In this crucial video, we explore the profound impact of spine health on overall fitness and well-being. A staggering number of individuals experience significant back pain at some point in their lives, with a notable portion ending up clinically disabled.

The gravity of the situation is exacerbated by the widespread lack of understanding regarding proper spine alignment and bracing techniques, particularly before engaging in weightlifting. This ignorance not only perpetuates the cycle of back pain but also contributes to the broader issue of clinical disability.

  • Empowering Through Education: The video aims to illuminate the often-overlooked knowledge of correct spine alignment and effective bracing techniques before lifting exercises. By addressing these foundational aspects, individuals can not only reduce the risk of back pain but also establish a solid foundation for overall spinal health.

  • The Interconnectedness of Spinal Mechanics: The significance of the video transcends back health, delving into the intricate relationship between spinal mechanics and other mobility issues, especially those related to shoulders and hips. The overarching message is clear: attempting to resolve shoulder and hip mobility problems without first addressing and rectifying spinal mechanics is an exercise in futility. This underscores the holistic approach required for comprehensive well-being.

Why Is Your Spine Health So Important?

Your spinal cord is home to the most sophisticated network on the planet – your central nervous system. Simply put, your nervous system controls every action in the body. It is the spine that keeps our body structurally oriented and helps us maintain an upright posture, protects the spine & muscle tissue, helping us move and perform our daily tasks.

Without a healthy spine, everyday activities such as walking, standing and bending can be very difficult.

How does the spine work?

The spine is the mainstay of our body. It keeps us upright, connecting parts of our skeleton: head, chest, spine, shoulders, arms and legs. Although the spine is composed of bones, it is fragile due to thick muscles and vertebrae.

The average length is 71 cm in males and 61 cm in females. Your spine does a lot of work: your head, torso, and arms bear weight, and your body can move around. Some parts of the spine are more sensitive than others. The weakest part is the cervical spine (neck area). Adults typically have 33 vertebrae, from top to bottom:

    • 7 cervical vertebrae
    • 12 thoracic vertebrae
    • 5 vertebrae
    • 5 fibrous vertebrae (fused to form sacrum)
    • 4 coccygeal vertebrae (joined together to form a tailbone, also known as ac coccyx)

The Pitfalls of Misguided Cues in Gym Workouts

The crux of the matter lies in the delicate balance of your spine’s natural curves. Problems arise when these curves become either overly pronounced or virtually non-existent. A prevalent issue observed in gym settings is the loss of the natural curvature in the lower lumbar spine. This should serve as an enlightening moment, especially if you’ve ever received the well-intentioned yet misguided advice to flatten your back during a deadlift or keep your head up during a squat.

Reflecting on these cues, it becomes apparent that instructing someone to flatten their back can lead to unintended consequences. Rather than maintaining the necessary inward curve for a neutral position, individuals might mistakenly flatten out their lumbar spine, making them more susceptible to injuries. Similarly, the directive to “lift your head up” can result in an exaggerated tilt backward, creating a localized extension fault in the cervical spine.

In essence, the key takeaway is the need for nuanced and precise cues when it comes to spinal alignment. Rather than generic commands, a more tailored approach is crucial, ensuring that people, regardless of their body type, can achieve and maintain the optimal spinal position for safe and effective weightlifting.

A Kinesthetic Guide for Lifters and Everyday Posture

Ensuring your spine maintains a neutral position is paramount in preventing unwanted deviations during lifting, and the key to achieving this lies in adopting specific kinesthetic cues. Today, you’re delving into a step-by-step process designed to instill two fundamental concepts: the braced neutral spine for lifting and the everyday perfect posture.

The braced neutral spine is your go-to alignment when engaging in weightlifting activities. This involves a set of kinesthetic cues carefully executed in a step-by-step process. On the other hand, everyday perfect posture is a more accessible version, with fewer steps but equal importance. This posture is not only relevant during lifting but is also crucial for mundane activities that people often overlook, such as tying their shoes or lifting random objects.

Understanding Spinal Mechanics and the Hidden Risks of Misalignment

It’s crucial to recognize that spending extended periods outside the gym with improper spinal mechanics and bad posture can have more detrimental effects than any workout regimen. Dismissing the notion that “your next posture is your best posture,” there are concrete formulas that calculate spinal compression force, muscle force, and, significantly, the shearing force between specific vertebrae.

Dedicating time to decipher these formulas reveals a fascinating reality: a pound deadlift with a neutral spine is considerably safer than picking up a slightly misaligned object weighing only pounds, located a foot in front of you. While the compressive force during a deadlift is naturally higher, aligning with the spine’s designed function, the true risk lies in vertebral misalignment, leading to shear forces and potential issues like bulging discs or ruptured discs.

