In my last video, I gave some tips on dealing with hips issues to help deal with lower back pain and problems. The hips are one of the keys to having and maintaining a healthy lower back.

Once you deal with the hips, your low back will start to feel better and more secure, to the point where you will be able to get back to activities and exercise once again.

With that said, and the numerous different issues that people have, there will still be a lot of work to be done to finally get your back where it needs to be.

I will outline another set of exercises soon to go along with the hip exercises that I gave in the video.

Today, however, I want to talk about things you can do in the gym, safely, if you do have a bad lower back.

Too many people stop training or exercising all together when they have a back issue in fear that they will really damage something permanently…and justifiably so.

The truth is, training can continue, safely if you avoid certain things and do the right things.

Here is a quick list of things you could in the gym safely if you have a lower back problem without risking more pain and/or injury.

• Avoid Spinal Loading - This means that you need to take the weight off of your back. Instead of barbell squats, try dumbbell squats with the DB’s in your hands and to your sides. You can also substitute those squats with lunges, step ups and other leg work that does not involve putting a weight on your back, thus loading your spine.
• Avoid twisting motions at all costs. Twisting is the last thing you want to do if you have a back lower back. In fact, I don’t advise much twisting even if your back is healthy (more on that at a later time.)
• Limit or avoid spinal flexion while working out. This means forward bending. If you have a disc problem, bending is not recommended. Even if your back problem does not involve a disc, forward flexion will aggravate the muscles in the lower back which are probably in bad shape. This means crunches too.
• Work on your core everyday. The stronger your core is, the better your back will feel. You do not need to do crunches and other ineffective ab work to build your core up. Implement planks into your program, along with standing, full-body strength training.
• Stay away from the leg press. I am not a big fan of leg presses anyway, but in this context, just understand that the leg press puts your lower back in a lot of loaded flexion, which is never good.
• Avoid Dead Lifting until you are stronger and have your technique absolutely perfect. For this, I recommend someone that is in the “know” watch you and teach you the right form.

Just because your lower back is hurting or you have problems, does not mean your time in the gym is over. To be frank, you probably need more time in the gym correcting the things that caused your issues in the first place.

Stay away from the bad stuff, implement the good stuff and your back will be feeling much better in no time.

Recently I shot a video on dealing with lower back pain. I give some quick exercises that anyone can do at home.

Check out the video and let me know what you think.

Lower back pain effects too many people these days. There are always things you can do to help manage your pain and do away with your problems.

The road to building a bulletproof body starts when you begin taking care of yourself. You cannot achieve the strength necessary to fight off injury and pain, when you are already living with pain and dysfunction. You will never reach your physical potential with a painful lower back, or with an injured shoulder. Yet, many people just “blow off” their pain and injury and really have not truly wanted to get better.

When clients come to see me, many tell me that they need to lose weight. Others need to gain muscle and strength, and some need to perform better at their sport or activity.

Very few come to see me when they need to feel better. They know they need to work on their weak points, but few do. When people are in pain, most wait. They know they need to get rid of their pain and need to work on their physical problems, but still, they wait. People know when they need to lose weight, or when they need to work on their issues, but many still do not do anything about it.

The distinction here is that when it comes to actually feeling better, dealing with pain, and improving your life, people tend to wait, ignore the problems, until that need becomes an absolute need and want. Think about that for a minute.

To better illustrate this point, I recently started a fat loss boot camp. It filled up in 2 days. People will do anything to look better. When the people showed up for the boot camp, I was a little surprised at how many of the participants really were not over weight. In fact, the majority of them were in great shape. When asked, they all said they wanted to look better, lose some weight and tone up. Most did not need to lose weight, and most of them looked great. They committed to the boot camp because of their desire to look better. Basically it came down to them wanting it, not just needing to.

It is a small distinction, but an important one. When someone finally wants to feel better, he or she will find a way to do so. Needing to… is not enough I have found. Think about how long you have waited to go to the doctor when you did not feel well. Usually it takes a lot of pain for people to make that decision. It then becomes a want.

I think it probably is best when you combine your needs and wants together. If you have low back pain, you need to get it fixed. Wanting to get it fixed is the missing motivation to actually do something about it.

