Progressive Rehab & Strength

In this episode of the Progressive Rehab & Strength Podcast, Dr. Rori Alter and Dr. John Petrizzo break down how strength training allowed a 75-year-old barbell trainee to avoid inpatient rehab after fracturing both her hip and wrist. Her story is a testament to how barbell training preserves function, independence, and quality of life—even after serious injury.   "The stronger you go into these s...

In this candid and insightful listener Q&A episode, Dr. Rori Alter and Dr. Alyssa Haveson of Progressive Rehab & Strength dive deep into two thought-provoking questions submitted by a competitive powerlifter navigating the post-meet blues and nutrition challenges.  They unpack the psychological and physical impacts of taking extended time off from training after powerlifting competitions, explore...

In this episode of the Progressive Rehab & Strength Podcast Inspirational Interview Series, Dr. Rori Alter sat down with Anna Marie Oakes-Joudy, an athlete who faces life's toughest challenges and emerges stronger every day. Anna Marie shares her personal journey through the hardships of raising and homeschooling 5 children, demonstrating resilience, and the transformative power of strength traini...

Barbell strength training or powerlifting training after having kids is HARD. Finding the time and energy to powerlift after having babies has its challenges for all parents, but, most of all, time to train and the ability to recover is most affected.  In this episode of the PRS Podcast, hosts Dr. Rori Alter and Dr. John Petrizzo continue their New Parent Training series, discussing how to adapt s...

In this episode of The Progressive Rehab & Strength Podcast, new parents and Clinical Coaches, Drs Rori Alter and John Petrizzo, dive into the challenges of maintaining a strength training program, specifically powerlifting and barbell training, after having a baby for the first and second time. From sleep deprivation to time constraints, they explore how your approach to training must shift in th...

In today's episode, Dr. Rori and two other Clinical Coaches at PRS, Alyssa Haveson and Dr. John Petrizzo, answer your questions! In this first installment of Q&A, the team answers the following questions: How tight should your lifting belt be? How do deal with deadlift drifting away from your legs when using a mixed grip? How can I increase the number of pull-ups I can do?   Resources mentioned in...

In this episode of Progressive Rehab & Strength Podcast, we sit down with PRS client and competitive powerlifter, Stephanie Tracy. We dive into her incredible journey from competing at Powerlifting America's Bench Press National Championships to representing the USA at the Pan American Championships. Along the way, we discuss the mental and physical challenges that come with injuries, how Steph fo...

In the powerlifting world, injuries are an unfortunate reality. Whether it's a tweak in training leading into a competition or something more significant happening during the powerlifting meet itself, injuries will happen. However, it's how we reduce our risk for them and manage them so they don't get worse leading into or during the competition.   Prepping for a Powerlifting Meet? Download our FR...

In this episode of Progressive Rehab & Strength Podcast we continue our discussion on Powerlifting Game Day Strategy. We focus on the nuances of managing and competing at the highest levels of powerlifting, with a particular emphasis on coaching advanced athletes through regional, pro, national, and international powerlifting competitions. This episode is designed for advanced lifters and new lift...

Having a game day strategy for a powerlifting meet is essential to making sure you have fun and the outcome of the competition meets your expectations. Whether you are a first time powerlifting competitor or a seasoned lifter, you should do all you can to ensure you go 9-for-9 as completing all possible attempts in a powerlifting competition ensures you have the best outcome possible.   In this ep...

In this follow-up episode, Drs. Rori Alter, PT, and Alyssa Haveson, PT, delve into the critical decisions powerlifters face when selecting a weight class for competition. Building on their previous conversation about the timing of entering a meet, they explore the key factors that influence whether you should cut weight, bulk up, or stay at your current body weight to optimize your performance. In...

When people get into barbell training as their form of exercise, they'll at some point ask the question, "should I do a powerlifting meet?" After just over a year hiatus from the PRS Podcast, Drs Rori Alter and Alyssa Haveson are back with the first in a series of five podcast episodes on all elements of powerlifting competitions.  In these five episodes they will cover exactly what you need to kn...

