Weight Lifting as a Dentist

[Ohsnap23]

I’m an incoming D1 who enjoys to weight lift very much, often doing heavy lifts (more upper body I’ll admit haha). So I became randomly curious, but what experience have you dentists/dental students in clinics experienced?

Some potential discussion points you could add to include:

-Are there days that you dedicate to certain muscle groups so that you aren’t sore when practicing?

-Do you refrain from lower back/forearms/etc since these are key groups that you need for the tedious work?

-Have you had to tone down how often you can go?

-If you had injuries, how did you cope with it?

-Do you stay away from deadlifts/squats (since it hits lower back hard)?

-Has the gym helped keep you from “breaking down” as most people say comes with the job?

-Any exercises you’d recommend that has helped with your posture/feeling good with everyday procedures?

-Anything else you want to throw in!

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[Big Time Hoosier]

Any exercises you’d recommend that has helped with your posture/feeling good with everyday procedures?

Yoga.

Big Hoss

 

[omfsing]

Protect your lower back

 

[dPseh]

1. I do the usual “bro split.” I don’t skip particular days or switch things up because I’m concerned about interfering with work capability. I’ve walked into work with a sore ___ (name any body part) and it has not been a problem.

2. Anyone can totally correct me if I’m wrong, but I would assume core and back strength would be beneficial for a dentist. Most of our job is sitting. Good core and back strength would improve posture and prevent future back problems, right...?

3. I haven’t had the need to tone down how often I exercise. I usually go 4-5x/week.

4. No injuries yet, knock on wood.

5. As mentioned in #2, I would assume a strong lower back would be helpful. If you’re gonna go heavy though, better watch your form so you don’t injure yourself...! (No cat-back!). I still DL and squat on leg/back day without any problems.

6. Usually I’m pretty exhausted and don’t want to go to the gym no matter how awful of a day I’ve had at work, but there *have* been some days where I relieve stress through exercise. (Usually happens when I get upset about something.)

7. Stretching (like Big Hoss mentioned) at the very least...! Back and core exercises to maintain a stable trunk.

(For the record, I’m a new grad, but I’ve exercised throughout dental school. Hopefully we can hear from someone who has been in the business longer...!
I’m female too... but I don’t think that should make a huge difference.)

 

[princeafrica]

Protect your lower back

This!! Don’t do anything dumb at the gym or too fast.


I was at the gym. This chick left a lot of weights on the bar for deadlifts. I didn’t wanna look like a scrub so I just went and did those weights on there. Bare in mind this is my very first time doing deadlifts. I do everything in the gym except deadlifts....... well on my 5th rep I felts things pop in my lower back in multiple places and I casually dropped the weights and acted like I was on the phone and sneaked out of the gym acting like I was just stretching on my way out. I was confined to my bed for 2 weeks.....

 

[REACHOn]

From cardio to resistance training I enjoy working out. I've actually been working out my back and neck muscles. As long as its muscles soreness it's always fine, keep pain away from the joints. Keep it light if you just want to stay healthy and maintain muscle tone. Bench, squat and deadlift + a little cardio are the bread and butter for me. Just keep in mind if you're attempting to make gains and which muscle group you're targeting. You do not want to be sore all day during clinics or something like that. During my time during undergraduate, I did leg day and a day after when the soreness hit me I was dragging my sorry body up 6 flight of stairs....

 

[DrJeff]

Take this with a grain of salt, from someone who has been using the handpiece now for over 20 years and is nearing 50 age wise. Weight training is great to get some muscle mass on you. By far and away though as a dentist, core muscle strength and yoga like agility exercises through your core and upper back and neck are way, way, way, way more important along with practicing proper posture while working on patients.

The number of middle aged, and older dentists who you see at meetings, who you hear them complaining of neck/back issues is usually quite a sizable number. Having a strong, LIMBER core and back/neck IMHO is far more important than the perceived "aesthetics" of ripped arms and legs and pure muscle bulk.

