Loved this essay Jack. It’s been so long I almost forgot how you almost completely reinvented your approach to working out after a phase of very heavy lifting to prioritize more well-rounded strength, mobility and cardio. It’s cool you captured some of that in here.
Also (more broadly) how you never let an injury stop you from your fitness goals but instead saw it as an opportunity to reinvent your approach. And be big enough to change your ways.
Thanks for reading and for your thoughtful comment buddy. It's a great example of how our biggest setbacks in the moment can be our biggest advantages or the best things that happened to us when looking back at them a few years downline.
I'm grateful for how that injury completely changed my approach to strength training and fitness in general, similarly to how I'm grateful a knee injury led me down a path to discovering Knees Over Toes.
And as always, I appreciate your support and insights -- always means a lot coming from you.
This touched my heart. I've been lifting off and on for 30 years. I had most of the injuries you are talking about plus a few.
I love your insight into your journey. You hinted that it was ego that got in the way. Trying to keep up. I wonder how much effort went into recovery? It's the adaptation that causes gains, not the stimulus.
I work for a Chiropractor powerlifter who squats 700 natural. His workload is extraterrestrial, built up over years. I tried to keep up, but kept getting hurt. We are both 40 years old.
It's not the choice of exercise that was tearing your body down. It's the volume of work, intensity of work, and the body's limits of what it can recover from. I had to learn all that the hard way.
Who am I kidding, I still haven't learned. Damn ego.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment and sharing your story, Lee.
My ego 100% got in the way. It seems that men, at least in my experience, struggle to not let their ego get in the way when it comes to picking up heavy stuff. It took a long time to change my attitude towards exercise. And like you, I haven't fully learned. I still use more weight than I should some days and eek out extra reps with subpar form.
I agree that volume and intensity can drive injury. But so can exercise choice. Exercises should be selected based on individual preferences and limitations. For the average person, barbells are higher risk, especially if you're training for strength which requires loads of +70-80% of your 1RM. And the only way you progress with those three barbell lifts generally is by adding intensity (weight) or volume rather than tweaking other levers that aren't as hard on your body (tempo, stability, range of motion, base of support, points of contact, static vs. dynamic, asymmetrical loading...)
The back squat is a great example. Most people do not have the ankle, knee, hip, low back, and shoulder mobility to do an ATG barbell back squat. Proper form is also extremely technically demanding and few take the time to learn it and monitor themselves. Most people would be better off with something like the Bulgarian split squat which requires less mobility, less external load on your body, and doesn't put you into a potentially compromising position.
At least that's how I think about it. Certainly doesn't mean I'm right -- just meandering my way through better ways to think about exercise.
The salient point here is to not let the ego get in the way. Thanks for your comment and for making me think!
Yeah, I'll stick to my 'granny' free weights. I laugh when my Peloton instructor tells us what weights to pick up! However, my grip strength is improving every month and I have muscles so I'm fine.
No such thing as granny weights… so long as you’re resistance training you’re doing it right! What makes me happy is that you found a program that is working for you and that you’re seeing improvements from. You’re proof that, of course, you don’t need to lift barbells to get stronger.
Thanks for reading and showing up here in the comments, Robyn! I appreciate you.
I've been thinking of going to the gym for months already. I thought I'm missing out by not lifting weights like my other peers. But I guess fitness is more about what feels good to the body than following what everybody else is doing.
What's your current fitness routine, Jack? If you've written about it before, I'd love to give it a read.
Thanks for showing up in the comments here, Linart. Great to see your name pop up in my notifications! You are 100% right. Fitness is a life long game. To win, you just have to be consistent. And to be consistent you have to do what feels good for you.
Strength training in some form is important for well-rounded fitness but there are so many ways to do it. I got injured because I was caught up in the tactics. I thought I had to do those three exercises to be strong. If I paid attention to the principles instead, the foundational rules for how you get stronger or grow your muscles (hypertrophy) or build muscular endurance, I would have realized there are a million ways I could have achieved my goals.
I shared my routine in a recent post but it has a paywall. Essentially I run 4x per week, do resistance training 4x per week, and stretch every day. It's currently a mix of kettlebells, dumbbells, and bodyweight.
