“Bodybuilding Sins” That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts


by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS and Steve Hefferon, CMT

Part I of II


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 J

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, both of them target
areas that already tend to get worked a lot in everyday life
and often times are overdeveloped…

and 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.

Click here for Part II of this article: www.LoseTheBackPain.com
“Training Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results”