Training to strengths vs weaknesses
jjpptt2
Posts: 5,650 Member
I'm just curious if/how people allow their own individual strengths or weaknesses to impact their training. I'm thinking about this in the context of strength training, but it probably applies across the board.
Do you train specifically to improve in areas you see as weaknesses? Do you focus more on strengths, and try to be really good in those areas? Or is it strictly about goals and programming, and you let the progression happen on its own?
And more specifically, what does this mean for your individual training?
Do you train specifically to improve in areas you see as weaknesses? Do you focus more on strengths, and try to be really good in those areas? Or is it strictly about goals and programming, and you let the progression happen on its own?
And more specifically, what does this mean for your individual training?
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Replies
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Train to weakness keeping strengths current. As in life, you have to practice that which you can't do.4
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I've done both in the past. Back squats have always been the lift that is most unnatural feeling for me and I struggled with it for a long time. I've had periods when I went really hard trying to work on them and then periods when I didn't do them at all since they aren't required unless you're competing in them and I'm not. When I first started lifting, I worried way too much about the fact that I sucked at them so I tended to push on them really hard and that really just made me more stressed than necessary. Nowadays I don't get so stressed about them and I'm happy to let progression happen as it happens without being disappointed that I'm always "behind" others who have lifted as long as I have.3
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I haven't thought of it in those terms. I think of it more in terms of functionality, balance and symmetry. I'm not participating in a specific sport. So, that might change my mind set if I was.2
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Bit of both for me.
It's fun to be good at something so it's nice to keep at a high level. Bench press has always been my best lift for example. It would be very rare for me not to bench in one of my weights sessions.
On the other hand it sucks to be bad at something, I'm a poor hill climber on my bike and I hate it when similar standard riders (in terms of average speed) leave me behind on big climbs. That's why I'm riding an awful lot of hills right now. It's very satisfying that riders that formerly simply disappeared going uphill are now in sight.
In strictly performance terms there's certainly more bang for your buck in addressing your weaknesses.0 -
I've always been athletic and uncoordinated. For me, gym class was something that ought to have been banned under the Geneva convention (at least, had I known about the Geneva convention in elementary school). For me, getting fit has been finding activities I'm halfway decent at and slowly trying to get all the way decent at. So, I've always enjoyed walking. Deciding that I would walk at least 25 minutes a day AND that I wouldn't 'reward' myself with a muffin or an ice cream on the way home was a big step. These days, I walk for 2 hours. My speed has increased, and I find myself deliberately seeking out routes with hills and stairs.
A while back, out of curiosity, I started tracking some routes on mapmywalk.com and discovered that I was hitting 10K daily. At that same time, I found out about a 5K "walk/run/fly" and learned that a fitness club underwriting it was offering free running lessons. And it hit me that if I could walk 10K every day, maybe I could run 5K on one day. (Not pretending that logic holds up under scrutiny, but it sounded good!)
I've been following that program; one group session per week, plus two runs on my own time for 'homework'. And I'm consistently running at the front of the pack. Will this lead to longer runs? I don't know. Am I going to make a respectable showing in this run? Welp... I'm 46, never did a distance run before, and at 5'3", I know there are going to be plenty of people with longer legs than mine. I'm not coming in first. But I will get a 'time to beat' if I decide to do another 5K in the future.
So, I guess you could say that I'm training to strengths, but taking on greater challenges as I feel ready. I'm not going to start taking tennis or soccer or other sports that require better coordination, because I know that any improvement I make will be negated by the frustration and discouragement it'll take me to make those improvements. And then I'll drop it in disgust. For me, I play to my strengths, but within those strengths, I address my weaknesses. (Choosing to increase stamina by walking up stairs at a brisk clip. Recognizing that pacing is a problem for me in my runs and focusing on not putting everything I have into the first 100 meters).1 -
I've done both in the past. Back squats have always been the lift that is most unnatural feeling for me and I struggled with it for a long time. I've had periods when I went really hard trying to work on them and then periods when I didn't do them at all since they aren't required unless you're competing in them and I'm not. When I first started lifting, I worried way too much about the fact that I sucked at them so I tended to push on them really hard and that really just made me more stressed than necessary. Nowadays I don't get so stressed about them and I'm happy to let progression happen as it happens without being disappointed that I'm always "behind" others who have lifted as long as I have.
So you still train in areas you are weak, but accept that progression will be slower than with other lifts?1 -
Bit of both for me.
It's fun to be good at something so it's nice to keep at a high level. Bench press has always been my best lift for example. It would be very rare for me not to bench in one of my weights sessions.