I'd be more than happy to send resources and help you design a routine that works for you depending on your goals... let me know how I can be of service.
"Fitness is a life long game. To win, you just have to be consistent. And to be consistent you have to do what feels good for you." That line is so important!
I really admire how much thought and care you have for your body, Jack. I'd love to chat more about the fitness routine. I'll send you a chat and I want to respect your time, so I'll keep it brief! 🙏🏼
...congrats on those 7 years man...i gained some sweet sciatica after a dune buggy accident and years of working in a dimly lit office editing educational cartoons...unfortunately took a injury to get me back and focused on some sort of body perspective, but my goal has been sustainable action ever since...and so far so good and more (adventure) to come...
It's really interesting how almost everyone who has been at it long enough has gotten injured and that injury set them on a better long-term path. Also on a completely unrelated note that your comment on editing cartoons reminded me, I think you'd like this short documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU83PE68oNY.
Thanks for sharing your story with me buddy. Reinforces my belief that sustainable action is what it's all about.
I’m 57 and I’m that guy you write about. I had an L5-S1 herniated disk at 50 and had to modify my workouts after that. This gives me even greater perspective and clarity of what to be careful of now. Thank you!
With my very limited understanding of anatomy (and science in general), I believe that's a relatively common exercise/movement-related injury because the L5-S1 is involved in the transferring of loads from the spine into the pelvis and legs.
I hope you've found a common ground with your injury now where you aren't in pain but can still move well and do the thing you love. Always happy to brainstorm and share the what knowledge I have on exercise and movement if I can be of service.
Thanks again for reading and for your support, I greatly appreciate you.
This is a well written, wonderfully insightful, and educational post.
I have been lifting, competing in sports, for 49 years. Currently, I am 63 yo (64 in August), and am in excellent condition, both strength and VO2 max.
I think many avid lifters follow the same path as you, and I, unfortunately. After I left the competitive college sports world, I entered the world of bodybuilding and powerlifting. At 290+#, I benched in the mid 500s, squatted in the high 600s, and deadlifted in the low 700s. Eleven years int training this way, I, too, came to the realization that in order to live a long, healthy, vibrant, and highly active lifestyle, I had to make some changes.
My "expertise" was/is in the realm of functional strength and speed. I began training like I was instructing the athletes I worked with to train. My focus became remaining highly functional under moderately heavy to pretty heavy loads (both relative terms, I know), so long as technique was still intact.
Thank you for sharing your experience. The more of us, out there, telling the next generation of lifters/athletes about our mistakes and experiences the better.
Stephen, thank you so much for this extremely thoughtful comment - it made my day.
I was a little hesitant/scared to share this story because I know there are a lot of people who may disagree with my thesis. Hearing your story, as someone who is much more experienced and was lifting much more weight than I was, reinforces my belief that maxing out (or getting in the neighbourhood of a 1RM) on these lifts is more of a detriment to a long, healthy life than anything.
Many of my friends ranging from my age (25) to mid-fifties who have been exercising their entire lives have arrived at a similar conclusion. To live pain and injury free, super heavy barbell lifts are not a good idea. Especially considering the plethora of less risky but extremely effective training strategies available.
Thanks again for reading and sharing your experience.
Great essay! Always astonished at how closely our philosophies align. Loved how you wove in the personal anecdote. I had a similar experience, except for me is was the shoulder that went first. Forever changed how I approached the gym.
Thanks Jeremy! And thanks so much for your help on editing the initial drafts -- completely forgot to thank you in the post which I'm going to go update now.
All of my friends who have been training for a long time have converged on similar training styles, none of which involve crushingly heavy barbell lifts. Love how we can talk the ins and outs of exercise into a depth that would put most people to sleep and how we share similar philosophies towards it. It really is a gift to have friends like that.
Loved this essay Jack. It’s been so long I almost forgot how you almost completely reinvented your approach to working out after a phase of very heavy lifting to prioritize more well-rounded strength, mobility and cardio. It’s cool you captured some of that in here.
