February 8, 2022
1739: How To Get Stronger In The Big 3 Lifts, Ways To Correct Knee Pain When Squatting, What To Do If Your Right & Left Side Don’t Match & More | Mind Pump
Check out the Mind Pump episode page.
Key Takeaways
- The ideal program for your body is always individualized – if you purchase pre-written programs, run through the first time as written for a baseline then change based on your body and goals
- Regularly practice lifts you want to improve at lighter weights to nail down technique – that will allow you to identify sticking points, correct, and eventually increase weight
- The hips and ankles move in many planes of motion – the knee only moves in one – when it lacks stability, it shifts around and depends on ligaments to stabilize and causes pain and problems
- “Tightness is your body’s way of trying to create stability where there isn’t any.” – Sal
- It’s an old school chiropractor move to say that your left and right side aren’t the same length – get checked out by a physician to assess whether there’s truly a difference in limb length
- Often what we think are significant imbalances or differences in lengths of limbs are just tightness in muscles
- For in-season and offseason training, keep incorporating the adaptation you’re pursuing (e.g., keep doing cardio if training for a race)
- In season, your goal is to manage stress on the body and avoid injury – not go for PRs and push training
- Offseason is the time to push training and push performance
- This can’t be stressed enough: be intentional about mobility work
Introduction
Mind Pump consists of Sal Di Stefano (IG: @mindpumpsal), Adam Schafer (IG: @mindpumpadam), and Justin Andrews (IG: @mindpumpjustin)
The guys host a Q&A and answer listener questions about getting stronger in the big three lifts, how to correct knee pain when squatting, correcting imbalances in the body & more!
Getting Stronger In Big Three Lifts
- Big three lifts: deadlift, squat, bench press
- Don’t get trapped in routine – be ready to switch programming
- Increase practice: treat it like a competition, increase volume & frequency to improve technique but be aware of fatigue and overreaching
- Improving technique will allow you to identify sticking points & increase weight
- If training for a competition, visualize the competition and go through what it will look like in your head – and practice the lifts in the order you will perform
Correcting Knee Pain When Squatting
- “When it comes to knee pain, 9 out of 10 times it has to do with the ankles or the hips.” – Sal
- Work on mobility: place special focus on ankle & hip mobility exercises and do two times every day
- Mobility does not mean stretching – mobility exercises improve the range of motion and stability of the joint
- If conventional squat hurts the knee: try split squat stance, Bulgarian squat
- Try foam rolling IT band – that will start to pinpoint where the pain is originating and relieve pain
- Check out this video
Imbalances In Left & Right Side
- Often what we think are significant imbalances or differences in lengths of limbs is really just tightness in muscles
- To avoid compensating effects across the body, do movements that are unilateral moving one arm and one leg
- We tend to overcompensate to correct imbalances
- Start with the weaker side and let that dictate how many reps you do on the stronger side
Triathlon Training In-Season Versus Off-Season
- Offseason training: 2 days per week of resistance training + 1-2 days per week of cardio training + mobility on off days
- In-season training: correctional exercise + prescribed triathlon training
