This past Saturday, we hosted a Low Back Health workshop led by Morgan, Cody, and Erin from Move Strong Physical Therapy, and it was excellent.
Members left with a better understanding of low back pain and six practical exercises they can immediately use at home or in the gym.
They covered:
- Common causes of low back pain, which is often tied to strength, mobility, and capacity deficits
- How the movement system works together, especially the relationship between the hips, thoracic spine, and lumbar spine
Most of the workshop was hands on. We worked through two exercises each area (hips, t-spine, and lumbar spine), with plenty of time to slow down and receive individual coaching on each drill.
One of our members who tweaked his back earlier that morning left feeling noticeably better.
Another couple, Jake and Sam, made the trip from Grandy, MA to attend. Jake had worked with the Move Strong team years ago but has been struggling recently, caught between the demands of his job as an electrician and a long stretch of powerlifting.
He mentioned how his warm ups have crept from 10 minutes to nearly 45 minutes over time.
That’s usually a sign something is off.
Sam shared a similar experience, unsure of structure and how some days her training just doesn’t feel right, but she feels obligated to push through regardless.
That opened up a great conversation about adjusting volume and intensity based on how you feel.
It’s something we talk about often, and I’m just as guilty as anyone.
There have been plenty of sessions where I knew it should be a lighter day, yet I ignored that.
Recently I have been making better adjustments, and get out of town, my body feels better because of it.
I’ve written about “checking the box” before.
We don’t want to skip our training habit or abandon our structure. We do want to train with awareness.
If you feel great, push it. Take advantage of these days!
But if you’re dealing with poor sleep, high stress, or just feel off, you can adjust without losing progress.
Drop down to 2 sets instead of 3.
Reduce the load and focus on better execution.
Modify the exercise entirely if something doesn’t feel right.
For example, instead of lifting a 235-pound trap bar deadlift by 5 reps on the minute for 10 minutes, I dropped to 185 pounds yesterday and added controlled pauses between reps.
Another day, I swapped goblet squats for barbell front squats with the same weight because my low back wasn’t loving the goblet clean.
And after the low back workshop, I added six new drills into my warm up to address my hips, thoracic spine, and lumbar spine in a different way.
Same commitment, just smarter execution.
If there is one takeaway from this weekend, it’s this: pay attention to what your body is telling you and adjust accordingly.
You’ll train sustainably, feel better, and make more consistent progress.
If you want help figuring out how to adjust your training, or where to start, reply to this email or reach out on our website. We’re here for that.