Too many people wait to come to me when their physical problems and pain reach a breaking point. Although their issues can be fixed in most cases, it is much tougher to deal with these issues after weeks of waiting.

The question always is, “why wait?”

If you have pain, or physical problems, teach yourself to want to get better. You need to allow yourself to want to feel good again. Needing to is never enough. People tend to hate doing what they need to do, but most will do what they want to do.

On the road to physical invincibility, the first step is learning to fix yourself. Everyone has physical problems and everyone can feel better than they do right now. People have various problems such as back pain, shoulder pain, knee pain, and various other problems. Many ignore them and go through life knowing that they need to eventually do something about it. The smart people want to get better and want to feel great again.

You will never reach all of your fitness goals and become invincible until you finally want to feel good and do something about it.

If you are hurting, or have issues, take the first step now and do something about it.

Low back pain is one of the most crippling physical problems that people have across the world! It can be minimized, and sometime cured if you take the right measures each day. The first thing you need to do is realize why your back is hurting.

1. Your hips are too tight! If you have tight hip flexors, limited rotation in the hip joint, and overly tight hamstrings, for starters, you are going to be putting way too much stress on your low back.

2. Your Ass doesn’t work! Your glute muscles are the biggest and strongest muscles in the body, and in many people, they just don’t do their job. Sitting all day can shut them off and cause the hamstrings to compensate. Too much hamstring tension = low back stress.

3. Your Core Strength Stinks! Having a strong core is much more than being able to bang out some crunches or having a six pack. Having a strong, functional core is about training all of the core muscles the right way. This includes low and mid back muscles, all of the abs (even the ones you cant see!) the glutes, hip flexors, and hip rotators.

4. You train all of the wrong things! I see it everyday in the gym. People are too concerned about the “show” muscles and not enough about the “go” muscles. In other words, too many people want to look good and don’t care too much about their physical health while they are at it! There is nothing wrong with training your chest, biceps, triceps and quads. But you need to work on the important muscles too. Usually, these are the ones you cannot see (i.e. hamstrings, glutes, transverse abs, obliques, low back, etc…)

5. You train the wrong way! The Smith machine and leg press are not good for your back. In fact they can be down right bad for your low back. Please stay away from these exercises. Performing countless reps of leg curls and leg extensions are not helping your back either. You need to train your core and your legs, and do it standing. Get off of the machines. You are just weakening your back.

6. House and Yard work! House and yard work must be done. However, it is stupid and naive to think you can get up off of the couch, after spending months doing next to nothing physically, and then go out and work in the yard doing all kinds of heavy lifting and other activity without hurting your back. Same goes for house work. Make sure you warm up, stretch, and do some work prior to tackling that big project in your house and yard. Your back will thank you for it.

7. Too much behind the wheel.  If you have a job that requires you to drive a lot, you need to take measures to reverse the stress that you are placing on and around your low back. It is a certain that your back is going to be placed in a bad position for most of your driving. Even if you are comfortable, you were not meant to sit for that many hours in one spot. If possible, take a break and move. Get out of the car, move around, stretch out a bit, but just move. If you get gas, get out doing the filling up time. If you cannot, make sure you do this as soon as you arrive to your destination.

Stay tuned for the follow up to this blog, with a list of the things you can do about your low back problems.

To become “invincible” you have to bulletproof your body as best as you can. What this means is taking care of the key areas in the body that matter most.

I knew I had to make some major changes. My doctor was correct in a way…I was done doing what I was doing. Instead of calling it quits, I looked at it a bit different. I was done being stupid. It was time to bulletproof my body and time to do it the right way.

First thing was to change what I was doing and how I was doing it. Pain is not fun, but it is an awesome motivator. More so, the fact that if I didn’t make a major change in my routine, I would not be able to train and that was not going to happen.

Since my shoulders were messed up (my fault) and my lower back was in constant pain (also, my fault) I had to start with the shoulder and hip complexes first.

Most upper body issues stem from shoulder complex. The shoulder complex is made up of the shoulder joint (ball and socket joint), the upper back and chest area. The hip complex is made up of the hip joint (also, ball and socket joint), and the surrounding muscles of the hip (i.e. glutes, lateral muscle groups, hip flexors.)

I made a plan, stuck to it, and the results were amazing.

