Should you be addressing your weaknesses?
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One of the common ideas that gets romanticized a lot is addressing weak points.
In pursuing progress, one will inevitably come across books, articles, blogs, etc., that mention “weak points” or “weaknesses” in a lifter.
Usually, these come with labels like “quad dominant” or “Tricep dominant.”
These are also topics that occasionally come up with folks I work with.
They read an article about how if you’re a quad-dominant lifter, you need to work on your glutes or erectors to raise your squat.
These labels aren’t limited to benching, deadlifting, or squatting but apply to a whole host of athletic endeavors.
So, what’s the deal with this?
How do we address these weaknesses?
How do we know that our quad dominance is holding us back?
Here’s what I’ve learned.
The weaknesses you typically read about in blogs or advanced training manuals are usually irrelevant for 90% (if not more) of the population.
I know it sounds sexy to imagine that if you just hit a few extra sets of glute work to offset your dominatrix quads, then PRs will be plentiful.
However, this is not the way for most people.
Most people will not have a clear-cut quad or tricep dominance for most of their lifting careers.
Most people will develop these with years and years of progress.
These strengths and weaknesses develop over years of repetition, asymmetrical loading, individual predispositions, and preferred lifting styles.
Discovering weak points in your lifts sounds sexy because it offers a specific path to progress.
“Oh, I’m tricep dominant in my bench? Cool, I’ll hit some isolated pec work and PR in no time.”
People want individualized approaches.
And this a super intuitive one they can latch onto.
Is it helpful for those of us who have yet to reach elite status to address weaknesses in our lifting game?
Hell yes.
It’s just a matter of looking in less appealing places.
Because I don’t want to just shit on your parade, I’ll wrap this up with a breakdown of how we can begin to snuff out our proclivities so that we can better adjust our programming to fit our needs.
Below is an ordered list that you can check off to better determine how to adjust your training to your needs.
Consistency: If you’re not consistent in your training, then you cannot say with any degree of certainty that you are “quad dominant” or any other form of dominant for that matter. I don’t just mean consistent with showing up but also with how you train.
Specificity and Overload: These are the only two training principles that are truly non-negotiable. If your training is not specific to your goals, and you’re not sufficiently stressing your body enough to drive adaptation, you don’t have “weak points” because you don’t even have a program.
Programming: Before you go blaming your way-too-strong triceps for your bench plateau, make sure that you aren’t just following a shit program. I’ve taken many clients who’ve felt stuck in their progression and broken through effortlessly with simple program improvements.
Physiological Prerequisites: Mobility, stability, and work capacity are all prerequisites to making significant leaps in performance. Before you add 10 weekly sets of glute work to address your weak points, make sure that you don’t need to address basic foundational qualities.
Recovery: If you eat like shit, don’t get enough sleep, and binge drink most days of the week, then your physiological state is going to be in flux constantly. This inconsistency makes it nearly impossible to differentiate what programming aspects could hold you back.
Fatigue Management: If you consistently train yourself into the ground, you’ll inevitably see delays in progress. Finding a weekly structure that allows you to recover more effectively may be the magic pill you need.
Being a little bitch: I’ve noticed that a lot of the folks who are strong as fuck, don’t do overtly fancy things. They do, however, put a ton of time and effort into their training. If you’re constantly excusing yourself from training or half-assing workouts, then it doesn’t matter which muscle is dominant.
All of these are areas that you can address to create a more individualized approach to training that will create much higher yields in your results than any specialized program based on your assumed muscular biases.