An Exercise That Destroys Your Lower Back
Dear Friend,
A couple weeks ago I took my son, Frank, to the pool for a schwim (that's
how he pronounces it). While there I saw my neighbor, Bob, and we
began to rap.
Bob's had back pain for quite some time, well over a year. He tells
me that he thinks some of the exercises he does in the gym may
be contributing to it. "What exercises would those be?" I asked.
"Well, I do deadlifts," he said.
"Oooh, I see," I cringed.
"I know, they're probably not good for me," said Bob.
"PROBABLY not???" I replied. "Why, if I was drinking coffe right
now I'd spit it up. You're literally doing the worst thing you can
do to your back."
"You think so?"
**Advertisement**
WARNING: If You've Ever Dreamed of Being a Best-Selling Writer - You Cannot
Afford To Ignore This Incredible Message on the Future of the Internet and How
the Proper, Systematic Use of it May Earn You a Fortune... Even if You're
Currently Buried in Debt or Working Out of a Spare Bedroom in Your House. For
more information go here.
---
"I know so. Dude, you're in pain. You've been hobbling around
since I met you. And you're doing dead lifts? You're not insane,
are you?"
Bob laughed. "No, I'm not - but you never know." Then he asked
me why deadlifts are so bad for you.
"Because the leverage on them is mechanically all wrong. Even when
you know the proper technique, it doesn't matter. It still throws your
lower back out. Sure, deadlifts can make you stronger - but not in
the long run. In the long run they cripple you."
"That's how I feel right now," said Bob.
"Look, about 80% of Americans will have a job-related lower back
injury. That's eighty percent. This means that eight out of ten
people, if they were to do deadlifts, are already at a disadvantage."
"I never thought of it that way," Bob replied.
"And the other twenty percent, they're going to have lower back
pain if they do deadlifts. I rank them as the WORST exercise for
your lower back."
"What do you recommend as the best?" Bob asked.
"I recommend the bridge. And if you're not physically capable of
doing the bridge just yet, start by lying across one of those Swedish
balls. Do that at first and once your back starts to regain flexibility,
then you can move on to bridging on the floor."
The good news is that Bob took my advice. He started bridging across the
ball - then later from the floor. Within a few days his back pain was gone.
Thinking he was "home free" he went back to the gym to check on his
deadlifts. Two hours later he pulled his back while pumping gas.
He had to wait several days before he could move enough to even get
on the ball to bridge. But, once again, within a few days of doing so, he
was out of pain. So far he hasn't gone in for a "deadlift relapse" - er,
checkup - and I'm hoping it stays that way.
Always remember, the bench press destroys the shoulder and deadlifts
ruin the lower back. In the future I'll tell you about other weight lifting/
training exercises you'll want to avoid.
Until then, kick butt - take names!
Matt Furey
P.S.: A number of you have written about coming to Tampa for a full-day
consultation with me. My apologies but the requests were overwhelming.
I've had to regroup and figure something out (possibly doing small group
days instead of "private" days). If you wrote to me earlier about a "private"
day and are open to doing a day with three to four others, please let me
know by sending an email to matt@mattfurey.com.
P.P.S.: My neighbor isn't the only person who eliminated back pain following
my program of Combat Conditioning. Almost every day we get testimonials
from others who say the same thing. To find out what they're doing, go here.
|
|