Here is a brief summary of what I did:

Shoulders:

• Eliminated pushing movements until further notice. No benching or pressing. You cant keep hitting your thumb with the hammer and expect to feel no pain. So, I took away the hammer for now.
• Started doing a lot more pulling motions. More rows, chins, pull-ups, pull downs, etc… Most people do way too much pushing movements (as I was) and not enough pulling. I started with pulling motions, trying to stay away from anything that hurt.
• Started soft-tissue work. The first thing I did is get a massage…a deep tissue massage. I told the therapist to work exclusively on my upper back, chest, and hips. I felt 60% better immediately when she was finished. I used “at-home” soft-tissue work each day after and my pain diminished almost instantly.
• I worked my internal and external rotator cuff. Again, I the pain was much better just from doing those motions.

Hips:

• The hips are the key to a healthy low back. I knew that, so I started there. I added mobility work before each workout. Leg swings, walking hip huggers, walking quad stretches, etc…
• Added static stretching to my hip rotators, and hip flexors.
• Activated my glutes. The glutes are the biggest muscle groups in the body, and in most people they don’t work well if at all. Once I got these muscles “back in the game” the back pain went away almost completely.
• Soft-Tissue work! I got massages, used tennis balls and other means to work the knots and adhesions out of the glutes, lateral muscle groups and hip flexors. The pain was moving away fast.

In just two weeks time, I was almost completely pain free. I was able to start training again, but this time the right way. It was a small miracle based on my MRI and what the doc told me.

I knew at that moment that this stuff works and works well. My training has never been the same, and barring me being temporarily stupid here and there, I have remained pain and injury free since.

The take home message for everyone reading this is simple: Do the right things for your major joints and muscle groups first. Have a balanced program, and just don’t be stupid.

Since that time, I have benched, squatted, dead lifted, and everything else I wanted to do. I hit new PR’s, have gained strength like never before and I feel great.

I do whatever I want physically with not limitations. I lift a lot of heavy things in and out of the gym, with no pain or problems. I live my life the way I want…physically. I am almost bulletproof, in a sense. I am in better physical health then most people 20 years younger than me… and its all by design.

Sometimes you have to go through “STUPID, to get to INVINCIBLE.”

If you are looking towards becoming invincible, the first step is to follow my lead…in other words, if you have not been stupid, as I was, yet, take care of your shoulders and hips first. Start there.

I will add more on Becoming Invincible later. Until then, train smart.

I spout off a lot about getting rid of pain, functioning better and living a life without physical restrictions. I lecture people all of the time on what they should be doing and should be avoiding. But…

What about me?

Well, I wish I could tell you that I have never been injured. I wish I could sit here and write that I never messed up my body to the point that I thought I would never be active again. I wish I could sit right here and tell you how healthy I have been all of my life. In reality, I did about everything wrong.

Flashback to 1997…I was probably stronger than I ever have been in my life. I lifted weights everyday, rarely took a day off, and was feeling invincible. Little did I know at the time that I was doing everything wrong…working towards constant pain, injury and dysfunction, not close to being physically invincible.

I set a personal best at the bench press that summer. I was performing reps of 335 pounds, and maxing close to 400 pounds. I did the typical “bench press Monday” routine where I would bench for 40 minutes, and then follow that up with 3 or 4 more “chest” exercises.

I did some seated rows here and there for “balance” but that was about it.

Even though my shoulder hurt everyday, I continued this routine.

With both shoulders hurting, I also had to deal with my low back, which was killing me, but I thought that was normal.

I had no balance in my programs

I never did any soft-tissue work

I didn’t stretch, or do key activation exercises

My joints were getting weaker and I was placing more of a load on them everyday.

I was only in my twenties. I thought I was invincible, however…

I was dumb and setting myself up for a lifetime of pain and problems.

My response to this pain and these problems was even “dumber.” Here is what I did:

I ignored the pain and kept pushing through it.

I started taking Advil everyday to deal with the pain.

When things got too bad, I just rested for a day, and jumped right back into things the next day.

I performed ineffective, traditional “physical therapy” exercises for my shoulders and back…and these got me nowhere.

After a few more years of doing this (yes, I told you I was dumb) I decided to see an orthopedic doctor. I got an MRI on one of my shoulders and the news was not good.

