There is beauty to the simple goal of "I want to lift x amount one day." Instead of worrying yourself to death over whether you are "functional" or not. I've seen so many regulars at my gym over the years still doing the same stuff, still looking the same, still lifting the same, still doing kettlebell goblet squats and farmers walks and step-ups and whatever else have you.

I realize what an elitist knob this makes me sound like but I decry all of this because I've been there before and made the same mistakes. I like your example because you mention a specific issue you had that you then went on to fix. I know of many who train this way when they have no ailments whatsoever.

"I want to lift x amount one day" is not for everyone, it's what lead me to destroy my spine. I went years without any problems and I was in the best shape of my life, but I never thought about the level of compression my spine was taking on.

I ended up having multiple bulging discs from C5-C7, a severe disc herniation in T8-T9 (which happened mid workout, very painful), L4-S1 herniations and L4-L5 breaking away chunks of my vertebrae. I eventually had to get emergency surgery on C5-C7 due to the narrowing of spinal cord.

I still "work out" with resistance bands, but I'm never allowed to properly lift weights again thanks to my foolishness. It's horribly depressing and I don't wish this on anybody.

Moral of the story is you might be just fine and have the skeletal structure to support lifting, or it could be a ticking time bomb like in my case. Lifting goals should carry disclaimers about the possible dangers.

That sucks. What lift did you in? Was it gradual or a sudden injury?

I hope the recovery is going smoothly now at least :/

Gradual. When my T8-T9 popped, I was doing pull-ups of all things, so there was no compression which means it could have been anything preceding that, but I suspect years of military/shoulder press or squats contributed.

I did dead-lifts several years prior to the injuries and stopped those when I had a funny "clammy skin" sensation in one of my arms; it freaked me out a little and I hated deadlifts anyway so I always thought it was just my excuse not to do them, but in retrospect I think that was probably a wise decision.

My guess is that it could be deadlifts.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Lifting is great but it should always be done in moderation (as always with anything that one does with their body).

Yikes. What sort of loads were you lifting, if I may ask? Would possibly help make the warning more concrete to those of us reading.

At the time I was about 180lbs/6' and just got done cutting. I was lifting in the 12-15 rep range so the load was relatively light-moderate enough to hit those reps without losing form. I am an ectomorph, so my skeletal structure is weak by design, really poor bone density.

Nothing wrong to be exercise regularly without progression. I wouldn't be surprised if this was even better than going ham on the gym because of how little exercise the human body actually needs to be considered healthy.

Not saying there is nothing wrong with having lifting goals either. But there are definitely diminishing returns to your health in regards to the amount/intensity of your exercise routine for sure.

I became much happier once I realized that I'm not an athlete and I don't need to have a goal of "I want to lift x amount one day". This has been freeing for me. I started focusing more and more on fixing certain parts of the body (like tightness of pecs, weak glutes, weak transverse abdominis etc - 99% of the people at the gym has it, but they are not aware of it).

So I really think if you are an athlete/ex-athlete and you really know how to train - go for it. My main goal was not to have a back pain ever again.

Nothing wrong with avoiding lifting heavy if you are satisfied with your size. At that point it's maintenance. Even professional body builders get devastating injuries, and if they get devastating injuries while doing a supervised squat with two spotters, then I don't trust myself to go for PR in the squat rack unless my form with the current weight is absolutely effortless. There isn't even a point for me to go for PR; I'm not getting a gold metal but I could end up with a hernia.

Are you saying it’s a mistake to keep training without a goal to lift more?

Funny. When I shipped to Marine boot camp I was frightful my minor knee pain would get worse. Turns out I was just a wimp. Pain disappeared with exercise. I also had acid reflux and stomach problems for years that disappeared.

Every single ailment that I've had that is not an injury disappeared when I got into shape (and read Sarnos book).

I've been feeling pain in my right elbow for a couple of years now. Doctor diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome.

You know the picture. Spent tons of time playing video game and works in an office since forever. I can't afford physical therapy, but working out + good posture makes the pain goes away "magically".

I say "magically" because I am not doing anything to target it, just go to the gym and literally do whatever for 30-40 minutes every other day.

Which book?

assuming The Mindbody Prescription. Worth reading through some of the reviews on Amazon.

Sarno's argument is essentially that emotional distress (mainly, rage) manifests itself in the body through TMS (tension myositis syndrome), and that depending on the person this expresses itself as a number of different ailments (sciatica, back and neck pain, migraines) with the same underlying cause (stress that results in decreased blood flow and oxygen deprivation which cause pain in the related area).

Healing Back Pain, I had minor back pain but this mentality definitely made numerous small aches and pains disappear.

I thought I was special in this philosophy but seems like others are catching on too. The tip that worked for me is "Do the activity to get that type of body." I've always admired the physique of basketball players like Steph Curry so I picked up basketball a few years back. It's done wonders for my posture and aesthetics and basketball is a fun kickass workout.

Swimming/soccer/tennis are other sports I'd put in the category of aesthetically pleasing.

Rock climbing and/or swimming are great ways to achieve these goals. The nature of the sports are such that it pushes the body hollistically.

Plus rock climbing is fun and mentally challenging, like chess with your body.

I would second this. I took up bouldering and it's amazing how much more energy I have. My lower-back pain from sitting has nearly disappeared.

It's a true full-body workout (including the brain).

It's not so good for lower body or cardio. Supplementing it with something like cycling can really help get the whole shebang.

While I agree supplementing with cycling or running is great, on the boulders if you’re too “top heavy” try focusing on “wobbly” problems more. Find a gym with a slab wall, and practice balance style climbing where you don’t need strength in the arms & shoulders. Doing that regularly will balance out the legs portion easily if biking or running isn’t your thing.

no it wont. Its not even remotely stimulating enough compared to actual lower body exercise.

I would add buying a kettlebell and starting to do swings and Turkish get-up. They're energizing and work almost your entire body in a functional way.

I'd add hiking or running to this. I've seen my coworkers get winded walking hilly sidewalks, any type of ambulatory work is at the heart of human function.

For others reading this - this is what good physiotherapists do. Changing the movement patterns and balancing the body instead of prescribing painkillers.

Love Jeff’s stuff, there’s a reason he has such a following. His deep dives into pelvic tilts and shoulder issues have been a huge help to me also.

I'd love to know more about biomechanical readjustment

you had a medical issue and instead of going to doctor you went on the Internet? hmm not sure I am going to take any advice you give

The reality I've seen is that most doctors can only help with small/very specific issues of this kind if it's something they happened to had encountered before. Otherwise they will send you on a trip for multiple exams and in the end tell you there's nothing particularly wrong and should just bear with it till it becomes worse. Doing our own research or reaching out to others -none of which is mutually exclusive to consulting doctors- often pays out. Remember the experience of Patrick Volkerding? http://www.ae.iitm.ac.in/pipermail/ilugc/2004-November/01390...

You need a physio for this. Hopefully a doctor would just recommend physio.