I have strong friends. They can lift heavy things. I also have fit friends; they can run for days. I’ve heard a lot from them about their back pain. You can always assume someone that’s sedentary has low-back pain, but it’s altogether more difficult to imagine with someone who is in great shape. They’ve never had an injury and they work out religiously. Somewhere down the line their lower backs ache. Before I can discuss with them all the nuances of their issues (hips aren’t balanced, hip strength, scoliosis, posture, daily life, lifting form, running form, etc) here are usually the main culprits:

1.       Tight glutes.

Any activity you have to do that raises and lowers your knee and puts force on the ground is going to involve your legs. It’ll also involve the “core of the legs besides the legs”; the glutes. Your butt muscles are involved in almost everything you do and can easily get “bunched up.” The gluteal muscles are comprised of the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. The Maximus, as you could have guessed, is the largest muscle group in your butt and as such sounds like the leader of an army. Because it is. The commander of the army of your ass.

The Medius and Minimus are his lieutenants. These muscles run beside him (on the outside of your hip) or under him, and if they get bunched up they’re much more difficult to reach and stretch. These muscles help rotate the hips and legs, and help you lift your legs laterally (out to your sides). If these muscles are tight, your hips don’t function properly, your range of motion is limited, and you strain in the movements you accomplish. Massage and stretch your butt muscles; you’ll get stronger and get a video girl booty, albeit without the jiggle (but you may be into that kind of thing).

2.       Tight hamstrings.

Your hamstrings are the biceps of the legs. I’m not just saying that to sound like a “bro”; like the biceps bend the elbow, your hamstrings bend the knee. Most people neglect muscles they can’t see in the mirror; namely, their posterior chain. The majority of people who exercise either neglect training the hamstrings, neglect stretching the hamstrings, or any combination of the two. Distance runners are extremely guilty of this; they may have flexible hamstrings, but not necessarily strong hamstrings. Then weightlifters and sprinters have the opposite problem; their hamstrings are too tight. When your hamstrings are weak, your glutes and quads and joints (knees and hips) take the majority of the stress in your lower-body training. If your hamstrings are too tight, you can’t contract its opposing muscles (quads) efficiently, nor can you support many pulling motions.

Since running efficiently is a “pull,” weak hamstrings result in runners relying on “pushing” themselves through the movement; it gives the average runner that characteristic stomp-n’-shuffle. This is awful for your lower back and knees. Remember that the top of the hamstrings insert into the glutes. Speaking of insertion points,

3.       Tight Calves.

It may sound ridiculous that something so far away from your midline can affect your lower back, but here it is: one of the most neglected body parts, and usually someone’s weakest link. I’m going to put the easiest logic in your brain in the very next sentence, so prepare yourself:

The path to your lower back starts from the ground up, and namely from the thing that always touches the ground: your feet. Which are connected to your ankles. Then to your calves. Weak and inflexible ankles are attributed to poor calf flexibility and strength. If you can’t move your ankles through normal ranges of motion, it is physically impossible to start muscle activation in your calves. If your calves aren’t strong nor flexible, your hamstrings can’t activate properly. Why? The top and largest muscle in the calf (gastrocnemius) inserts behind the knee… which inserts at the bottom of the hamstring (biceps femoris)… which inserts in the bottom of your glutes (General Maximus)… which insert in to your lower back.

But if there’s one thing everyone knows but still avoids because it sucks to train hard…

4.       Core strength.

Besides flexibility, core strength is most everyone’s limiting factor. Either your core training is non-existent, or it’s grossly over exaggerated to one purpose. By this I mean, how many people do you see trying to get a six-pack and doing a million crunches? Probably all of them.

Your core stabilizes your spine. If your glutes are the General of your lower body, your core is the Leader of the Free World of My Body (besides “The Lord Up High; Brain”). You can’t stand, sit, move, or drop a deuce without core strength.

Picture your core muscles as a flexible tube between your ribs and hips. Like a slinky. A spine-stabilizing slinky.

When the slinky bends forward the rings bunch up, right? The reverse side opens up. But what happens? When going down steps, it whips forward. So if the front, bunched up area represents your stomach muscles, the whipped tensile strength in back represents your back muscles. Now reverse it. Then reverse it again. Now imagine a pipe-cleaner in the center. If you want that pipe cleaner to stay straight, but bend through all positions with that slinky, the slinky has to have equal strength on all sides.

