/3 of the ROM...

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[biglizard225]

Forget what everybody else says. Pay attention to what guys who are older that are keeping there muscle.

Maybe it's time for you to reevaluate.


Jon Meadows: Hell he makes his workouts for older guys

Kai Greene: Talks about how his joints are no longer what they used to be. He trains with lots of focus and reps and volume. Watch his newer YouTube training vids he doesn't train very heavy

Scott Stevenson: Focuses on many other methods besides heavy basics for muscle hypertrophy.

For me when I get little joint pains and it hurts to do a compound movement I either don't do it or pre exhaust the muscle where the pain is coming from with machines and volume then start my heavy compound. But hell what do I know I'm just 26

 

[nickels]

Me.

Perfect @ 63, despite my attempts to eff them
up in my 'youth.' Started lifting when I was 18.
Did all kinds of crazy stuff; PL, martial arts,
rock climbing, bla, bla bla . . . Guess I'm just
lucky.

So far, so good. Fingers crossed

Lucky bastard. Enjoy.


To the OP, I don't know anyone else who can claim the above. My advice would be to start rotating in other lifts, or lighter weight with higher reps now, rather than later, when you have no choice and that's all you can do.

 

[sambo11510]

Lol I'm 27 and I have had to start training a lot smarter and I love Meadows workouts because they don't destroy my joints.... I still enjoy training heavy but I keep it primarily to only hitting a fairly heavy workout once a month for back, if my shoulders aren't feeling shitty then I'll hit a heavy shoulder workout, chest and legs are usually dialed back more pretty consistently as far as weight goes, went from squatting 535 for reps pretty easily about a year and a half ago to now I will sometimes go up to 315 and hit it for a couple sets of 15-20 usually I'll keep it lighter and do big sets with smaller rest periods, but now a lot of my leg workouts are a mix of volume and drop sets, rest pauses, sometimes just straight sets of 15-20..... I absolutely love powerlifting​ though. I feel like a lot of what I did when training just for powerlifting is what helped me get to where I'm at, granted I'm fat as far as bodybuilding standards go, but when I'm shaved up and first thing in the morning can see my abs..... I have pretty decent back development and I honestly attribute that to heavy deadlifts, heavy deficit deadlifts,mixed light deadlifts and light deficit deadlifts, overloading with rack pulls, bent over rows and pull ups, a lot of people hate doing pull ups and won't do a real pull up with a stretch.... Until I found John Meadows I never thought about truly stretching the lat to really activate it and tear it down..... I'm a big believer in autoregulation and listening to you body..... If your feeling good that day maybe push the envelope a bit on weight and intensity,if your feeling shitty dial the weight back a bit and just push it on volume and do some drop sets or whatever.

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[Deleted member 106824]

Forget what everybody else says. Pay attention to what guys who are older that are keeping there muscle.

Maybe it's time for you to reevaluate.


Jon Meadows: Hell he makes his workouts for older guys

Kai Greene: Talks about how his joints are no longer what they used to be. He trains with lots of focus and reps and volume. Watch his newer YouTube training vids he doesn't train very heavy

Scott Stevenson: Focuses on many other methods besides heavy basics for muscle hypertrophy.

For me when I get little joint pains and it hurts to do a compound movement I either don't do it or pre exhaust the muscle where the pain is coming from with machines and volume then start my heavy compound. But hell what do I know I'm just 26

Fully agree here.

The evidence is clear that progressive overload over time is the key to muscle growth but that doesn't mean you need to be doing the powerlifts in the low rep ranges. Find exercises that don't hurt, and progress on them in the 8-20 rep ranges, and stop doing them if something hurts.

Nearly every study that equates for volume shows just as much growth when doing lighter weight and higher reps (compared to heavier weights and lower reps) as long as volume is equated and you're still pushing near failure.

 

[FrancisK]

Great discussion thanks for the replies everyone. Nothing hurts I'm just thinking about the future.

So did anyone stop doing the big lifts and still have been able to reach their goals?

 

[biglizard225]

Great discussion thanks for the replies everyone. Nothing hurts I'm just thinking about the future.

So did anyone stop doing the big lifts and still have been able to reach their goals?

Here's what I think about big lifts I'm assuming you mean Flat Bench Dead lift and squat.

DeadLifts convnetional: make my glutes and spinal erector sore.

Back Squatting: Love Them. Every once in a while I do squats last or after a pre exhaust and Wow I get a crazy pump from them and don't have to go nearly as heavy. Most of the time I do them first. 3 sets pyramid up 495x12 585x4 or I'll go 405x25 the. 495x6 and that's it.

For me spending all day on basic compounds doesn't make me any better it just leaves my joints pretty tender the few days

And for the flat bench. I love these and have always either started my workout with flat or incline barbells. My chest responds to all different rep schemes. I love flat benching 315 and 225 for max reps. It's pretty funny watching people stare while you play with 3 plates for thirty something reps lol

Basics are great but I don't think there absolutely necessary every workout . If you asked me that 5 years ago I would have a different view but if you've built the muscle you want then different techniques and workouts I believe are needed to spark growth.

That may not answer your question but I gave it a shot lol