Personally, I'm a fan of basically daily cardio (walking, running, cycling, some swimming) and then resistance training via TRX typically 3 days a week with emphasis on my core and upper back. Honestly I have no back pain, and only have some minor neck pain if I had to bend my neck in a not so posturally proper way to treat a specific patient at work that day.

Keep your core strong and your upper back/neck limber, that's far more important to a pain free, long career in dentistry and any amount of heaving weight training

 

[2TH MVR]

Lifted weights all my life. When I was younger .... my goal, just like all the other young lifters was SIZE. Heavy weights ... low to medium reps. When I got to DS .... I've mentioned a couple of times that I started to work PT at a local Gold's Gym as a personal trainer. As Dr. Jeff mentioned above .... it occurred to me that core strength and flexibility were more important than size. I also liked to play tennis and golf where flexibility was more important than brute strength.
After I settled down, had two children, 4 pets and had a busy ortho practice .... I found it difficult to find time to go to the gym. I then dedicated a room in the house for lifting weights. Wife hated it lol. Free weights. Machines. Treadmill. Everything I needed. Goals were to be lean and mean with an emphasis on lower back, core. Did this for many years. Stayed healthy. Golf improved. All was well.
About 15 years ago .... while I was doing some lat pulldowns .. I felt a pop in my neck. Hurt like nothing I had ever felt before. Diagnosis: complete herniation C6 and partial herniation C7. Nerve compression pain is debilitating. Months and months of drug therapy and I was finally able to resume normal activity. No surgery luckily. But I still get that lingering sensation in my neck area from time to time. What caused it? Poor posture? Maybe improper lifting. Not sure.
Now I'm in my mid 50's. My joints are always sore. Had some xrays done and my doctor tells me I have the joints of a much older person. Lots of arthritic issues especially in my shoulder joints. Knees too. Reason? I can only attribute it to the HEAVY lifting I had done in my 20-30s.
Today. Light weights. Stretching. I am fine in the office. No pain. Play golf once a week with a high single handicap.But if I am sitting for a prolonged period of time .... my joints will scream at me.

 

[puahate]

You are worrying to much and people here are putting a lot of misinformation and confusion.

In general i would just define what your goal is. Why are you training? Why do you workout? Hypertrophy? Strength? Just to be healthy? Figure that out

General principals for injury prevention is to manage load properly. Worst thing you can do is increase the amount of weight you are lifting inappropriately. This extends to things like running or anything else. You should also manage your load day to day ie just because you lifted 100 lbs yesterday doesn't mean you will be able to do that next training session. This is mainly due to daily stressors in life leading to fatigue. This why the idea of reps in reverse (RIR) or RPE (Rate of precived exhaustion) is now implemented.

In general, find out what your goals are. Once you do, create a plan. Have some progression scheme in there. When training gauge your general "feel" for the day. Usually your last warm up set is used as a gauge. If you could barely lift your last set in your warm up like usual then decrease the load a bit.

 

[2TH MVR]

You are worrying to much and people here are putting a lot of misinformation and confusion.

In general i would just define what your goal is. Why are you training? Why do you workout? Hypertrophy? Strength? Just to be healthy? Figure that out

General principals for injury prevention is to manage load properly. Worst thing you can do is increase the amount of weight you are lifting inappropriately. This extends to things like running or anything else. You should also manage your load day to day ie just because you lifted 100 lbs yesterday doesn't mean you will be able to do that next training session. This is mainly due to daily stressors in life leading to fatigue. This why the idea of reps in reverse (RIR) or RPE (Rate of precived exhaustion) is now implemented.

In general, find out what your goals are. Once you do, create a plan. Have some progression scheme in there. When training gauge your general "feel" for the day. Usually your last warm up set is used as a gauge. If you could barely lift your last set in your warm up like usual then decrease the load a bit.

Care to elaborate on the misinformation? Oh .... and I thought RPE means Rapid Palatal Expansion.

 

[321931]

Doesn't matter if you are the healthiest fit person in the world....you can end up with some pinched nerve and it will make practicing dentistry feel like hell at 40 years old.