Without getting into the boring anatomy and pathology, I was told that my training days, as I knew them, were finished. No more benching, no more pressing, no more loading of my spine, no more hard training…which I loved.

I remember leaving the doctor’s that day when it hit me…Here I was helping people heal their bodies, teaching people about proper progressions, balance in their programs, soft-tissue work, and quality corrective exercises mixed with effective rehab training. However, I was doing none of that. My athletes were getting stronger than ever, staying healthy, and doing all of the right things, but stupid me was just doing everything wrong.

I knew the doctor was right about how messed up my shoulder was, but I realized that day that he was dead wrong about me not being able to continue to do what I loved to do.

That day, I could not lift my right shoulder over my head. That day I could not bend over to tie my shoes without wincing in pain and that very day I threw everything I was doing up to that point, out the window and decided to take my own advice. That day I decided to be my own client. That day everything changed and I was on my way to becoming invincible

Check out the video that my dog “Jersey” and I just made on eliminating neck and shoulder pain with nothing but a tennis ball (or two)

http://tinyurl.com/4k5nky

Let me know what you think….

Why are we so messed up at such a fairly young age? I recently spent some time at a birthday party for my 92-year-old grandfather and was amazed at how well he moved, and was more amazed at the things he was able to do. This man has had three knee replacement surgeries while he was in his 80s and he moves better today than some of my friends who are not past their 35 birthday. How can that be? Well I am not going to speculate at this point why my grandfather seems so mobile and healthy, but I can and will speculate on why so many people at such a young age are messed up physically…more so, I will speculate to what they will be like if they do live to 90 unless they get themselves functional again.

Many people, me included, have taken the attitude of supreme invincibility throughout our lives, and while this attitude allows us to be adventurous and do things that we might not normally do, I believe that it is this belief in invincibility, that is primarily responsible for many of our orthopedic problems. When things happen to our bodies (Strains, swelling of joints, pain, etc…) we tend to ignore the problems and just think they will go away on their own. Eventually many of the problems and pain do, but not always in the right way. Our bodies have a great way of adjusting to pain and discomfort and one of the ways it does this is by compensating. While doing that, we set ourselves up for other problems while never correcting the original pathology. Unchecked neck problems/pain will eventually cause shoulder problems/pain, and this can cause back problems and so forth.

Another bad habit that the vast majority of people seem to have is the tendency to just “deal with it”, ignore the pain, ignore the problem and live life around it. We adopt the attitude that having pain, or having a particular problem is “normal” and we just need to get used to it. Not only is this a dangerous attitude to have, it is a stupid one.

The point of writing this is to hopefully open your eyes and make you question not only “why” you have that pain, or those problems in your body, but better, how you can successfully start to deal with them. We can’t fix something most times, unless we know what is causing the problem in the first place.

I have watched too many friends, patients, and family members throughout my life just “deal” with the problems by ignoring them, and then watch these problems turn into serious situations.

By now, you are probably saying “Ok, Ok, I get it, I’m messed up”, “now what”? Glad you asked, because I am going to tell you.

For almost every orthopedic ailment in the body, I believe there is a fix of some sort. This may be in the form of an exercise or two, a surgery, a treatment modality, or a simple correction of something causing the problem in the first place. I am not saying here that EVERY problem can be fixed back to normal, but what I am saying is that through years of dealing with these issues on hundreds of athletes and normal folks, I have witnessed at the very least, improvements! Many times we can fix those problems, and even if we can’t, we can always improve the situation.

What can you do to start down the road of physical health? Start by asking yourself some honest questions. Find out WHY you hurt. Think back to all of your traumas in life, both on and off of the “field of play”. Write a list and you will probably begin to understand where some of the problems you have today have come from. Ask yourself WHERE you hurt most of the time, and WHEN you hurt the most. Again, write this down. WHAT kind of pain is it? (Sharp, dull, pounding, achy, shooting, burning, etc.) What makes the pain go away?

