3 ways weightlifting can ruin your athleticism as an athlete
If you’re an athlete, you’ve probably had a parent, coach, or random person online tell you that “weightlifting will ruin your athleticism.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. Weightlifting does not inherently ruin athleticism—in fact, it’s your greatest tool for increasing it. It’s improper training that harms it and increases your risk for injuries. Here are the three main ways that weightlifting has the potential to ruin athleticism.
Loss of mobility
Many lifters put too much stock in how much weight they can lift, only utilizing a limited range of motion. Also known as ego lifting. When you train with a compromised range of motion, over time your body adapts and your joints reduce their range of motion. Then when you step onto the pickleball court for the first time, you blow out your Achilles because your ankle has tightened up so much.
Loss of explosiveness/speed
Slow and controlled is great for hypertrophy…but not always great for athleticism—especially if that is the exclusive tempo you train at. Like anything, if you don’t use it, you lose it. A significant portion of an athlete’s gym training needs to be dedicated to power. Sprints, plyometrics, explosive movements, etc.
Carrying useless muscle/fat.
The average weightlifter is in a constant cycle of bulking and cutting. During bulking, you carry around excess fat, which slows down your performance. During cutting, nutrition is severely restricted. A lack of fuel means worse performance and a higher risk of injury. Doing exclusive hypertrophy training may be optimal for adding muscle mass, but tissue that is not conditioned for strength and power is just added weight for most athletes. It might as well just be excess fat.
