Is lifting more weight really a sign of progress ?  Does running faster mean you’re stronger ?  Does training 6 days a week make you better than training 3 days a week?

In a world where MORE always seems BETTER, it’s hard for many people to allow their bodies to slow down and do things properly.  We’ve been living with a mentality of “Faster, Harder, Heavier” to make us feel like we are doing more for our bodies.  But are we really?  Does lifting a heavier weight validate our workout?  Yes, unfortunately, it does.  We’re only human.

I’ve been working in the gym and personal training industry for over 15 years (since I was 19, yikes!).  One thing I’ve learned is that lifting heavier isn’t always making you stronger.  And here’s why.

The big get stronger, and the small get weaker.

No matter what exercise you are performing, you will have larger muscles that want to dominate the movement.  While these bigger, stronger muscles do all the work, the smaller, weaker muscles get left behind.  This creates an imbalance in our movement patterns, and can lead us to compensate into injury.

2 common scenarios

1. You don’t see many people tearing a deltoid muscle, but you see a lot of rotator cuff tears and impingement syndrome.  

During most of our arm and shoulder movements, our bigger muscles will dominate the movement.  In order for our shoulders to rotate and extend/flex properly, we need to have strong and healthy rotator cuff muscles, which are small and can only handle small loads.  These little muscles are responsible for holding our shoulders in an efficient position to allow full function and keep enough space in the joint for our arm to move freely.  If these cuff muscles aren’t working correctly, our bigger muscles, like the deltoids and upper traps, will take over.  Over time, these bigger muscles will get over-worked and dominate all your shoulder movements, and your little rotator cuff muscles will become weaker.  Then, one day when you are putting on your jacket and you need to reach your arm behind your back, your bigger, bulkier deltoids will restrict your movement and BANG!, you tear your rotator cuff.   It’s not until you tear a muscle of the rotator cuff that you realise how important they are.

Just because you are lifting heavier weights, doesn’t mean you are a stronger person for it.

It might be worth it to lift lighter weights, and and do some accessory training for those rotator cuff muscles.  When they get stronger, you will probably notice a big difference in your upper body lifts – you’ll feel more ease in your motions with less effort needed to push/pull the same amount of weight.  Then you can increase to heavier weights with a controlled progression.  (See your health and fitness expert for progressions that are right for you).

2. You rarely see someone tear a glute muscle, but it is common for people to blow a hammie, or injure their lower backs.  

A very common injury or symptom people list during their health consultation is lower back pain, previous low back injuries, and/or a previous hamstring strain.

What is a common denominator to all of these ?  Weak Glutes.

This is one of the most talked about subjects in gyms today…. those pesky GLUTES.  Although they are a fairly big muscle group, they are also weak and lazy.  When the glutes don’t work properly, we will compensate by overloading our hamstrings and causing additional strain to the lower back muscles.  These 3 areas (hamstrings, glutes, and lower back) all assist in hip extension; however, the glutes are often the weakest link.  When performing exercises that SHOULD be working the glutes, such as Squats, Lunges, and Deadlifts , the glutes are often by-passed and the hamstrings and low back have to pick up the slack.  This is when we can do damage to the discs or strain/tear a hamstring.

You don’t often hear of someone who is “out with a glute injury” unless they’ve been literally kicked in the ass!

So in a sense, lifting heavier can actually be making you weaker.

Find out what to do next in Less Is More: Part 2

You are only as strong as your weakest link.

Better Posture. better life.