And then there are people that never lift and go to the gym and they are still practicing at the age of 65. *my owner was one of them*

That being said, I think lifting and cardio is good for the body overall, but I wouldn't make it a "must" to be a dentist.

 

[Kareful]

(more upper body I’ll admit haha)

Don't skip leg day, mane!

 

[lemoncurry]

Bro, do you even lift?

 

[Captain Underplants]

I try to stay fit, but noticed some lower back pain recently, even though I'm barely out of school; I realizezd I was neglecting my dead lifts and Yoga stretches, even after one decent workout the difference was immense.

 

[321931]

How much you guys bench? I weigh 150, bench 235. /flex. My squats are like 135 LOL.

Oh well.

 

[OrphanageCaretaker]

How much you guys bench? I weigh 150, bench 235. /flex. My squats are like 135 LOL.

Oh well.

I plan on working out until I can't anymore. I focus on stretching thoroughly before any compound movement. I weigh in the high 190s, I bench 235, squat 335 and deadlift 455. Form over weight anyday. Also, use a spotter.

 

[Blueshirts]

Who is the strongest dentist in the US?

 

[Kareful]

I try to stay fit, but noticed some lower back pain recently, even though I'm barely out of school; I realizezd I was neglecting my dead lifts and Yoga stretches, even after one decent workout the difference was immense.

Could you expand on your lower back regimen? I'm always looking to mix it up and keep my back in relatively good shape for decades of dentistry!

 

[Captain Underplants]

Could you expand on your lower back regimen? I'm always looking to mix it up and keep my back in relatively good shape for decades of dentistry!

Nothing intense, I'd rather take it easy than risk an injury, I'm trying to mix in my strength exercise with core/back and flexibility, so I'll do the usual (Lat pull downs, lat presses, Flys, saw pulls - whatever they're called where you lean parallel to the bunch and pull the dumbell up across your side), but I'm trying to work in back bows for sure and some yoga poses at the end, like Cow -> Cat --> Cow, and some planks & back extensions, just whatever feels like it's hitting the lower back tbh

 

[yappy]

Lift safely with good form - the same way you should if you were not a dentist.
If you care about your health it is imperative to do resistance training. Working muscle groups through full range of motion is great for flexibility and strength. As others have mentioned always use good posture and if you're a moderate/advanced lifter make sure to correct imbalances.
Weight training, when done properly, is like yoga with a load.
There are no issues lifting as a dentist.

 

[pubhealthdent]

-Are there days that you dedicate to certain muscle groups so that you aren’t sore when practicing? No, I typically do arms Mon/Thur, legs Tue/Fri and cardio on Wed. No major issues with soreness affecting my work, sure I've had to rub some Biofreeze on arms at work a couple times, but nothing that has prohibited me from working or made it unbearable.

-Do you refrain from lower back/forearms/etc since these are key groups that you need for the tedious work? These are honestly the areas I focus on the most. Strong core and lower back muscles are going to improve posture and prevent you from being a hunchback by the time you're 40 and strong forearms are going to help prevent fatigue

-Have you had to tone down how often you can go? nope, still go 5-6 days/wk, unless I'm gone on CE or vacation then I still try to do some cardio or something

-If you had injuries, how did you cope with it? only injuries I've had have been jammed fingers/thumbs from playing basketball and I just suck it up

-Do you stay away from deadlifts/squats (since it hits lower back hard)? DO THESE! but you better have good form

-Has the gym helped keep you from “breaking down” as most people say comes with the job? 100% yes both mentally and physically. Nothing better than pounding out a good workout to get your mind off a jerk patient or a broken file in an RCT. But also physically if I don't go to the gym for a few days, I notice I feel more tired when I come home from work.

-Any exercises you’d recommend that has helped with your posture/feeling good with everyday procedures? Anything that promotes a strong core. Having bulked up arms/legs isn't going to give you a huge advantage when it comes to practicing dentistry (regardless of what the meathead OMFS's tell you )