
All efforts to attain the perfect body should not only make one look good but and feel good. Let's explore into the BodyBuilding Sins that lead to back pain, sciatic pain and other injuries. In the part one of the 5 series article we look at Choosing the Wrong Exercises.
It's one thing for someone who sits at a computer all day and never exercises
to have back
pain, but for a bodybuilder, someone who spends hours and hours each week
pouring everything they've got into building muscle, it should be criminal!
The reason we say this is because, if you are going to spend so much time,
money, and energy trying to build the perfect body, you have to make sure
that you not only look good, but also feel good¦
We've identified what we call Bodybuilding Sins that lead to back pain, sciatic
pain, and other injuries, read em and take action now if you are serious about
bodybuilding and are fed up with your back
pain.
Because there is so much information to share with you, we've broken it down
into a series of 5 articles, each covering a different component of how back
pain affects bodybuilders.
Here's a breakdown of the articles to look for:
1. Article #1 - Choosing The WRONG Exercises (below)
2. Article #2 - Training Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results
3. Article #3 - Targeted Stretching
4. Article #4 - Targeted Exercises
5. Article #5 - Rest, Recovery, and Injury Prevention
Article #1 - Choosing the WRONG Exercises
Get ready, this is gonna hurt! The exercises most bodybuilders focus on the
most, are the ones that cause the most problems! hopefully, you're different.
But before we share with you what those exercise are, let's talk real quickly
about what bodybuilding is!
The goal of bodybuilding isn't to get as big as you can, or at least to us
it isn't and shouldn't be, but to build a balanced body that is as strong
as possible in every way. For example, while being freakishly big may get
people's attention, it serves you no purpose at all!
While on the other hand, what if you were not only big, but also extremely
strong and powerful, lightning fast, flexible, and agile enough to kick ass
if needed?
So many bodybuilders build massive amounts of muscle yet are so unbelievably
weak and inflexible! for example, we know a guy who can bench press over 350
lbs but can't do a measly 50 push-ups!
The point is, the exercises you choose and how you perform them not only determine
how big, strong, and flexible you are, but also affect how your body functions
and whether or not you suffer from aches, pains, and injuries like back
pain and sciatic pain.
Ok, here they are! the exercises that create the most problems and are most
likely to lead to back pain:
1. Bench Press
2. Leg
Extension
So, any of your favorites on this list?
While there are others, these are the two that cause the most damage.
There are several reasons why these exercises made our list of the "worst
bodybuilding exercises". First, all of them target areas that already tend
to get worked a lot in everyday life and often times are overdeveloped!
By focusing so much on these exercises you end up creating muscle imbalances,
or worsening existing muscle imbalances, which pull your bones and joints
out of their normal position, and this leads to uneven pressure and wear and
tear on your muscle, ligaments, tendons, bones, and joints and will sooner
or later lead a break down or injury.
For example, chronic overuse of the bench press, coupled with little or no
exercises targeting the upper back, leads to an overdevelopment of the chest
and a lack of strength and development in the upper back!
This all too common combination leads to what we call "Turtle Back". You know
what we're talking about, when the shoulders are pulled so far forward, lats
are as wide as barn, and from behind, their back looks like a giant sea turtle
shell!
This "Turtle Back" posture can create neck, upper back, and shoulder pain
and injuries faster than you can pop an Advil!
Plus, how many times during your day are you forced to lie on your back and
push up a bar loaded with weights? There are so many better exercises for
chest development that not only stimulate more muscle, but also build more
usable strength.
Now let's talk about the fabulous thigh builder, the leg extension!
Not only does it place an unbelievable amount of strain on the knee joint,
but it also will quickly overdevelop the quads, which are already getting
far more work than their counterpart, the hamstrings.
An imbalance between the quadriceps and hamstrings, which is also extremely
common in bodybuilders, is a key contributor to back pain. This imbalance
is easily identifiable by what people often call "Bubble Butt" or "Ghetto
Booty".
So hopefully you can see how important it is to choose your exercises wisely.
We strongly recommend you cut out these exercises, or at least cut back on
using them and add in targeted exercises for the opposing muscle groups and
targeted stretches for those tight, overdeveloped muscles.
The key to eliminating
back pain, or any other ache, pain or injury for that matter, is to bring
your body closer to balance!
What good is muscle if you can't use it? How many more workouts are you going
to miss because of back, neck, or shoulder pain? How much bigger and stronger
could you be if back pain and other injuries weren't ruining your training?
Just imagine how bad things will be 10, 20, or 30 years from now if you don't
make changes to your training now! but don't take our word for it, ask some
of the older bodybuilders who are paying the price now... you can spot them
easily at the gym because they limp around trying to find something they CAN
do.
Look at the next article, "Training Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum
Results", if you are suffering from back pain
or sciatic pain, here's what you need to do!
Head on over to our website www.losethebackpain.com
now to find out exactly what's causing your back pain and the specific steps
you need to take to get relief fast and get back to training at 100%.
RESOURCE BOX: Article by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS and Steve Hefferon, CMT, CPRS Find out which back pain exercises actually work and you need to be doing, and which ones you must avoid like the plague!