Rori and team are taking a quick break from podcasting for the fall. Stay tuned, though, because they'll be back soon with more podcasts!   In the meantime, check out the PRS website (link below) as well as the many other resources PRS offers.     If you're enjoying our podcast, please leave us a review on Apple or Spotify .   Need help with an injury or programming? Book a free consultation call...

Shoulder surgery is one of the most painful and debilitating surgeries that we see people go through. Because of this and the comparable outcomes of physical therapy relative to shoulder surgery, we encourage powerlifters to exhaust all conservative options before having shoulder surgery.   Shoulder surgeries seem to be the most challenging for people to deal with because it affects so many things...

The shoulder is one of the most commonly injured areas of the body in the sport of powerlifting and strength training. But injuring your shoulder does not mean you should stop training. Barbell lift modifications can be made so you can continue to powerlift while you rehabilitate your shoulder injury.   In this episode of the PRS Podcast the Clinical Coaches discuss our algorithm for technique mod...

The shoulder is one of the most common sites of injury in powerlifting and barbell training because it is involved in every single powerlift. So in order to protect yourself from shoulder pain or injury, it's important to have good bar placement, grip width, and shoulder position to optimize force production while minimizing extraneous forces on the shoulder.   In this episode of the PRS Podcast w...

Chiropractic adjustments are often used for the treatment of neck pain and headaches. However, there is an increasing awareness that cervical spine manipulation may not be safe, therefore it's important to know the risks, benefits, and alternatives when determining if cervical spine adjustments are best for you.    There is a strong relationship between the structures of the neck and head with bal...

In a perfect world, you should pull all the slack out of the bar and body system in the deadlift set up. The deadlift should leave the floor in a very smooth, quiet manner. You shouldn't hear the bar, yank it, or get excessive body movement before the bar leaves the ground.  In this What We Saw Wednesday episode of the PRS Podcast, Dr. Alyssa Haveson reviews a PRS client's form check video where w...

Neck tweaks and dizziness can sometimes occur with barbell training and powerlifting. So if you've ever wondered why you get dizzy when you lift heavy, why you tweaked your neck from the overhead press, where you should look when you squat, etc., you should understand that your eye gaze and neck position is very important when you lift heavy.     The neck is a region of the body that does not acti...

The unrack of the overhead press should put you in the right start position. Yet you may be unracking poorly causing a higher energy expenditure, stress on the shoulder, elbow, and wrist, and putting you in a poor position to start the overhead press.    In this What We Saw Wednesday episode, Dr. Alyssa Haveson reviews this video of an Overhead Press and identifies a common unracking mistake.    S...

Cervical radiculopathy is a common condition of the neck that can result in a multitude of symptoms radiating in the arm, including muscle weakness. Acute weakness with the bench press can be a sign that something is impinging a nerve in your neck but when addressed appropriately, you can regain your strength effectively.   Chris Rzany experienced the acute onset of pec and triceps weakness in his...

Proper squat depth is defined as the hip crease falling below the top of the knee cap. If you find yourself doing a high squat on the first rep and then the subsequent squat reps are to depth, you likely lack confidence, aka Squatfidence.    When technique is not the issue, two signs you lack confidence in your squat include: The first squat rep is high and the remaining squat reps are of appropri...

How you position your gaze and maintain your neck position when you lift is important. Your body's balance responds to your neck and eye position so when you are barbell training, it's important to keep your neck still and your eyes fixed to one point.    The position of the cervical spine when you lift is extremely important because many of the muscles that support the bar and shoulders attach to...

Despite undergoing a below knee amputation, Bruce Trout never gave up barbell training. In fact, he made a career out of it. After a major accident that cost him his leg, Bruce Trout realized strength training saved his life and continues to inspire people to barbell strength train despite the odds, as if their life depends on it.   It's easy to give up and fall into a depression when a major inju...

If you're a weightlifter or powerlifter you may be wondering if your ankle mobility is affecting your squat depth and that it's something to address before getting under the barbell. For good reason, the internet has been raging about ankle mobility being a major cause of squat depth issues for the last few years. But we'll argue that your ankle mobility isn't affecting your squat.   Most people h...