Your abdominals, obliques, and spinal erectors, all control how you move. If you neglect these, here’s a list of easy activities (in no particular order) that you may realize become difficult for no good reason at all:

1.       Standing

2.       Sitting

3.       Laying down

4.       Getting up from laying down

5.       Getting up from sitting

6.       Twisting to check your blind spot

7.       Bending to tie your shoes

8.       Picking that damn dropped pen off the floor

9.       Picking that damn dropped pen off the floor after dropping it a second time

10.   Comfortably defecating.

11.   Wiping after comfortably defecating.

12.   Standing up after wiping after comfortably defecating.

I guess the take away message is to train your calves, or you’ll never be comfortable wiping your butt.

For some reason as we get older we neglect to keep our bodies in working condition. This can stem from inactivity, work-related injury, having kids, or whatever it is you’ve found is your limiting factor. Aging promotes weight gain, weight retention, loss of muscle elasticity and strength, and weaker joints and bones. These ailments can sideline an individual from heavy weight training; however, there are two things (besides walking) one should almost always be able to do with their bodies (or some variation of it!).

1.       Push-up

I understand we as a species don’t sleep on the ground anymore and the last time you came close to the floor was tying your shoes. Yes, there are those who work with their hands and bodies all day and get up and down. But the majority of people in the United States don’t really need to. What’s on the floor? Why would you need to be on it?

Anything you do from the floor goes against gravity. Your bodyweight is also part of this equation. You should physically have the strength to be able to push your weight off the ground. I can’t think of many excuses why one can’t do this; there’s time and floor… everywhere. It’s just a matter of doing it.

2.       Body-weight Squat

We did not evolve on this planet to sit at a desk for 40 years and die. During this time I’m sure many find it challenging to just squat their own weight. Now, I don’t mean you have to be able to do a “textbook squat.” I mean you should have the strength and flexibility in your core, legs, and hips, to be able to control your body through space as you move your weight back and forth and up and down.

Taking this one step further, we should also be able to do a “3rd world squat.” Check out the images above to see what this looks like. This position was given this name since the images one would see of this position are people who’ve been photographed at home in extreme poverty.

It’s pretty ridiculous that this has to be called a “3rd world squat,” like it’s only something people do when they have nothing. It implies that the only people who do this on a regular basis are people who aren’t rich. It also implies that this movement is “beneath us” in the U.S. We actually needed to phrase it “3rd world squat” because if we didn’t, people in our country wouldn’t be able to picture what it looks like.

It’s amazing how many adults rely on things that are high to sit on so the trunk never gets challenged: car seats, chairs, toilets, stools, etc. We’ve created items that make us physically inferior. Our society is so rich and advanced that it’s evolutionarily accepted for our bodies to become Jell-o with bones that shuffle us from space to space just long enough to do an activity that allows us to live. In summary: we sit for 40 hours a week to earn enough money to let us not sit.

THINK ABOUT IT: Has it ever occurred to you how ridiculous certain amenities are? We have motorized scooters supposedly for people with disabilities but are actually used by people who’ve allowed themselves to succumb to inactivity. We have “claws” that help people reach high places so they don’t have to step on a stool and grab it. We have toilets that are so high you don’t have to squat down to sit on them (watch out for hemorrhoids!). We have escalators so you don’t have to walk up steps.

We’ve molded our society in such a way it’s inefficient to be efficient. Think on it.

Many of you have heard of a “gluten-free” diet. I’ll guarantee one of your friends is actually on a gluten-free diet. I’ll also guarantee that your friend on a gluten-free diet probably has no great reason to be on said gluten-free diet.

Have you ever asked your friend if they know what gluten is? Here is a list of questions you may ask, and their potential answers:

• Do you have Celiac Disease?

                No.

• Do you know what gluten is?
  

                It’s in grains and causes inflammation. (This isn’t totally wrong.)

• Do you know what gluten-containing products are in the food you were eating?
  

                No.

• Do you know why you’ve lost weight by going gluten-free?

                Yes! Gluten-free is a healthy weight-loss diet!

• Do you have Celiac Disease?

                No.

Your friend doesn’t know their elbow from their ear about why they’ve lost weight or why they’ve gone gluten free.

Doctors will tell you two reasons to adopt this eating style.

