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
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, all 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.
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