Powerlifting in a Commercial Gym?

Last week, I was meeting with a new client and going through the traditional assessment. The guy was like most that I see:

- Imbalanced stiffness between the lumbar spine and hips; this leads to a flawed and inefficient squat and deadlift
- Poor gluteal motor control, especially in single-leg stance
- Excessively tight in the anterior hips
- Fairly weak in the serratus, although not too bad

However, that’s not the point of this post. Imagine my dismay when I walked into a commercial gym the other day and saw a 60+ year old wearing a bench shirt and getting diesel!

The point is, I SAW PEOPLE POWERLIFTING IN A COMMERCIAL GYM! And not only that, but there were probably 8-10 people in and out of bench shirts, all over the age of 40! Needless to say, I was more than a little stoked to see that.

This just goes to show you that powerlifting is one sport that you can continue to excel at, even later in life. Many of the world’s best powerlifters are close to or over 40 years of age. Brad Gillingham is a lifter I’ve always looked up to and admired, and he continues to set PR’s well into his forties.

Well, this post didn’t have too much of a point, but I had to share it with someone. I’m just glad to see that there are some people out there in commercial gyms that are serious about their strength and physique development.

Stay strong
MR