Stormblood said:
Of the drawback of heavy weight-lifting for unprepared joints? Just look at the stats of joint issues such as arthritis in the athlete population, especially weightlifters. Specifically, what percentage has issues and what percentage doesn't.
I think one thing that should be considered here is the consumption of steroids.
It's a well known fact that non-natural lifters who gain massive amounts of muscle will develop all kinds of issues with their joints and bones, because the human body is just not designed to handle that kind of mass, it creates too much stress. The same happens with the organs, they're put under too much stress and they eventually collapse.
I think the fact that steroids allow you to develop the strength to lift huge weights, that a natural would never be able to lift, is also a possible cause of joint issues.
Another cause can also be wrong form. Many people lift with horrible form, ending up with all sorts of injuries and problems in the future. Ego lifting is extremely common.
Many studies actually show that strength training improves joint health, and I believe this to be true. I'll tell you why.
Let's put steroids aside completely, and let's only focus on natural lifters who train with patience and good form, like one is supposed to.
The average natural person that goes to the gym is just weak, so in no way he will be able to put his joints under incredible stress with small weights and good form. With time, as he progressively overloads, his joints will have all the time to adapt to the effort, and actually benefit from it.
Rest is extremely important for the joints as well. That's another reason why steroid users might have problems, because they never rest basically, and train 4 hours a day, 7 days a week!
This is the reason why I respectfully disagree with your advice of preparing your joints for years before training. In my opinion the first stages of the training itself are more than enough, and there is no way to prove (like you also said) that this 'preparation' is effective in any way.
All of this might make me look like a weightlifting fan but I'm actually not. I actually train calisthenics+weights. I think pure weightlifting is too focused on the aesthetics (leading to many psychological issues and non) and I don't think it's optimal for the human body, so I agree with you in a way. I don't like exercises like the deadlift as well.
Pure weightlifting is still a million times better than doing nothing tho, but it has to be done intelligently, and it's better to avoid certain types of lifts.
At the end of the day bodyweight training like calisthenics also involves the joints a lot and puts them under stress, but it's not bad in any way, it's actually good when done in a proper way.
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This is my take on it, at the end of the day everybody has a different opinion when it comes to things like this. There is no 100% certainty of anything, one is also required to take risks and see what happens sometimes. My best advice is to study these topics a lot, and to protect and enhance your physical body spiritually. Take care of it as much as you can.
Sorry if I went a little bit off topic HP. Cobra. Great sermon as usual.