Achieving a Braced Neutral Spine for Optimal Lifting

Let’s look into the process of creating a braced neutral spine. It’s important to note that this process remains consistent regardless of the lift; you may adjust your stance width or hip angle as needed for the specific lift, but the spine alignment and bracing approach should remain unchanged.

  • Feet Positioning: Start by winding your feet. Focus on feeling the pressure and torque of external rotation. This helps apply pressure to the outside of your knee, aiding in hip alignment.
  • Glute Contraction: Contract your glutes. This action assists in aligning your pelvis to a neutral position, contributing to overall spinal alignment.
  • Abdominal Bracing: Brace your abdominals. A helpful technique is to use four fingers and press them into your oblique. The discomfort prompts you to brace your abdominals in a way that engages not only superficial muscles but also the deep stabilizing muscles like the transversus abdominis.

When bracing for a lift, the intensity will vary based on the specific exercise. For instance, a standing dumbbell curl requires less intense contraction compared to a heavy deadlift. Adjust the intensity accordingly to ensure proper alignment and effective bracing. With your glutes flexed and abs braced, your lumbar spine is now aligned.

Achieving a Well-Braced Neutral Spine for Effective Lifting

The next focus is on your thoracic spine. Bracing your abdominals compresses your trunk, causing it to move forward and down. To correct this:

  • Open Up Shoulders: Open your shoulders into external rotation. Extend your hands out to the side with thumbs up towards the ceiling.
  • Drop Your Hands: Bring your hands down to your sides. This simple action helps counter the forward and downward movement caused by abdominal bracing.

Now, to align the cervical part of your spine:

  • Imagine a String: Pretend there’s a string attached to the bald spot on the back of your head. When this string is pulled, your head tilts slightly backward, and your chin drops into a neutral position.

By following these steps, you ensure alignment not only in your lumbar spine but also in your thoracic and cervical spine, creating a well-aligned and braced neutral spine for your lift.

Breath and Brace: Navigating Spinal Stability in Every Lift

The challenge of bracing and breathing simultaneously during a lift is crucial, and finding the right balance is key. Holding your breath for the entire set is not ideal, as it can impede blood flow and increase blood pressure. On the other hand, breathing without proper technique can compromise spinal stability.

The key is to take short, diaphragmatic breaths, breathing through your stomach rather than your chest. This allows you to maintain the abdominal brace necessary for stability. It’s not as simple as a uniform breathing pattern throughout the lift; instead, it requires a nuanced approach based on your specific needs.

While a general guideline might be to inhale during the eccentric (negative) phase and exhale during the concentric (positive) phase, the situation can be more complex. For instance, during a negative phase, inhaling might risk creating laxity in the lumbar spine due to inherently lower compressive forces during inhalation. In such cases, exhaling during the negative might be more suitable.

The key question to ask yourself before any lift is: “During what part of the lift is it most important to utilize the compressive forces of the exhale to help stabilize my spine?” This tailored approach ensures you optimize your breathing to support spinal stability throughout the lift, considering the unique demands of each phase.

Finding Balance: A Practical Guide to Correcting Day-to-Day Posture

Correcting your day-to-day posture, which is often affected by gravity and the stresses of life, is relatively straightforward. Whether you’re standing or seated, the key is to go to the extremes and then gradually find the balanced position.

  • For the lumbar spine, you arch your back and then gently contract your abs until you feel the muscles in your low back start to relax. Conversely, for the thoracic spine, you go into flexion and externally rotate your shoulders until the mid-back muscles relax. Lastly, correct your cervical spine by tugging your bald spot.
  • This process may seem like a lot to maintain throughout the day, but the idea is not to sit perfectly straight all the time. You can change the angle of your body as needed because what matters most is finding a balanced and relaxed position, irrespective of what your hips are doing.

A Pre-Workout Ritual for Leg and Back Days

You can try incorporating this exercise before every leg and back day. It’s a variation of a plate, and the key is to do it with precision.

Lock your feet in, apply pressure on the outside of your knees, flex your glutes, brace your abs, externally rotate your shoulder holders, and pull the bald spot in the back of your head. As you perform this exercise, focus on keeping the plate as close to you as possible throughout. This not only works to increase endurance and strengthen spinal muscles but also helps stabilize shoulders and enhance hip mobility. With mobile hips, stable shoulders, and a neutral spine, you’ll command respect during your workouts.