Strength Adaptations Series

---

"Shear force risk, lift with your legs not your back, you have to stop lifting, etc etc." These are the common pieces of "expert advice" given to us by healthcare providers, occupational wellness consultants, many personal trainers, managers, attorneys, store clerks, and anybody who thinks they understand common sense health and fitness. This is unfortunately poor advice in an attempt to mitigate risk of injury or re-injury. Not only deadlifting but all the main barbell lifts have extremely low incidence of injury even for those is preexisting spine injuries. Across the board all weight room training and exercise has an injury rate that is miniscule in comparison to most sports. See comparison chart below. 

Progressively loading the trunk with proper form protects the spine for the rest of daily living in fact. Training with poor form and overtraining is a possibility, especially when uncoached and approaching intermediate status. Back pain and dysfunction is a terribly interesting topic (see Biopsychosocial Model of Pain)

https://www.hygieia.com.sg/library/articles/barbell-strength-training-is-seen-as-dangerous-and-risky-but-is-it-really/

 https://startingstrength.com/article/from-crutches-to-deadlifts-back-rehab-101

The most abused subjective term is "functional" in the fitness world. Don't fall prey to this ever changing term outside of the simplest definition of everyday practical movements that are loadable. These are the compound (multi-joint) movements of the squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, power clean, and chin up/pull up. 

https://startingstrength.com/article/functional-training

https://startingstrength.com/article/the-two-factor-model-of-sports-performance

Everyone who is a gym member at Mammoth is interested in strength, but how valuable is strength? Especially when compared to other physical attributes like coordination, balance, flexibility/mobility, muscular endurance, agility, etc? Strength is in fact at the top of the heap for physical attributes to foster as someone who is invested in health and performance. Practically speaking, this is because having strength allows for us to interact with our world to pick up the injured dog and carry him, move an appliance, and survive a car wreck or cancer more readily. We lose muscle mass at a rate of about 5-8% per year after about age 25 and bone and connective tissue loss follows a similar pattern for men and women. Performance in your sport also improves because every pedal stroke is more sub-maximal (a smaller percentage of your total strength) and therefore more efficient. Strength becomes less important as you progress toward extreme endurance sports but even then strength plays an important role outside of sport for the health reasons mentioned. Ultimately the athlete must practice their sport as well as strength train in the gym to remain resilient and capable for as long as possible.  This is the principle we call the Two Factor Model. 

The second reason strength is the number one physical attribute to develop is because strength training also improves all of the other attributes in a compound manner.  Even cardiovascular conditioning for those that are sedentary. When performing a primary barbell lift like a squat you are practicing balance, precision/accuracy, mobility, and the remaining attributes to a degree that makes you effective and functional at moving through the world. Now the power clean better develops certain attributes like power (strength done quickly), agility, and coordination. That being said, as you progressively get stronger in the gym you need more complex and specialized training to bolster your weak points. But general strength is the meat and potatoes that produces capable humans in life and in sport. 

“I gotta work on my mobility” is a common response you hear. This is largely untrue and is commonly an inefficient use of time (see the article below). This comes from an isolation, siloed, or ultra-compartmentalized view on health and performance. And the fitness industry will always sell you a secret sauce of silliness. Mobility, dynamic/static stretching, and flexibility all fall in the vein of joint range-of-motion. These are as important as is the need to function in your daily life or have identified them in the gym or on the field as major deficiencies. But just like chronic pain generally improves in the gym with intelligent coaching, so does mobility. You get the best bang for your buck when you focus on strength training the barbell movements because you are be default working in a compound manner. 

Back pain is the number one reason for missed work most years and in the top 5 reasons for primary care visits. Whole industries are designed to treat chronic back pain. Non-specific/idiopathic back pain is 90% of the diagnoses given which means we don’t exactly know the cause. Back pain tends to be the human condition as we age but not everyone with back pain shows direct MRI evidence and many people with degenerative disc disease will report a LACK of back pain. In other words, pain is complicated and back pain is even more complicated. So how do we simplify this? 

Remember that many people’s back pain is reduced with strength training and we know the rest of the body is getting stronger and more resilient with consistent planned training. The mental side of pain is huge and the biopsychosocial model of pain is the most up to date model to understand this. 

