From Powerlifting to Weightlifting—A Transition

I think I’ll always define myself as a “powerlifter.” It’s become such an integral part of who I am
as a person, an “athlete” (I use that term loosely—if you know, you know), and a coach, that I don’t think
I could separate myself from it even if I wanted to.

I’ve been competing in multi-ply powerlifting for the better part of the last five years, with an
unofficial squat at 1060lbs, a 555lbs bench press, and a 725lbs deadlift, with an official competition total
of 2000lbs even.

I love powerlifting. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do with or to my body.

But, not everything works out the way we want it to.

In January of this year (2022), I herniated a disc in my cervical spine, between the C6 and C7
vertebrae. Because of that, I’ve been unable, and unwilling, to put a bar on my back to squat, and, to add
insult to injury, my left triceps is essentially useless—it still technically works, meaning that I have the
capacity to extend my arm, however, there’s very little if any strength in it. Because of this, I haven’t
been able to bench—even an empty bar is challenging. So I was left with two choices—1) become a
deadlift specialist (even that was affected though, due to my grip being impacted by the nerve issues), or
2) find something else to do with myself.

I tried Option #1 for a minute, but quickly burned out on pulling multiple times a week, so I took
a step back and thought that there had to be something else I could do.

Enter Option #2, Olympic Weightlifting, or simply “weightlifting.”

I really enjoy weightlifting—not quite as much as I enjoy powerlifting, but it’s still something that
I love to do, and, perhaps more importantly, it’s something that I CAN do, albeit in a limited fashion.

I started weightlifting a few weeks after herniating the disc, after a years-long hiatus from the
sport. I’m not ashamed to say that I was, and still am, very rusty, and have a long way to go in order to
move from “shit” to “suck”—I’m nowhere near “good,” barely even “okay,” but at this point, it’s more
about the act of simply doing something active than it is the end result. I’m more concerned about
staying active and engaged than I am about how good I am at weightlifting, despite a burning desire to
excel. I’m doing my best to see this as an opportunity to broaden my horizons and improve my overall
abilities, rather than some kind of regression to a less-polished discipline.

There are a number of things I could say about this process and this transition, however, the
primary thing is that it’s hard. I’ve spent the last five years laughing off mobility work, preferring instead
to stay as rigid and bound up as possible so that I could be tight and locked in under maximal weight.
Weightlifting is drastically different in this regard—yes, there’s an absolute need to create and maintain
tension throughout all phases of the two lifts (snatch and clean-and-jerk, for the unfamiliar), however,
due to the overhead nature of the lifts, there’s also the need to a high level of mobility and flexibility,
two things I am painfully lacking.

My overhead extension, whether in the snatch or jerk, is an absolute dumpster fire. I can get into
position, meaning that I’m functionally capable of extending my arms over my head and holding a weight
in place, however, getting down into a squat position with weight over my head is absolutely brutal. I
have basically zero thoracic extension, zero cervical/shoulder mobility, and if I’m not wearing briefs, I feel
like I’m going to explode when squatting down. Additionally, I’m faced with the same issues with triceps
strength in weightlifting as I am in powerlifting—in both the snatch and the jerk, the triceps are
responsible for locking out and stabilizing the elbows—in my current state, my left arm doesn’t fully
engage, and tends to buckle under anything approaching maximal weight. This means that, in both of
the movements (SN and CJ), my left shoulder and bicep are taking on far more of a load than what is, in
my opinion, optimal, which is then leading into some other developing issues (biceps tendonitis, elbow
tendonitis, shoulder pain). Honestly, I felt better running a full-blown Conjugate powerlifting program
than I do weightlifting, but again, it’s something, and something is always better than nothing.

While my mobility is one limiting factor, technique is another, and the two are tied together, so
hopefully as mobility improves, so does technique. As of right now, I’m “powering” (catching the weight
with the thighs at or above parallel to the floor) pretty much everything, meaning that I’m having to pull
the bar much higher than if I were able to catch in the squat position, which absolutely limits the amount
of weight I’m able to successfully lift. I go back and forth on whether this matters to me or not—on one
hand, if I plan to compete, I’ll have to learn and cultivate proper technique at some point. But, on the
other hand, if I’m just lifting to lift, then do I really need to worry about technique, as long as what I’m
currently able to execute is sufficiently passable? As stated previously, I view this as an opportunity to
improve and expand my lifting skill set–while I’m sure that I’ll go back to powerlifting once my neck issue
is resolved, it’s never a bad thing to be capable of executing (and teaching) different disciplines and skills,
and, if nothing else, it’s a challenge.

To wrap all this up, here’s a non-exhaustive list of things that might be good for anyone looking
to make the transition from powerlifting to weightlifting:

1. Focus on technique–just as with powerlifting, technique in weightlifting is key to success. Yes,
   strength plays a massive role in both sports, and should be given priority in training, but being
   able to execute correct and efficient technique is important.

2. Improve mobility–powerlifters, particularly geared lifters, are not exactly well-known for their
   mobility. There are, of course, exceptions, but compared to weightlifters, powerlifters might as
   well be walking 2x4’s. Push your mobility work, attack your weaknesses, and be honest with
   yourself about what you need to improve.

3. Find a coach or a program–programming for weightlifting isn’t terribly different from
   programming for powerlifting, but with a greater demand for technique in weightlifting, or at
   least a more complicated approach to technique, it’s important that any novice weightlifter find
   either (or both) a well-developed program to follow, or a qualified coach to teach and correct
   form.

4. Be patient–expect to take some steps backwards before moving forwards again. Transitioning
   from squatting over 1,000lbs to barely being able to put 200lbs over your head is a frustrating
   experience, but it’ll get better as long as you stick with it.

5. Have fun–lifting weights is just dope AF, no matter how it’s done, so just enjoy yourself and go
   lift some stuff.