Once you figure out the WHAT, and WHY of your problems, you can start a plan to get yourself right. Find someone that knows how to treat or deal with these problems and do it NOW. Too many people wait and figure it will just go away, or that they can live with it. That’s not a good attitude to have. As time goes on, I can promise you that these problems will only get worse. Where do you want to be in 5, 10, 15, 25 years in life regarding your physical health? Do you want your back to hurt EVERY SINGLE DAY? How would you like to ALWAYS have a limp and never be able to run again? How about needing help getting into and out of a chair every time you use one? What would it be like to NEVER be able to pick up a bag of groceries or your children by yourself again? These are just some of the things that many people can look forward too unless they get their selves fixed and fixed soon.

Think about it, ask the hard questions, and get a plan. I will be writing pieces in the future that cover many ways to get yourself “right”.  

Remember, this is a basic list. There are plenty of other exercises that you can do too. Start with these and move up from there.

• Squats - Whole body exercise that should already be part of your program. Make sure to incorporate one-legged squats into your training.

2. Dead lifts -  This is another exercise that will work the entire body as well as focusing on the hip complex. Make certain to keep a straight, neutral back. Perform these with your knees bent slightly to about 20 degrees. Pitch your butt tight as you extend (up movement) your hips. This is one of the best exercises out there for many things, but essential for a healthy hip complex! If you are not certain you can do these next to perfect, find someone that can help you do the correctly.

3. Russian Hamstring Curls - Start on your knees with a partner holding onto your ankles from behind. While trying to keep the hip extended and the back in neutral, slowly lean forward from the knees, using the glutes to keep the hips straight. Lean forward as far as your hamstring strength will let you, ultimately aiming for at least a 45 degree angle. If possible,  pull yourself back upwards. If you cannot do this, then fall to the floor carefully and catch yourself in the push up position. This is an extremely tough exercise and may take a while to get it. Since you will be producing an eccentric load while doing these, limit this exercise to once a week.

4. Band Walks - Get a theraband or theratubing and tie the ends together. Place your feet into the newly made circle. Open your legs and make the band tight. Walk side ways across the floor very slowly and deliberately while fighting against the resistance of the band. Come back across the room working the other side. Do this with your knees bent and then perform with your knees straight.

Tight Hip Flexors : I would be willing to bet that most of the people reading this have tight hip flexors. How can I make this bet? In the 15 plus years I have been working with athletes and non-athletes, most of the people that walked through my door had tight hip flexors.

So you have tight hip flexors, now what?

• Box Lunge and stretch - This is a two in one exercise that will not only loosen up your tight hip flexors, but it will also stretch your glutes, and upper hamstrings as well. Find a box or platform that is above knee height, and place one of your feet on the top of the box. Your up knee should be bent more than 90 degrees. Slowly lean forward, placing more weight on the box. Keep the opposite, weight bearing leg in one place and fairly straight as you lean forward. You should start to feel a stretch in the front of the straight leg. You may also feel a stretch in your glute area and even a little in the mid to back thigh muscles (adductors, hamstrings.) If you are tight in the hips, this is a great stretch and will get more than you bargained for. Hold each stretch for 20 seconds and perform 5 reps. Switch sides and repeat.

An advanced tip for your hips flexors and groin area is to hold this same stretch but rotate slightly (and slowly) towards the bent knee.

Tip Hip Rotators - If you have found that your hip rotators are tight, you need some work to get the hips healthy. Try these exercises and watch your limitations go away in the next few weeks.

• While lying on your back bend one of you knees to 90 degrees and rotate your leg in (like you are going to cross that foot over your opposite knee.) Grab onto the bent knee with one hand and your ankle of the same leg, with the other hand. Pull your bent leg up towards your chest, being extra careful not to torque the knee (apply even pressure.) Pull your ankle and knee evenly until you feel a stretch deep in your glute area. Once you feel that stretch, hold it for 20 seconds. Repeat 5 times and switch legs.

This stretch will loosen up your external rotators in your hip very well and if you have back pain, may very well help get rid of it.

Sleeping glutes - If you found that your hamstrings are overactive and your glutes are sleeping at the wheel, you need to work on activating them for not only hip health, but for back, knee and overall body health.

•  Using the test that you performed to find out if your glutes were really asleep is one of the best ways to activate them. Here is a review
• Lie on your back with your knees bent to 90 degrees. While lying, with your back flat against the floor, drive your heels into the floor and elevate your hips. Perform this motion for about 20 straight reps. If you feel a burning and/or tightness in your hamstrings more than you do in your glutes (butt), this means your glutes are not working as they should. Even if you do feel it more in your glutes, chances are you need work. We all do.

