When I only cared about how much weight I lifted, there seemed to be a direct correlation between heavier weights lifted and more aches/pains in my joints. After getting my Doctorate of Physical Therapy, I realized this approach wasn’t sustainable, so I gravitated towards the opposite extreme of avoiding heavy lifting thinking it would help my joints. This only led to me being weak AND having aches/pains in my joints.

Total bummer and a waste of my time getting weaker and less resilient.

It took about 10 years of self-experimenting and working with hundreds of other clients with joint pain to realize that lifting weights or getting strong doesn’t have to sacrifice the health of your joints. In fact, lifting weights is actually essential for long-term healthy joints.

If you’ve ever thought getting strong or lifting weights wasn’t good for your joints, today you’ll learn the keys needed to getting strong AND building strong joints.

1: Address Imbalances

If you have a cellphone, spend some time sitting in a chair or car throughout the day, you’ve played a sport, or you’re above the age of 5…then I hate to break it to you but you’ve developed some imbalances that need addressing. Imbalances are basically any area of your body that isn’t working the way it should. This is commonly through limited flexibility or stiffness in an area of your body that is supposed to be mobile, lacking strength in a certain area of your body, or noticeable asymmetries that are present from one side of your body to the other.

When you have significant imbalances in your body, that you are either unaware of or you have left unaddressed, your risk for over stressing your joints over time will increase.

2: Intentional Warm Up

While you probably understand the importance of warming up before jumping into a workout, there’s a big difference between warming up and warming up intentionally. Simply jumping on a cardio machine or performing the exercise you are going to be training at lighter weights is not a sufficient warm up for long-term joint health. Your warm up should be customized to what you’re about to be doing, and therefore should look different if you are running vs performing back squats vs doing bench press.

Your warmup should be focused on the exercises or movements you will be performing that day, and should emphasize raising your temperature/heart rate, preparing your joints, and targeted mobility or stability work that will help you move with better technique (and shouldn't take up half your workout either).

3: Prioritize Technique

Focusing on learning the proper technique in your exercise is one of the most effective cheat codes to getting stronger and feeling better long-term. Improper technique can slowly stress your joints overtime, even if you don’t currently feel pain when you’re working out. Sometimes significant technique changes are necessary, but often it is just subtle tweaks and adjustments that result in your muscles getting the stress instead of your joints.

While it may challenge your discipline, patience, or your pride - focusing your time and energy into learning the proper technique will be one of the best investments to your long-term joint health while also experiencing more strength gains.

4: Train With Tension

Learning how to create tension is one of the biggest secrets you might have never learned when it comes to generating strength and protecting your joints. The best lifters, athletes, and those that remain healthy long-term understand this better than anyone. While many people understand what proper technique looks like, many people never understand what proper tension feels like. Most people don’t realize that there’s no such thing as upper body or lower body exercises. If you are training with tension, you are using your lower body for upper body exercises, upper body for lower body exercises, and using your core for all exercises.

Training with tension in its simplest form is basically learning how to connect your core to your upper and lower body when moving, and is a key that will unlock healthier joints and more strength across any exercise when done correctly.

5: Proper Programming

The best technique and awareness doesn’t on its own exclude you from stressing your joints. If your program has too high of volume and intensity, OR too low of volume and intensity, you’re at risk for over stressing your joints or not building the proper strength around your joints to protect them long-term. Also, if you’ve been following the exact same program for more than a few months, your body will greatly benefit from some variety and progression to keep challenging you while keeping your body healthy (side note: your program also shouldn't look completely different month after month - subtle changes work best here).

To maximize your strength potential while also protecting your joints long-term, your program should include the proper volume, intensity, and progression of exercises that set you up for success.

Strength training and getting stronger is not bad for your joints. It’s actually necessary for longevity as it relates to joint health, improving overall health, and changing your body composition.

If you’re looking for a program that builds strength, emphasizes longevity, and addresses all of these 5 Key Areas - click here to set up a time to talk with one of our coaches to discover how we utilize all these concepts in our Inside Out Strength Protocol.