Also (more broadly) how you never let an injury stop you from your fitness goals but instead saw it as an opportunity to reinvent your approach. And be big enough to change your ways.
Love it
Thanks for reading and for your thoughtful comment buddy. It's a great example of how our biggest setbacks in the moment can be our biggest advantages or the best things that happened to us when looking back at them a few years downline.
I'm grateful for how that injury completely changed my approach to strength training and fitness in general, similarly to how I'm grateful a knee injury led me down a path to discovering Knees Over Toes.
And as always, I appreciate your support and insights -- always means a lot coming from you.
This touched my heart. I've been lifting off and on for 30 years. I had most of the injuries you are talking about plus a few.
I love your insight into your journey. You hinted that it was ego that got in the way. Trying to keep up. I wonder how much effort went into recovery? It's the adaptation that causes gains, not the stimulus.
I work for a Chiropractor powerlifter who squats 700 natural. His workload is extraterrestrial, built up over years. I tried to keep up, but kept getting hurt. We are both 40 years old.
It's not the choice of exercise that was tearing your body down. It's the volume of work, intensity of work, and the body's limits of what it can recover from. I had to learn all that the hard way.
Who am I kidding, I still haven't learned. Damn ego.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment and sharing your story, Lee.
My ego 100% got in the way. It seems that men, at least in my experience, struggle to not let their ego get in the way when it comes to picking up heavy stuff. It took a long time to change my attitude towards exercise. And like you, I haven't fully learned. I still use more weight than I should some days and eek out extra reps with subpar form.
I agree that volume and intensity can drive injury. But so can exercise choice. Exercises should be selected based on individual preferences and limitations. For the average person, barbells are higher risk, especially if you're training for strength which requires loads of +70-80% of your 1RM. And the only way you progress with those three barbell lifts generally is by adding intensity (weight) or volume rather than tweaking other levers that aren't as hard on your body (tempo, stability, range of motion, base of support, points of contact, static vs. dynamic, asymmetrical loading...)
The back squat is a great example. Most people do not have the ankle, knee, hip, low back, and shoulder mobility to do an ATG barbell back squat. Proper form is also extremely technically demanding and few take the time to learn it and monitor themselves. Most people would be better off with something like the Bulgarian split squat which requires less mobility, less external load on your body, and doesn't put you into a potentially compromising position.
At least that's how I think about it. Certainly doesn't mean I'm right -- just meandering my way through better ways to think about exercise.
The salient point here is to not let the ego get in the way. Thanks for your comment and for making me think!
Yeah, I'll stick to my 'granny' free weights. I laugh when my Peloton instructor tells us what weights to pick up! However, my grip strength is improving every month and I have muscles so I'm fine.
No such thing as granny weights… so long as you’re resistance training you’re doing it right! What makes me happy is that you found a program that is working for you and that you’re seeing improvements from. You’re proof that, of course, you don’t need to lift barbells to get stronger.
Thanks for reading and showing up here in the comments, Robyn! I appreciate you.
I've been thinking of going to the gym for months already. I thought I'm missing out by not lifting weights like my other peers. But I guess fitness is more about what feels good to the body than following what everybody else is doing.
What's your current fitness routine, Jack? If you've written about it before, I'd love to give it a read.
Thanks for showing up in the comments here, Linart. Great to see your name pop up in my notifications! You are 100% right. Fitness is a life long game. To win, you just have to be consistent. And to be consistent you have to do what feels good for you.
Strength training in some form is important for well-rounded fitness but there are so many ways to do it. I got injured because I was caught up in the tactics. I thought I had to do those three exercises to be strong. If I paid attention to the principles instead, the foundational rules for how you get stronger or grow your muscles (hypertrophy) or build muscular endurance, I would have realized there are a million ways I could have achieved my goals.
I shared my routine in a recent post but it has a paywall. Essentially I run 4x per week, do resistance training 4x per week, and stretch every day. It's currently a mix of kettlebells, dumbbells, and bodyweight.
I'd be more than happy to send resources and help you design a routine that works for you depending on your goals... let me know how I can be of service.
"Fitness is a life long game. To win, you just have to be consistent. And to be consistent you have to do what feels good for you." That line is so important!
