I’m seeing this pattern over and over and I need to talk about it.

I have some people, usually overweight or obese, who have some sort of joint pain. But they need to workout, build fitness, and lose weight.

So we try to give them all of those adaptations at the same time.

And hey, sometimes it actually works.

Fitness

First, you just gotta get consistent in the gym. You need to come in even when you’re tired. You need to learn that what feels heavy to you isn’t really all that heavy for you.

You need to sweat. Your muscles need to burn.

And gradually, fitness rises.

Losing weight

All throughout this, we’re discussing your daily habits. Are you sleeping at least 7 hours a night? That’s a huge place to get a win.

Sleep prevents hunger and helps your hormones stay in check. If bodybuilders want to supplement with hormones, wouldn’t you at least want your’s at normal levels?

Habits are the name of the game. Eat better. Learn how to cook. Go to the grocery store. It’s some of the most rewarding skills you can build.

Joints and movement

Now to what I wanted to discuss.

These people are generally walking kind of like penguins. They waddle from side to side and their back and hip flexor muscles are always on.

This position locks the joints in place. It makes you inflexible. Often times we then overuse one joint in particular, and maybe that joint starts to hurt.

Remove the flat back

So the first step is to get rid of the excessively flat back posture. You sit up really proud. Too proud. You need to slouch a little more. It’s the only way to restore some of your mobility.

So you do that and things get better. Joints start moving again. Your pain goes away.

But often times, it’s like playing a game of whack-a-mole. Some new pain pops up after you hit the first one.

This makes sense.

Side-to-side asymmetries

If we remove that tension in your low back and hip flexors, we allow your spine to relax. There’s more space in all those little joints through the middle of your body.

Increased mobility! Yay!

But what does that mean?

Increased instability.

Now instead of just locking all the pieces together, we’ve got things trying to balance atop one another. The body is less solid, more fluid.

By removing the back tone, we’ve uncovered new asymmetries that were hidden underneath, but unable to show themselves.

So your penguin posture is turning into a limping gait. One shoulder is way lower than the other. New problems arise.

But that’s the beauty of it. Now you have a new challenge to fix.

Like this article? Then you’ll love The Movement Seminar.

Click to Learn More