Power Lifting: Good for the whole body
By MaryTherese Griffin, U.S. Army warrior Care and Transition
FORT BRAGG, N.C., - Adriane Wilson is a world class track and field athlete and coach having participated at the highest levels of the sport, including the recent 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru. She brings her experience and knowledge to Team Army for the 2020 Department of Defense Warrior Games in San Antonio, Texas. This is her fifth year as the field coach and third as the power-lifting coach and she cannot get enough of working with the Team Army athletes.
“I love my Army Team! I did get to coach twice at Invictus Games and help all the services, but there is just something about Team Army I just can’t get away,” said Wilson, a three time Olympic Trials Track and Field athlete. “They have a great drive and a great determination and the athletes truly want to be here and that’s really important that they want to learn and excel.”
Wilson is coaching at the Adaptive Reconditioning Camp at Fort Bragg, North Carolina this week working with wounded, ill and injured Soldiers and veterans on power-lifting. There are many first time power-lifters at the camp, but that is not the least bit concerning for Wilson. Her biggest piece of advice to power-lifting beginners is to take cues and listen. Don’t just wing it going to a gym and lifting.
“You might be feeling something different than what is actually happening [when you’re lifting]. The body is fascinating in how it might mask an injury or an imbalance. Having someone’s extra eyes may open up an athletes thinking on how they train,” said Wilson.
Wilson believes that with the right instruction and training, power-lifting can help you feel good in addition to strengthening your muscles.
“I assess, based on what I see and that determines how much weight we start with on the barbell. For power-lifting [at DoD Warrior Games] it is bench press only, but we work on all areas to ensure functional strength is where it needs to be,” said Wilson. “That’s why we do a lot of core work and stretch out the hips and the legs, if the athlete is able, because [power-lifting] is all encompassing.”
Wilson is teaching and these Soldier athletes are learning how power-lifting connects to their other competition sports and how it helps their whole body. Wilson says it’s simply about being stronger overall.
“Power-lifting can help athletes in other events just with their endurance whether they are a swimmer, a cyclist, or a shooter, it can help with their balance and their overall strength to compete in those sports.”