1.       You have Celiac Disease.

2.       You have a gluten-sensitivity.

Most individuals with Celiac Disease have done a great job of getting tested and diagnosed. Their symptoms are usually pronounced and start early in life. Because it’s a genetic auto-immune disease, sufferers not only experience gastric discomfort, but have a weaker immune system while they’re fighting the gluten allergy. Sufferers of Celiac Disease undergo extremely stressful small-intestine inflammation when their bodies are influenced by gluten. To rectify this issue, they adopt dietary changes that reflect what their bodies can process.

This is a viable reason to go gluten-free.

But as you may have guessed, many people “enjoying” a gluten-free diet are self-diagnosed. I will wager (and again, opinions are like what?) they didn’t have an issue until the idea was given to them that they could potentially have one. Being bloated, sluggish, having bowel movement trouble, or having excess weight-gain give lots of individuals the idea they may have “gluten sensitivity.” This is a blanket statement. Being self-diagnosed is as effective as calling a plumber to fix your roof.

Many reasons why your friend has made positive progress by adopting gluten-free options is because, wait for it…

They stopped eating shit.

Many of the foods one would enjoy that contain gluten are pretty terrible towards maintaining a constructive diet. Breads, cereals, crackers… pretty much anything processed that contains wheat. This includes whole-grain alternatives.

When your diet contains less whole-food than processed food, you will have excess weight gain and feel like crap. These foods are quite easy to overeat, which contributes to excess calorie intake, spiked insulin levels, and- you guessed it- being bloated.

The symptoms your friend diagnosed themselves with were actually the symptoms of eating crap and feeling like crap.

Now on a serious note, if you do feel concerned you are gluten sensitive or are just now figuring out you have Celiac Disease, go to this link and learn options for assuaging your concerns:

http://www.celiaccentral.org/celiac-disease/facts-and-figures/

Some key points are,

1.       An estimated 1 in 133 Americans, or about 1 percent of the population, has celiac disease.

2.       It is estimated that 83% of Americans who have Celiac Disease are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with other conditions (one of which being IBS)

3.       5-22% of celiac patients have an immediate family member who has celiac. (Meaning it’s heavily linked to genetics. If you’re the first person in your family to think you have this problem, you most certainly are probably not suffering from it.)

4.       As of today, the only existing treatment for celiac sufferers is going 100% gluten free. (So if it’s just a fad for your friend, picking and choosing when to be gluten free is also wasting their time.)

To summarize? Go get diagnosed for IBS or Celiac disease. If you’re in your 20’s and all of a sudden think you are gluten sensitive, it’s probably fictional and you should clean up your diet. If you’re the first person in your family to think you have this problem, it’s probably fictional and you should clean up your diet. If you’ve lost weight by going gluten-free, it’s probably because you cleaned up your diet. If your digestive system feels healthier since trying gluten-free, it’s probably because you cleaned up your diet. If going gluten-free is the only way to clean up your diet, fine. The more money you spend on gluten-free products, the easier it is for people with celiac disease to find more enjoyable options. And oh, be prepared to actually acquire gluten sensitivity when you eliminate it from your diet, and have nutrient deficiencies of Iron, Folic Acid, Fiber, Calcium, and Vitamins A, D, E, K.

Everyone hurts themselves. You may have hurt your shoulder doing a bench-press, or you tweaked a hamstring doing walking lunges. In all actuality, you probably sprained your ankle playing drunk kickball. Regardless, these tips will help you get back on top and kicking drunk triples again.

1.       Pamper yourself.

If you’re the kind of person who goes to the gym regularly, you most likely have some kind of ache and pain. These can intensify the harder you push yourself. I’m guilty of being this person, and it sucks. It’s difficult to convince yourself to slow down and recover when all you want to do is gain.

When you recognize you have an injury, you should allow yourself to be the biggest baby alive. Pamper yourself. Hell, go get a pedicure if that’s what it takes.

You need to rest, ice if you’re swollen, heat if you’re not, stretch, and stretch. I’m a big fan of hot baths. If I had a steam-room in my house I’d probably use that, too.  A good technique is to spend a couple of hours really devoted to this process. I know it’s hard to sit on the sidelines drinking and watching your friends kick homeruns, but guess what? You’re drinking. It can’t be all that bad.

