I began lifting at 18. I was a spry lad at 6'2 and a whopping 140 pounds of fighting weight.
I goofed around, consistently and intensely, in the gym for the next 4 years. While I trained hard, my programming left much to be desired. I was playing around with the bodybuilding.com templates that were mostly 5 day per week bro splits with high volume, lots of fluff, and very little results. These plans may work fine for the experienced lifter, but they're not ideal for a new, hard gainer type.
I gained around 25 pounds, though during those first 4 years.
Then, from ages 22-27 years, I began power building, and eventually just training like a powerlifter. I did loads of squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and a few key accessories. I used low reps and many sets. I even dabbled with the Olympic lifts during this time.
Training was fun. Programming was fun. And the focus on the big compound barbell lifts helped me acquire lots of quality mass, along with a bit of less than quality mass. My weight during that time topped out at 225 pounds (still 6'2) – a truly massive 85 pounds heavier than when I began lifting. I settled in mostly around 215. 225 looked a bit too fluffy on my particular frame (I'm not a massive frame/bone structure by any means. My 3 brothers + my father are all within 1 inch of my height, yet have always weighed between 165-180).
I was never very strong at any of the powerlifts. But I liked the technical appeal along with the focus on progressive overload. I even loved the complex programming and periodization variations across the different powerlifting and Olympic lifting programs.
However, I don't think I was exactly created for such a special focus on the powerlifts. The fact that my lifts never reached beyond early intermediate levels after several dedicated years of training should have given me a hint.
Instead, I doubled and tripled down on the powerlifts, doing way too much volume, frequency, and intensity. I was in constant pain, but why would that bother me? I was in my mid-20s, after all. I had already learned that life hurts.
Eventually I was left with 5+ labral tears in both hips, diagnosed with FAI, arthritis in both hips, and told that I had irregular hip structure. I was barely 27. How terrific?
2 surgeons in 2 different states felt like I should have surgery. 9 months of recovery on 1 side, then turn around, operate on the other side, and do another 9 months of recovery again. 18 months out of my young life...
Sorry, docs. I'm a stubborn prick and at the time I was a personal trainer, home inspector, and an Armor Platoon Leader in the Tennessee Army National Guard. Sitting down and being immobile wasn't an option for me.
So I found another way. I did exercises that felt good, and avoided the exercises that hurt. As it turned out, all that bilateral barbell work left me with some contralateral imbalances and some weakness in my stabilizers. I'm not blaming the barbell for this. I'm blaming my own application of barbell training (and overtraining) for these issues.
I found kettlebells, dumbbells, and bodyweight exercises allowed me to train hard, get back on the train for building muscle (something that had stopped the previous year because I could never train hard due to pain. My lifts kept getting weaker instead of stronger due to the steady deterioration of my hips). Certain kettlebell exercises – especially swings, Turkish getups, loaded carries, lunges, and single leg RDLs – restored function and strengthen my weak points.
I also did a ton of research and found some FAI/labral tear specialist physios online that had great advice, exercises, warmup drills, and stretches to help deal with my issues. When I went back for my follow up at the second surgeon's office 2 months later, I aced all the physical tests that I had so miserably failed 60 days earlier. Almost exactly 6 years have gone by and I still have not considered the surgeries. That's a win in my eyes.
My life also became MUCH busier around this time (and has remained busy ever since). I love the barbell and introduce many of my clients to productive barbell training, as we speak. I still train with the barbell a bit, here and there. However, I've never been able to barbell squat pain free with any amount of intensity since that time. Deadlifts sometimes flare up my hips. And I simply enjoy bench pressing with dumbbells and overhead pressing kettlebells more than the barbell counterparts nowadays. It feels good and forces each side work equally.
I found that these other forms of training help improve my body composition with shorter sessions and make me feel GOOD, as opposed to making my hips and back hurt all the time.
I always say that the big basic movement patterns are important to focus on. That is, we should prioritize getting stronger in a squat/lunge, hinge, horizontal push, horizontal pull, vertical push, and vertical pull.
But, it doesn't matter what piece of equipment you use to do these exercises (or what variation of these exercises you use, for that matter). Barbells work great. But so do machines, kettlebells, dumbbells, sandbags, and anything else that you can progressively load. For some people, certain pieces of equipment and certain exercises may be more productive than others.
Time efficiency, stimulus to fatigue ratio, exercises that make me feel better as opposed to making me hurt for days, and training frequently are all important to me these days. And that's why I train the way I do.
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