I really admire how much thought and care you have for your body, Jack. I'd love to chat more about the fitness routine. I'll send you a chat and I want to respect your time, so I'll keep it brief! 🙏🏼
Thanks so much Linart :) I really appreciate you saying that
Absolutely, happy to be of service in any way I can -- will get back to you over messages
...congrats on those 7 years man...i gained some sweet sciatica after a dune buggy accident and years of working in a dimly lit office editing educational cartoons...unfortunately took a injury to get me back and focused on some sort of body perspective, but my goal has been sustainable action ever since...and so far so good and more (adventure) to come...
It's really interesting how almost everyone who has been at it long enough has gotten injured and that injury set them on a better long-term path. Also on a completely unrelated note that your comment on editing cartoons reminded me, I think you'd like this short documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU83PE68oNY.
Thanks for sharing your story with me buddy. Reinforces my belief that sustainable action is what it's all about.
...hand raised emoji...matt and trey are the kings...
had a feeling you may like it... if you get the chance to give it a watch (~40 mins), would love to hear what you thought.
Jack -great essay and teaching, as usual 😊
I’m 57 and I’m that guy you write about. I had an L5-S1 herniated disk at 50 and had to modify my workouts after that. This gives me even greater perspective and clarity of what to be careful of now. Thank you!
Thanks so much, James :)
With my very limited understanding of anatomy (and science in general), I believe that's a relatively common exercise/movement-related injury because the L5-S1 is involved in the transferring of loads from the spine into the pelvis and legs.
I hope you've found a common ground with your injury now where you aren't in pain but can still move well and do the thing you love. Always happy to brainstorm and share the what knowledge I have on exercise and movement if I can be of service.
Thanks again for reading and for your support, I greatly appreciate you.
Jack,
This is a well written, wonderfully insightful, and educational post.
I have been lifting, competing in sports, for 49 years. Currently, I am 63 yo (64 in August), and am in excellent condition, both strength and VO2 max.
I think many avid lifters follow the same path as you, and I, unfortunately. After I left the competitive college sports world, I entered the world of bodybuilding and powerlifting. At 290+#, I benched in the mid 500s, squatted in the high 600s, and deadlifted in the low 700s. Eleven years int training this way, I, too, came to the realization that in order to live a long, healthy, vibrant, and highly active lifestyle, I had to make some changes.
My "expertise" was/is in the realm of functional strength and speed. I began training like I was instructing the athletes I worked with to train. My focus became remaining highly functional under moderately heavy to pretty heavy loads (both relative terms, I know), so long as technique was still intact.
Thank you for sharing your experience. The more of us, out there, telling the next generation of lifters/athletes about our mistakes and experiences the better.
In Good Health,
Stephen Ashcraft
President, In Good Health, LLC
Makers of COR-Restor
Stephen, thank you so much for this extremely thoughtful comment - it made my day.
I was a little hesitant/scared to share this story because I know there are a lot of people who may disagree with my thesis. Hearing your story, as someone who is much more experienced and was lifting much more weight than I was, reinforces my belief that maxing out (or getting in the neighbourhood of a 1RM) on these lifts is more of a detriment to a long, healthy life than anything.
Many of my friends ranging from my age (25) to mid-fifties who have been exercising their entire lives have arrived at a similar conclusion. To live pain and injury free, super heavy barbell lifts are not a good idea. Especially considering the plethora of less risky but extremely effective training strategies available.
Thanks again for reading and sharing your experience.
Cheers,
Jack
Great essay! Always astonished at how closely our philosophies align. Loved how you wove in the personal anecdote. I had a similar experience, except for me is was the shoulder that went first. Forever changed how I approached the gym.
Thanks Jeremy! And thanks so much for your help on editing the initial drafts -- completely forgot to thank you in the post which I'm going to go update now.
All of my friends who have been training for a long time have converged on similar training styles, none of which involve crushingly heavy barbell lifts. Love how we can talk the ins and outs of exercise into a depth that would put most people to sleep and how we share similar philosophies towards it. It really is a gift to have friends like that.
Thanks for reading and supporting pal.