On the other hand it sucks to be bad at something, I'm a poor hill climber on my bike and I hate it when similar standard riders (in terms of average speed) leave me behind on big climbs. That's why I'm riding an awful lot of hills right now. It's very satisfying that riders that formerly simply disappeared going uphill are now in sight.
In strictly performance terms there's certainly more bang for your buck in addressing your weaknesses.
It really is, and that's a big part of why I do what I do and avoid what I avoid.1 -
Yes i train my legs more then anything because of illness.0
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Since this isn't really taking off...
What prompted the thread was my thinking about my own programming. I've always followed a 5/3/1 (ish) style program, and my "sweet spot" has always been 80-90% for reps. Once I hit that 95%... I struggle. I've changed my accessories to address this with some success, but it still feels like I'm swimming against the current.
So this morning I was thinking about working with/around my sweet spot rather than against my weaknesses. I don't have specific goals that necessitate either, so I have some freedom in that sense.
And that brought me to this post.0 -
Very interesting question. I train for both my strengths and weaknesses, but I do tend to spend extra time on my weaknesses because I remain hopeful they will "catch up". There are certainly workouts I enjoy more because I'm good at them, but I'd like to be a more well rounded athlete, and there is some satisfaction at making progress at something you are terrible at; even if it's slow progress. I will say though, I do not enjoy some activities my body is naturally good at (like running) but I love Olympic lifts despite not feeling as natural to my body. Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, but I like to tell myself I'm eliminating weaknesses altogether.
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In regards to weight lifting, for me it's more about maintaining my strength and muscle mass as I age, as well as functionality, and physique. I pretty much do whatever my trainer has laid out for me and let the chips fall where they may. I have a few weaknesses that I can't really do much about...I will never have a great bench because of past shoulder injuries and too much weight on the bar bell just aggravates things and I end up jacked up for a week or so, so I do more DB bench than anything. I also have problems with lunges due to breaking my right big tow about a gazillion times so it doesn't flex so well.
For cycling, it depends...sometimes I ride just to ride and keep up on my fitness with no other particular goal in mind. About a month or so ago I was on a group ride and it was a lot hillier than what we normally ride and I really struggled, so as of late I've dedicated two of my 3-4 weekly rides to doing quite a bit of climbing.0 -
I've done both in the past. Back squats have always been the lift that is most unnatural feeling for me and I struggled with it for a long time. I've had periods when I went really hard trying to work on them and then periods when I didn't do them at all since they aren't required unless you're competing in them and I'm not. When I first started lifting, I worried way too much about the fact that I sucked at them so I tended to push on them really hard and that really just made me more stressed than necessary. Nowadays I don't get so stressed about them and I'm happy to let progression happen as it happens without being disappointed that I'm always "behind" others who have lifted as long as I have.
So you still train in areas you are weak, but accept that progression will be slower than with other lifts?
Yes, pretty much. While I'm always aiming to get stronger, I don't ever see myself competing and my main goal long term health and fitness. Realistically speaking, my 155 squat max is not impressive compared to other women with 4 years of lifting under their belts. However, it represents a lot of hard work on my part and is a lot heavier than any woman I know IRL can squat as I have no real life lifting buddies and recognize that it's not a common hobby among my peers.
I saw your follow up post and I think your plan to lift around your sweet spot is fine. Right now I'm doing a mash up of two Andy Baker's programs (strength & mass over 40 and a sample plan he has on his website for building delts) and feel like I've finally found a great plan for me. It's nice to feel like I've found my sweet spot1 -
With strength training, working at your stronger points whi let ignoring weak points is called "muscle imbalance" and us definitely not good1
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Train to weakness keeping strengths current. As in life, you have to practice that which you can't do.
I think it depends in what context you are talking about. In terms of training employees, the recent philosophy is that you train their strengths. What's the point in having everyone specialize in everything when it's a slow and agonizing process in that particular environment? The prevailing logic (or trend) these days, is find strengths (e.g. StrengthsFinder and all that Steadman Graham stuff) and capitalize on those.
In terms of strength training, I just always remember to train my back as often as I can remember to and don't skip legs day.0 -
I compete in powerlifting and have to squat/bench/dl in a full meet. I chose first to focus on my weakest lift (bench). I hired a pl coach to help fix my bench, b/c what I was doing wasn't working. I didn't know how to increase my bench and needed the guidance. I brought my max up from 100 to 150lbs with help.
I figured that my stronger lifts would increase over time with progressive overload and patience. I understand why some people choose to focus on their stronger lifts (in powerlifting), b/c your strong lifts can compensate for your 1 weak lift in total. It's very likely that people become discouraged with their weakest lift and "give up" on it. Slow progress isn't particularly super exciting as PRs on your favorite lift.0 -
I train with specificity to be as strong as possible for powerlifting. So whatever it takes to lift the most on the platform.
