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

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