A Method for Correcting Weak Points in Your Lifts

Each of us is a unique collection of strong and not so strong muscles. There is a lot more to all of us, but in the weight room we tend to focus on our muscles and not so much on our color perception or music pitch.

All of us deal with the issue of selecting the exercises that will help build our strength. However, each of us has a slightly different challenge. There is no one formula for picking exercises that fit all of us.

As powerlifters our basic goal is to do the best we can in the squat, bench press and deadlift.

Each of us has a slightly different set of problems with each lift.

 

Diagnosis of Your Specific Lifting Issues

IMHO each of us can do more analysis of our lifting problems outside the gym than we may have expected.

I discovered this in part because I have injuries to each of my shoulders that require different rehab procedures.

This led me to mentally assess the strengths and weaknesses of placing my arm in different positions ranging from overhead to weakness in different positions.

For example, I can toss a 40-pound kettlebell overhead with no problem.but cannot hold a glass of water halfway out in front of me if my arm is parallel to the floor.

In short, my rehab must address a few ranges of motion where I am astonishingly weak.

This may be an unfamiliar idea to many of you who have never experienced such an injury.

 

Uneven Strength

We all have positions in the power lifts where we are relatively weak. The dreaded sticking point in the bench press is an example.

A key to overcoming these weaknesses is first of all finding out where they are and what range of motion they impact.

The second thing is to devise some exerccises that can begin to reduce the relative weaknesses.

Muscle Mobilization in the Weak Positions

Having identified the weak positions, the trick is now to pose in those positions and consciously activate the muscles.

For example, in the bench press take an empty bar or broomstick at position a few inches off the chest where most of us stall out.

Hold the bar at that point and consciously flex every muscle in your body to maximum tension. Pay special attention to the muscles you would normally use to push the bench press upward.

Hold the maximum tension for five seconds then relax for about 40 seconds. Develop full tension again and hold for 5 seconds. Create maximum tension at least three times.

This action is training your muscles to put out maximum force.

Do this 3-4 times a week for at least two weeks before you can anticipate much progress. Stick with it for a couple of months and you will be amazed at how much strength you have built in your former weak spot.

 

In other positions

The same principle can be applied for other muscle groups where you may have a weakness because of injury or training flaw.

For example, select the weak points in your overhead press and try to create maximum tension. You may be surprised by how weak you are in a small range of motion.

For overhead pressing movements I would recommend working one arm at a time. Do 3-5 sets of maximum tension for about 5 seconds each.

In the squat, get into different positions on the descent and do the whole-body contraction.

The cool thing is that you dont use weight for these exercises so you can do them anytime at home. You can also do them at the conclusion of your regular workout.

 

Coda

Doing these poses has helped me rebuild the strength in my arms and shoulders after two different accidents. I believe it can help anyone build up their strength in those parts of a lift where some of the muscles seem to check out.

Best of luck. Keep at it for at least a month and you may be happily surprised.

Lift Big!

Richard