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Welcome to article number 4 in our series "Bodybuilding Sins That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts". In this article we are going to talk about how bodybuilders tend to create massive muscle imbalances and what you can do to not be one of them. If you missed the first article, you can read it by clicking on the link below. 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:4 - Targeted Exercises What is a Targeted Exercise and Why You Need To Be Doing Them? While performing three different exercises for each area of the chest may sound "targeted" and it may work great for targeting the chest itself? this is NOT what we mean by targeted? What we are talking about is choosing exercises with more than just size increases in mind? remember, there is far more to muscle than just how it looks? You can be really big, but also weak, slow and inflexible. To drive this point home some more, remember the "Turtle Back Syndrome" we covered in article #1? So many body builders are plagued with this gruesome condition and they don't even know it! Are you? The Turtle Back condition is a direct result of too much focus on building up the pecs and lats and not enough focus on the upper back. Also, the lack of focus on flexibility in the chest and shoulders makes it even worse? Not only does this look stupid, but it sets you up for back, neck and shoulder problems like rotator cuff tears and the like? and I know you don't want any of those! So by targeted, we mean exercises that will not just develop muscle strength and size, but more importantly work towards correcting muscle imbalances which will mean less pain and missed workouts, better performance and function, and most of all better and balanced total body development! So How Do You Find Out Which Ones You NEED To be Doing? As we discussed in the previous article on "Targeted Stretching", it's very important to know before hand what stretches you actually NEED to be doing? the same applies to exercises? and the ONLY way to find out what specific areas you need to target is to perform physical evaluations so you can pin point the weak muscles that need strengthening and the tight muscles that need stretching. We have developed a series of simple assessments you can do yourself to identify the muscles imbalances you have? and while they are intended for people suffering from back pain or sciatica, as a bodybuilder you stand to benefit greatly because you train so hard, you are far more likely to experience injuries like bulging and herniated discs, rotator cuff tears, knee pain, etc? Plus, even if you don't have any pain or injuries now, it would be very wise to learn how to assess yourself so you can target your training now before you create an injury, which not only will slow down your training and progress, but it can also become a life-long struggle with pain and a serious loss of your strength, size and fitness. So be sure to check out our website to learn more about how you can quickly and easily identify and eliminate any muscle imbalances you have.

Article by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS, CSPN and Steve Hefferon, CMT, CPRS of Lose The Back Pain, If you've got back pain or sciatic pain, you've gotta check out their website.

Welcome to article number 2 in our series "Bodybuilding Sins That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts". In this article we are going to talk about how bodybuilders tend to create massive muscle imbalances and what you can do to not be one of them.

If you missed the first article, you can read it by clicking on the link below.

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 #2 - Training Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results

Bodybuilders are a stubborn bunch? almost as bad as runners! And they tend to follow the "HERD" doing whatever exercises and routines the "pros" are doing…

Now, if your goal is to be as big as possible and you are not at all concerned with your health and fitness, don't even bother this article? this article is for bodybuilders who ARE concerned about their health and want to be big, strong, powerful, and agile? if that's you, read on?

The reason so many bodybuilders suffer from so many different injuries is because there are several things the "pros" don't tell you?

First off, the articles that you see in all the muscle mags aren't even written by the "pros"? and the workout routines they recommend are always extreme and often not even used by the "pro" who supposedly wrote because their main goal is to sell magazines? not give you the real deal on bodybuilding.

If you are serious about bodybuilding and want to achieve your true peak, you need to stay injury free? and that's just about impossible if you train they way most bodybuilders do.

There are several key strategies that you can use right now to not only eliminate any aches, pains and injuries you currently have, but also keep from creating more muscle imbalances in the future.

Strategy #1 - Target the Weaklings!

No, we don't mean the exercises you think your weak at, or even the muscles you think are underdeveloped? what we mean is the muscles that are weak in relation to the opposing muscle group.

For example, in the first article we talked about why the Leg Extension is not a great exercise and why it's responsible for so many cases of knee, hip, and back pain? and the reason is, most people, especially bodybuilders, are already over developed and stronger in the quadriceps? and usually have a significant imbalance between the quadriceps and hamstrings.

Another reason bodybuilders tend to develop so many severe muscle imbalances is because they emphasize the front of the body more than the back? a great example of this is what we call "The T-shirt Muscle Workout" and it usually consists of dozens of sets of chest and biceps?

you know what we mean? in just one workout you do flat bench, incline, decline, pec deck, dumbbell fly, cable cross overs? and then for biceps you've got barbell curls, dumbbell curls, preacher curls, cable curls, machine curls, and the list goes on?

So instead of emphasizing the muscles that are already strong, why not really hit those weak and under worked muscles like: neck, upper back, shoulder rotators, hamstrings, glutes, hip rotators, lower abs, and shins.

These areas tend to be weak, tight, out of balance with their opposing muscles, prone to muscle strains and pulls and most importantly, these imbalances lead to major injuries and conditions like back pain, knee pain, rotator cuff tears, tendonitis and others.

All of these conditions are caused by muscle imbalances and will NOT go away unless you work towards correcting the imbalances? and the only way to know for sure which imbalances are causing your pain or injury is to do a series of physical assessments like the ones covered in our "Lose the Back Pain Video".

Strategy #2 - Experiment!

Here's a personal challenge for you: Replace at least 1 of your normal weekly workouts with something totally different like combat martial arts, kettle bell training, functional training, or even strongman style exercises.

For example, instead of doing your super heavy, 3 inch partial rep leg presses, try a single leg squat? and if that's easy, try adding weight! Or instead dozens of sets of shoulder presses and lateral raises, see if you can do 1 handstand push-up.

Those are just a few examples? do yourself a favor and experiment with other types of exercises. You can find hundreds of different types of training styles by taking classes, reading books, watching videos, surfing the web, hire a personal trainer, etc.

We aren't asking you to give up your traditional workouts? but just cross-train a bit so you not only work towards a balanced body but also towards a stronger, more powerful and usable strength. Again, what good is muscle if you can't use it!

Strategy #3 - Switch It Up!

Another great way to minimize the number of missed workouts due to injuries is to vary the exercises that you do for each muscle group. For example, if you always do barbell squats try rotating in other exercises like single-leg leg presses, trap-bar dead-lifts, d-bell squats, etc.

Conclusion

Remember, the key to eliminating injuries and preventing future ones is to identify what areas you need to target. In the next two articles we'll be discussing in detail, how to address various injuries like back, hip, knee, and shoulder pain with targeted exercises and stretches. In the meantime, be sure to read thru all of our detailed articles and if you have questions, please post them in our discussion forum.

Article by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS, CSPN and Steve Hefferon, CMT, CPRS of http://www.losethebackpain.com. If you've got back pain or sciatic pain, you've gotta check out their video.

The cause of lower back pain is a source of loss work time, agony in daily life and many times a bevy of tears that seem never ending.
Back pain is aggravating, irritating, frustrating and a source of pain that feels like none other. At times it can take your breath away.
The lower back is created from five vertebrae, the sacrum and the coccyx and is made up of the lower one third of the spine.
The lumbar vertebrae have an incredibly tough job of supporting all the upper body weight on their hourglass-shaped rings of bone.
The tail bone is made up of the coccyx and the sacrum and is located at the tail end of the spine. The sacrum is a group of bones which are fused together.
Think about all the pressure and weight that is exerted along the back line and it is rather easy to understand why lower back pain can be a prime location of agony.
There are many different reasons for back pain.
Some of which are caused by things in your control and others by things out of your control.
For example, things […]

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