My favorite back pain myth
that I use all the time
Here’s my favorite myth about back pain:
“You back hurts because it’s weak”
It’s not so much a myth, more so a misunderstanding and an oversimplification. I know this to be true because I’ve
met strong people WITH back pain
met weak people WITHOUT back pain
And I use this oversimplification all the time
To understand the real truth, we first have to define “strength.” Strength has a lot of literal and figurative definitions, but in regards to strength training we simply say
The ability to produce force against external resistance
(I think I got that from Mark Rippetoe)
In normal, everyday life, the back doesn’t have to produce force. It has to TOLERATE force. Bending, twisting, and things pulling at you expose your back to forces it needs to tolerate.
By moving your arms, hips, and legs you manipulate gravity to change the way those forces affect you. The low back is just a middle child since it’s in between the hips/legs/arms. It’s not “doing” anything,
It’s having things done to it
The purpose of a strength program is to use exercises that use your arms, legs, and hips to EXPOSE the back to more and more over time to increase your tolerance.
Since i’ve treated 1000’s of patients with back pain, I know strength is not always the issue. (it’s me, i’m strong and my back hurts)
Most time its strength endurance. Many other times its lack of mobility in the areas above (thoracic spine/shoulders) and below (hips) the low back. Your back ends up doing more than
it needs to
is capable of doing
I know what life requires (function), and I know what most people with back pain are missing (since I’ve met all of them), my focus is on
mobility
strength endurance
total body strength
recovery
Luckily our Total Body 3.0 program addresses ALL of the above. Start your ANNUAL subscription RIGHT NOW and i’ll send you access to the program.
Just send me a screenshot of the confirmation, then’ll i’ll send you the app easy join codes.
Remember to move today
Bengal
PS. if you’ve started one of our programs and not going as fast as you would like, reach out. We can show you how to get progress faster.