14. Longevity in strength sports

Many people don’t realize how short the average competitive career in strength sports actually is.

Take powerlifting which I follow closely. The majority of people who compete:

Do one meet, maybe two, then disappear within a few years.

Roughly 70-80% are gone by year three.

Over 90% are gone by year five.

* Based on long-term contest data from major federations like the IPF, USAPL and funneled into Open Powerlifting, most lifters compete for only 1-5 years.

Injuries play a role, but more often it’s something else:

Burnout, stagnation, life pressure, realizing that progress isn’t a linear phenomenon. The excitement is gone and as time goes by, many of your lifting friends or team members will move on. It can be hard.

I’m not saying this as criticism. It’s just reality. And it's a bitter experience to see people get discouraged and walk away.

I started competing in December of 2013. Since then I’ve done around 30 contests across (primarily) powerlifting and a few grip and strongman events. I’ve had good years, bad years, injuries, rebuilds and periods where training was the only stable thing I had.

Statistically, that kind of longevity puts an athlete well under 1% of competitors.

Not because of talent, but because staying is harder than starting. You've seen and done it all time and time again. There will be times where you feel completely mentally sterile. And I've been there.

Somebody who has never trained may think that with time comes steel dedication and conviction. To some extent, yes. But the more time you spend training, more everyday problems have the opportunity to tag along. That, understandably, can be greatly discouraging.

What keeps people in the sport isn’t aggression or motivation. It’s structure, patience, knowing when to push and when to pull back. The ability to keep going regardless of success or failure, family, financial or health problems.

Let's reel it back in because on top of all that you have to be able to keep training and PROGRESS. Most careers don’t end with a big injury. They end quietly, after months or years of trying to force progress that isn’t there.

If you don't want to end up that way, it's essential that you take the list below very seriously.

Aspects of training which can prove detrimental when left out:

. Base work
. Deloading
. GPP
. Off-season structure
. Mental sustainability

Not because they’re exciting but because they keep the door open. I've been broken mentally and physically and still managed to come back. Every time. And in many cases, I hobbled back. And if I was able to do it, so can you.

Find ways to renew your love for training. Make this your number one priority once you get through your gym door.

ENJOY WHAT YOU'RE DOING

If there’s one thing experience has reinforced for me, it’s this: the goal isn’t just to get strong, it’s to still be training years from now. Truthfully, I want to be able to train my beloved compounds and their variations for as long as I live.

Regardless of intensity. I just enjoy it that much.

Here are some pointers you can read and hopefully aspire to apply to your regimen!

. Rotate exercises! Make training fun again. Yes we all love the big 3 barbell movements but changing your routine can have a positive effect on the way you view training. And the way your body neurally responds to a different stimulus.

. You don't HAVE to max out all the time. Set rep PR goals. It makes things less detrimental and builds confidence. Can't bench your current best at 300lbs? Set a goal to do 270lbs for 3-5 reps (just a quick example).

. Rotate between strength building and muscle building days. They're very closely connected but theres a difference between popping your eyeballs out during heavy squats and getting a good leg pump doing repetition work.

Recovery is key, which brings us to...

. Deload weeks! Seriously... You need to deload at times. Every 4-6 weeks should be fine but that depends on how heavy you train, your weight, your age, frequency between sessions, lifting goals and recovery rate.

. "Sprinkle" general physical preparedness sessions here and there. These can be done during a deload week. Spend time training compounds or smaller exercises in which you're not as technically efficient or need to bring up strength-wise. These are your builders.

They work great since you can't load them as heavily as your top lifts. This way you're training within the limits of the deload mentality (30-50%) plus you're allowing connective tissue to actively recover.

Terry

https://linktr.ee/terryconjugateiron