Weaknesses will be addressed within the main lifts in how my programming is written and the ability to adjust during my training is the biggest asset for me.
Like any other full meet powerlifter, my bench is my weakest lift. I train bench well & I'm considered stronger than most all other men my age at it, but I'm not going to take away from my bread and butter of squats to be able to bring up my bench to bury the bench at the top of elite level. I'll let my training bring it up at the speed my body allows when factoring in all my training anf resources of energy.
I've added a hundred pounds to my squat in almost a year and at my current level that is more than the 20-25 lbs I added on.my bench. It's all about the total in the end for me.
In regards to strength training, have a balanced program and the weaknesses will work themselves out without having to directly address them in favor of dialing back the strengths.
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I've done both in the past. Back squats have always been the lift that is most unnatural feeling for me and I struggled with it for a long time. I've had periods when I went really hard trying to work on them and then periods when I didn't do them at all since they aren't required unless you're competing in them and I'm not. When I first started lifting, I worried way too much about the fact that I sucked at them so I tended to push on them really hard and that really just made me more stressed than necessary. Nowadays I don't get so stressed about them and I'm happy to let progression happen as it happens without being disappointed that I'm always "behind" others who have lifted as long as I have.
So you still train in areas you are weak, but accept that progression will be slower than with other lifts?
I saw your follow up post and I think your plan to lift around your sweet spot is fine. Right now I'm doing a mash up of two Andy Baker's programs (strength & mass over 40 and a sample plan he has on his website for building delts) and feel like I've finally found a great plan for me. It's nice to feel like I've found my sweet spot
Yea, I'm not too worried about it. The post was more to generate conversation than to address/answer a specific question.
There are a lot of posts on here to the effect of "do whatever you want, the best workout is the one you'll do"... then there are a lot of other posts along the lines of "do an established, proven, boxed program, period." Rarely is there any talk about the gray area in between... gray area that I think can be perfectly fine/reasonable for a lot of us MFPers.0 -
I've done both in the past. Back squats have always been the lift that is most unnatural feeling for me and I struggled with it for a long time. I've had periods when I went really hard trying to work on them and then periods when I didn't do them at all since they aren't required unless you're competing in them and I'm not. When I first started lifting, I worried way too much about the fact that I sucked at them so I tended to push on them really hard and that really just made me more stressed than necessary. Nowadays I don't get so stressed about them and I'm happy to let progression happen as it happens without being disappointed that I'm always "behind" others who have lifted as long as I have.
So you still train in areas you are weak, but accept that progression will be slower than with other lifts?
I saw your follow up post and I think your plan to lift around your sweet spot is fine. Right now I'm doing a mash up of two Andy Baker's programs (strength & mass over 40 and a sample plan he has on his website for building delts) and feel like I've finally found a great plan for me. It's nice to feel like I've found my sweet spot
Yea, I'm not too worried about it. The post was more to generate conversation than to address/answer a specific question.
There are a lot of posts on here to the effect of "do whatever you want, the best workout is the one you'll do"... then there are a lot of other posts along the lines of "do an established, proven, boxed program, period." Rarely is there any talk about the gray area in between... gray area that I think can be perfectly fine/reasonable for a lot of us MFPers.
I think a combination of doing something you enjoy and will stick to, as well workouts that will give you progress/results according to your goals are important. I mean if you enjoy lifting the same weights same reps every week or avoid anything uncomfortable then that could obviously be an issue in terms of progress. On the other hand if someone was told that full body 3x per week is the most optimal for their goals but they HATE training that way and frequently skip the gym then that is an issue too. There needs to be a balance of the two, at least that is how I feel about it.1 -
In my case for example, I hate lifting near my 1RM, and will rarely do really heavy sets but I do include lower rep work like 3x5-6 for one or two exercises per cycle from time to time to challenge and push myself out of the comfort zone. It's not the majority of my program, and its lifts I am typically comfortable with so that is how I compromise.0
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I think a combination of doing something you enjoy and will stick to, as well workouts that will give you progress/results according to your goals are important................. There needs to be a balance of the two, at least that is how I feel about it.
^^ This is exactly it for me.
Though I"m more focused on endurance than strength training, the idea of balance is a big key to my satisfaction with my plan.
As far as training my weaknesses, I address that by scheduling specific workouts to address them, whether it is with a personal trainer at the gym, or joining a group swim to build my open water swim endurance. That way I am accountable and don't skip the work I need in those areas.
And I really look forward to certain areas of my training. Examples would be strength endurance sessions on my indoor bike trainer or speed work on the local track. Even though those sessions are often uncomfortable, I'm always counting down the days and can't wait to do them.0
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