040 : 004 Lower back injury mitigation

Warm

3 sets

5/5 Thoracic CARs

5/5 Hip CARs

5/5 Hip Airplanes

10/10 Side Plank Rotations

*build in intensity each set by slowing down your movement for each exercise. 

Intention:

As somebody who's dealt with recurring back pain for quite some time, I've recently begun the journey of trying to find the underlying issues with myself, along with chronic back pain that appears to be a theme in fitness these days. I've been to many PTs, Chiro's, etc..., but it all just acts as a bandaid and never really addresses the root cause. I think that e-stim, compression, Graston, dry needling, etc.. are all fine interventions, but they only appear useful when coupled with strengthening the underlying cause of the issues at hand. 

From what I can gather, many of the back issues we see stem from a weakened core that never gets the appropriate attention for improvement. Things like sit-ups don't truly move the needle in acquiring the stability needed to get out of back pain since sit-ups only focus on the muscle's action, not its function. So we do hundreds of situps chasing the "burn" we feel in our abs, but this is no more than the accumulation of hydrogen ions creating this burning sensation. The core needs to be addressed in all three planes of motion while creating the neurological sensation to the brain that stability is required, thus training the muscle function. This session is an attempt to train the function of the core in a creative way, not reminiscent of a standard physical therapy session. Choose loads wisely and make sure you focus on the movement as opposed to chasing a time or load. 

Work:

4 Sets (increasing intensity as desired)

15 Suitcase Kettlebell Deadlifts per side

:30 Forearm Plank

30ft Single arm Kettlebell Rack Walking Lunge

15 Calorie Ski Erg

Rest long enough to feel like you can begin the next set with adequate focus on quality movement, but don't rest forever. Fatigue should stem from your intention of quality movement, not just from physical exertion. 

Finisher:

100x lateral med-ball throws against a wall 

*use a light med-ball, maybe 8-10lbs. If you do not have access to a lighter ball, use what you have, but cut the reps short as needed when intention begins to wane. 

Focus:

Suitcase KB Deadlift - The goal of this movement is to appear as if you're in the same position you'd be in if you were lifting dual kettlebells or a conventional deadlift for visual representation. While the single kettlebell will be on the outside of your foot, the body's position should NOT lean towards or away from the bell. You want to maintain core tension to not allow any leaning or shifting throughout each rep. 

Forearm Plank - In my opinion, most planks are lazy. We rely on our skeletal structure to support us with little intention of creating tension throughout the body. The goal is to make thirty seconds as hard as possible. The way to do this is when in the plank position, mimic the idea of moving your elbows towards your feet and feet towards your elbows without actually moving those body parts. This should cause your core to turn on with the goal of making the contraction as challenging as possible to maintain. 

Single-arm KB Rack Walking Lunge - Similarly to the suitcase deadlift, you want to maintain an upright torso position with minimal articulation of the upper body while the lower body moves through space. Switch arms from set to set, not during the set. Go the entire 30ft with the kettlebell on one side only, then switch sides for subsequent sets. Stand up each repetition to full hip extension before starting the next step. 

Ski Erg - Each stroke of the ski should engage your lats and core from the top position to initiate the movement. Use this time to practice your stroke while focusing on the appropriate sensations in the lats and core. You may feel some fatigue in the triceps and grip as well, but the focus is lat engagement at the top and using the core to move through each stroke. Since the core is relatively "pre-fatigued" at this point, the hope is that it's easy to feel the appropriate contraction 

of each stroke in the abdomen. 

Finisher - The majority of the four sets you've completed at this point were focused on stability and anti-rotation. Therefore, we will finish this session with core rotation, trying to derive as much power as we can from the hips. Alternate sides as you go with the mindset of "throwing" the ball with your hips and using your arms as guides for the med-ball. If you're simply throwing the ball underhand with minimal hip rotation, you're doing something different. Move with intention, and don't be lazy, but if you need to take time to set up so you can do the movement correctly, then do so. This is not for time, so there's no need to rush, but you should move with a purpose to get the desired training stimulus. As mentioned above, if you do NOT have a light med-ball (8-10lbs), then use what feels appropriate/you have access to and cut down the number of reps that you complete.