Compound strength training can be highly beneficial for people suffering from back pain for several reasons. Here’s seven. 

1. Improved Posture and Alignment: Strengthening the muscles of the core (abdomen, back, and pelvic region) and the surrounding stabilizing muscles can help improve posture. Proper posture reduces strain on the spine and helps to maintain a neutral alignment, which can alleviate pressure on the back.
2. Enhanced Muscle Support: The muscles in the back and core play a crucial role in supporting the spine. Strength training helps these muscles become stronger, providing better support for the vertebrae and discs. This can reduce the risk of injury and minimize discomfort from activities that would normally strain a weak or unsupported back.
3. Increased Flexibility and Mobility: Strengthening muscles also involves stretching and lengthening them, which can improve overall flexibility and mobility. This allows for better movement patterns and reduces stiffness, which is common in individuals with back pain.
4. Improved Blood Circulation: Regular strength training enhances blood flow, which promotes healing and recovery in damaged tissues. For individuals with chronic back pain, this can accelerate the healing of muscles and ligaments that may have been weakened or overworked.
5. Pain Reduction and Endorphin Release: Exercise, including strength training, stimulates the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. This can provide immediate relief from pain and also help with long-term pain management.
6. Prevention of Further Injury: A well-designed strength training program helps to balance muscle imbalances that may contribute to back pain. Weak muscles or tight muscles can create compensation patterns, leading to overuse or injury. By strengthening all the muscle groups around the spine, the risk of injury is reduced.
7. Psychological Benefits: Chronic pain can be mentally and emotionally draining. Strength training can help boost self-esteem and confidence, as individuals gain strength and control over their bodies. This can have a positive effect on their overall well-being and help them cope better with pain.

It's important for back pain patients to start strength training with progressive overload, with proper technique, and proper programming in particular to avoid exacerbating their condition.

Here's a couple articles to of support including Andrea Signor’s experience as a scoliotic patient who got strong and world class scoliosis “patient” and powerlifter Lamar Gant

https://startingstrength.com/article/strength-training-with-scoliosis

https://startingstrength.com/article/back-pain-and-back-strength

https://startingstrength.com/article/aches-and-pains

The Wildland Firefighting physical preparation along with the majority of public service and military units is lacking in strength standards. Bodyweight calisthenics like timed pull ups, push ups, and sit ups may demonstrate some level of athleticism, muscular endurance, and mental resilience but it fails to measure real world capability. Timed 1.5mile runs and 3mile rucks may be appropriate conditioning standards but again fail to ensure a suitable trainee. This is because strength (defined as the ability to produce force against an external resistance) is an essential pillar of capability, as well as longevity and physical resilience. A man or woman who can run that 1.5miles fast and squat 405lb properly has the metabolic and structural capability to perform their jobs with ease and ward off injury. The US Army is starting to value this higher quality trainee as they have implemented the ACFT (PT requirements at the basic training level) which has a trap-bar deadlift for 3x Max Effort. This is a step in the right direction for strength and power. 

https://startingstrength.com/article/the-two-factor-model-of-sports-performance

Barefoot vs lifting shoes, weightlifting belt vs no belt, wrist straps vs man hands, these are questions that arise in the journey of strength training. The short answer is intermediate to advanced lifters will be able to mitigate injury risk and continue getting stronger with all aids except lifting shoes. The shoes are the exception in that all lifters are recommended a pair of these. 

Proper shoes stabilize and protect your feet and ankles under load, allow for better force production through the ground, and recruit more muscle mass. Minimizing power leaks is the nature of force transfer and lifting barefoot is a prime example of a power leak with the bones of the foot moving in and out. Squishy running shoes also don't have the stability we need when under load and the sole is like lifting on a mattress (ie. form goes out the window and injury risk goes up).

Barbell lifting in a gym isn't natural and yet it's the best way to get strong so you can better perform in the wilderness of life. Viewing the gym as the lab (a controlled environment) so we can most effectively improve our whole body makes the rest of daily living and performance events that much easier.

https://startingstrength.com/training/a-marine-on-weightlifting-shoes

https://startingstrength.com/article/lifting-apparel-accessories