2.       Foam rolling (for muscle injuries).

On Kickball MVP’s days away from playing, he’s in the gym walking on the treadmill and doing his bench-presses and curls. Surprisingly this week he hasn’t hurt himself at the game! He just happened to get adventurous and venture over to the squat rack. I’m just as shocked as you, but let’s observe.

Look at that; his hip’s bothering him. He’s stopping. As he should!

When you have a tight muscle, or are coming back from a muscle that was tweaked in some way, use a foam roller to really loosen it up. There are techniques to using a foam roller; if you’re trying to loosen a muscle, you need to roll in the direction the fibers are stretching. If you’re trying to tighten a muscle, you go against the direction of the fibers. It can be pretty comprehensive if you’re unsure of anatomical structures, so take a look at this video for a short tutorial. (Note: Jeff Cavaliere is an accomplished physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq6NcAoQDSk

3.       Progressive de-loading.

If you notice an injury but it’s not debilitating (just annoying), begin progressively de-loading stress from that muscle group. An example of a common problem is Illiotibial band soreness. This can cause hip and/or knee pain and can come from trauma or repetitive stress. This would be a good time to slowly decrease volume and load that involves this muscle group (running, jumping, squatting) until the pain as subsided. During this time, follow the above rules as well. Once you’ve reached the point of the pain being minimal or completely gone, you can begin the next step.

4.       Progressive loading.

No, you will not be performing at the same level you were prior to your injury. Yes, this sucks.

There are benefits to this though; you can train at submaximal load and performance and hurt frequently, or you can take a slight speed-bump and eradicate the problem. If anything, you’ll learn about your body in the process.

Now that you’re properly rested and can jump back in, remember to slowly increase volume and load. You want to avoid maximal efforts until you can trust the injured area is reliable.

If for whatever reason you feel you’ve exhausted all at-home efforts and the pain lasts longer than a few days, you should seek either a physiotherapist or MD for diagnosis. Depending on the pain, it can just be an annoyance and they’ll prescribe stuff to move you along, or can very well be a problem that requires correction. A tweak on the kickball field probably isn’t something to stress over, but a shoulder, knee, or joint injury can be the difference between league MVP status and ridin’ the pine… for the rest of your life.

Sometimes I like to break the mold and change the goal of my articles. Sometimes I seem to sound condescending when I’m striving for an informative punchline. I try to curb that as much as possible while I also try to educate and entertain. This is a part of daily life, and I try to also incorporate it into my personal training style. There’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy kicking your own ass. I’m not some sadist, mind you, yet there’s something to be said about me helping y our grit through the temporary pain to outlast your previous self. With that said, here are four reasons why I love personal training:

1.       Difficult clients.

Apparently there’s a term in the personal training industry called, “Firing Your Client.” There are many reasons a trainer has a right to “fire” a client. It could range anywhere from sexual harassment to lack of motivation, or the client isn’t making progress. Although it’s true that my clients don’t see me every hour of every day, they do see me long enough for me to make an impact.

If I experience a “difficult client,” I don’t think of the quickest way to get rid of them. This person came to me for help and I’m here to provide it. There are a million and one ways to get creative with a client. If I pride myself enough in my work (which I do!), I make it a priority to help this person reach their goals. A client can “fire” me, but I won’t fire them unless my work with them is somehow detrimental to my well-being.

2.       Easy clients.

On the other hand, it’s always a joy to have a client truly work hard and share the same energy you do--they ask questions, they don’t quit, they make me feel like my work is worth it. The difficult clients are a joy because I relish a challenge; the easy clients show me the potential my difficult clients can reach.

3.       Seeing their progress.

When I say seeing, I mean seeing. I’ve seen clients make enough progress that they are entirely different people. They stand up straighter, or they speak more confidently. They laugh more often, and aren’t afraid to fail. Watching a client slowly but surely wear the same gym clothes over and over is wonderful. Why? I get to see that shirt get loose, and I get to see them tying their pants-strings tighter.

Of course it’s nice to see them do 10x the work they did when they first came to see me!

4.       Watching them learn.

One of my favorite parts of a client session is when they catch their own mistakes. Before I have a chance to correct them, they shout out, “Crap, my knees were too far forward!” or “My chest dipped!” or better yet, “Too much ass. Dammit.” (Squats aren’t easy.)

As a relationship builds between my clients and me, I get to watch them change as people. They learn from their mistakes. They learn new things about themselves, too.  Since when do you see adults actively changing? Very rarely. And it’s pretty sweet.