Perform this exercise in the same way except hold each bridge for 5 seconds, making sure to consciously squeeze your butt each rep. You can also bring your heels in closer to your butt before you start. Over time, your glutes will kick in and take over. Do this exercise everyday until you notice a difference. By day three you should feel your glutes working more than your hamstrings.

•  Band Walks - Find an elastic band or tubing and tie it into a small circle. Place it around your ankles and spread your legs until the band is tight. Start to walk sideways spreading your lead leg as far as you can. Pick up your back leg (in other words, don’t drag it) and bring it close to your lead leg, while walking across the floor. Make sure you always have tension on the band. Walk across the floor at least 15 steps before simply changing lead legs and coming back to where you started. You should feel a burning in the sides of your hips. Perform 2 sets up and back. For the first set, keep your legs relatively straight. For the second set, slightly bend your knees while doing this.

This is a great way to fire up your smaller, but just as important glute muscles.

Prevent Exercises:

To ensure that you maintain mobile, flexible and fired up hips (in other words “Healthy Hips”) here are some exercises that I like to do with my clients to keep them healthy and at the top of their game.

• Deep Squat Holds - Spread your legs past shoulder width and work on slowly squatting as deep as you can while keeping your back fairly straight. Once you find a spot where you cannot squat any deeper without discomfort or pain, hold that position for 30 seconds. Repeat about 5 times.  To add some extra work, once you are in that position, push your knees out slightly with your elbows. This will put your adductors, and rotators on stretch, while forcing your other muscles to brace and fire. This is an excellent exercise to stretch and fire up your hips in a simple and safe manner. Each time out, try to go deeper and with your legs spread a little more.
• Mule Kicks - If you really want to fire up your glutes try this simple exercise. Bend over a table or bed, or even a bench face down. Brace yourself with your hands while you kick one of your legs up and back. Make sure to extend your hip while slightly bending your knee. Once you kick that leg up and back, hold it for a count of 3 seconds. Return and repeat about a total of 12 times. Switch legs. This exercise will surely fire up your glutes and get them firing the way they should.

**if you have low back problems, be careful doing these in the beginning.

Try these exercises and watch your limitations shake loose before your eyes. You will move better and feel better after the first few sessions.

Tight, and/or underdeveloped hips will cause knee problems along the way. Low back problems usually find their roots with bad hips. Most people have tight hip flexors, weak glutes, and under developed lateral hip muscles….not to mention horrible rotation in the hip joint. All of these issues will surely cause major imbalances in the rest of the body, especially the lower extremity.

Chronic hamstring pulls can be directly related to tight and under-trained hips. Just by correcting the hip area, you can solve many of these issues.

Three common hip problems that you probably have and how to assess your situation:

• Tight hip flexors - These are the muscles and tendons in the front of your hips. How do you know you have tight hip flexors? Lie down on your back, and pull one of your knees to your chest while keeping the other leg extended and flat against the floor. If that extended leg pops up as your bent knee approaches your chest, you have tight hip flexors. Test both legs.
• Tight hip rotators - Your rotators are found deep in your hip. These are very important muscles for health and performance. While sitting with your back straight, cross your right leg over your left knee (placing the outside of your right foot on your left knee/thigh.) If your right knee sticks up in the air and does not lie parallel to the floor (or close to parallel) then you probably have tight rotators. Make sure you test both sides.
• Glute muscles are “asleep.” - What this means is that your glutes are not firing as they should and your hamstring is doing all of the work. Most people that have sitting jobs or sit for the majority of the day have this problem. This will lead to tight and strained hamstrings, hip pain, low back pain, and a host of other problems, including minimal strength levels during training. One way to help tell for sure you have sleeping glutes is to lie on your back with your knees bent to 90 degrees. While lying, with your back flat against the floor, drive your heels into the floor and elevate your hips. Perform this motion for about 20 straight reps. If you feel a burning and/or tightness in your hamstrings more than you do in your glutes (butt), this means your glutes are not working as they should. Even if you do feel it more in your glutes, chances are you need work. We all do.