Bodybuilding Sins That Cause Back Pain and Workout Misses

 Bodybuilding Sins That Cause Back Pain and Workout Misses

We've identified Bodybuilding Sins that cause back pain, sciatica, and other injuries. Selecting incorrect exercises and how you perform them affect not only how big, strong, and flexible you are, but also how pain-free you are. "The Worst Exercises for Bodybuilding" is our list of the most dangerous exercises. These exercises target areas of the body that are already heavily worked and frequently overdeveloped. Overuse combined with little or no upper back exercises results in a lack of upper back strength and development.

It's one thing for someone who sits at a computer all day and never exercises to have back pain, but it should be criminal for a bodybuilder, who spends hours and hours each week pouring everything they've got into building muscle!

We say this because if you're going to spend so much time, money, and energy attempting to build the "perfect body," you should make sure you not only look good, but also feel good...

We've identified "Bodybuilding Sins" that cause back pain, sciatica, and other injuries... If you are serious about bodybuilding and are tired of having back pain, read them and take action right away.

Because there is so much information to share with you, we've divided it into five articles, each of which covers a different aspect of how back pain affects bodybuilders.

Here is a list of the articles to look for:

Article #1 - Selecting Incorrect Exercises (below)

Article #2 - Training Variations for Maximum Pain Relief and Results

Article #3 - Specific Stretching

Article #4 - Specific Exercises

Article #5 - Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Injury Prevention

Article #1 - Selecting the INAPPROPRIATE Exercises

Prepare yourself; this is going to hurt! The exercises that most bodybuilders concentrate on are the ones that cause the most problems... Hopefully, you're not like that J

But, before we get into the specifics of those exercises, let's first define bodybuilding...

The goal of bodybuilding is not to get as big as you can, or at least not to us, but to build a balanced body that is as strong in every way as possible. For example, while being abnormally large may attract attention, it serves no purpose...

What if you were not only big, but also extremely strong and powerful, lightning fast, flexible, and agile enough to kick ass if necessary?

So many bodybuilders put on massive amounts of muscle while remaining incredibly weak and inflexible... For example, we know someone who can bench press over 350 pounds but can only do 50 push-ups!

The point is that the exercises you choose and how you perform them affect not only how big, strong, and flexible you are, but also how your body functions and whether or not you suffer from aches, pains, and injuries such as back pain and sciatica.

Okay, here they are... the exercises that cause the most difficulties and are most likely to result in back pain: Leg Extension from Bench Press

So, do you have any favorites on this list?

While there are others, these two are the most dangerous.

These exercises made our list of the "worst bodybuilding exercises" for a variety of reasons. For starters, they all target areas that are already heavily worked in everyday life and are frequently overdeveloped...

And by focusing so much on these exercises, you end up creating or worsening muscle imbalances, which pull your bones and joints out of their normal position...

This causes uneven pressure and wear and tear on your muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, and joints, eventually leading to a breakdown or injury.

For example, chronic bench press overuse combined with little or no upper back exercises results in overdevelopment of the chest and a lack of upper back strength and development...

This all too common combination leads to what we call "Turtle Back". You know what we mean when the shoulders are pulled so far forward that the lats are as wide as a barn and their back looks like a giant sea turtle shell from behind!

This "Turtle Back" posture can cause pain and injuries in the neck, upper back, and shoulders faster than you can pop an Advil!

Plus, how many times a day are you forced to lie on your back and push up a weighted bar? There are numerous better chest development exercises that not only stimulate more muscle but also build more usable strength.

Let's talk about the fantastic thigh builder, the leg extension...

It not only puts an incredible amount of strain on the knee joint, but it also quickly overdevelops the quads, which are already working much harder than their counterpart, the hamstrings.

An imbalance between the quadriceps and hamstrings, which is common in bodybuilders, is a major cause of back pain. This imbalance is easily identifiable by what people often call "Bubble Butt" or "Ghetto Booty".

So, hopefully, you can see how critical it is to select your exercises wisely. We strongly advise you to eliminate or reduce your use of these exercises in favor of targeted exercises for opposing muscle groups and targeted stretches for those tight, overdeveloped muscles.

The key to getting rid of back pain, or any other ache, pain, or injury, is to bring your body back into balance...

What good is muscle if it can't be used? How many more workouts will you miss due to back, neck, or shoulder pain? How much bigger and stronger could you be if back pain and other injuries didn't interfere with your workouts?

Consider how bad things will be in 10, 20, or 30 years if you don't make changes to your training now... But don't just take our word for it; ask some of the older bodybuilders who are paying the price now... you can easily spot them at the gym because they limp around trying to find something they CAN do.

Look for the next article, "Training Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results," very soon, and in the meantime, here's what you need to do if you have back pain or sciatica.