How I went from suffering from regular Back Pain to lifting 200 kg without a belt?
If you suffer from regular back pain, then this post is a must for you.
I very clearly remember that before leaving for Melbourne, Australia in 2004, I used to have nagging back pain most of the times. There was a time when I started wearing a orthopaedic low back pain belt. I also used to take muscle relaxants like Mobizox tablets every now and then when the pain became unbearable.
I believe that most of the time, I lifted heavy weights while working on my father’s shop without much awareness on my lifting technique.
In 2004, when I went to study for Masters degree in Australia, I took a lot of painkillers and muscle relaxants with me.
Melbourne’s weather is cold for most Indians especially, and it takes a few months for the body to get used to the weather. The hot and cold weather wasn’t doing much good for my back pain condition and I ended by consuming almost all the medicines I had carried from India in the first year.
One thing which I noticed is that if I went on regular walks outside, my back did very well. Melbourne is a very beautiful city with lots of greenery, excellent sports facility and going for long walks or a run is a treat.
After the 1st year in Melbourne and having saved some savings, I decided that I must invest on my health to eliminate my back pain issues for good. I started looking for gym options and martial arts options.
I had joined a regular gym (machine based) in India during my college days but didn’t enjoyed it that much and left it after one and a half months.
Also, while in my School days, I had joined kung Fu, which was taught by an Afghani Instructor and which was quite hard for me at first but gradually, I became tougher. I practiced that style of kung fu for one and a half years and had to leave only because of my class 12th studies load.
When I checked out a few options in both gyms and martial arts academies close by in Melbourne , I weighed my options and decided on joining Kung Fu at Six Harmonies Kung Fu Academy on the St. Kilda Road.
I spent some of my best time training at Six Harmonies under my Martial Arts Coach Shifu Stuart Holdsworth. It was one of the best decision I took while I was in Australia. In total, I trained for 7 years at Six Harmonies Academy and with training over the years, my core strength and overall strength became so much better helping my back become stronger. Checkout the Academy website for more info https://www.sixharmonies.com.au .
Later on in 2010, I came to know about TRX as a great tool to exercise and make those stabilising muscles stronger. I got this tool and started using it more and more to train myself and my clients as you can read more in my other post here. I introduced TRX to my Martial Arts Coach as well and also the Six Harmonies Martial Arts family at the Annual Summer Camp. Watch the highlights from one of those fantastic summer camps in 2011 in the video below.
After I completed my Fitness Certifications from Australian Fitness Academy in Melbourne, I started seeking more knowledge in area of Strength Training and practicing more of Barbell exercises, Deadlift in particular.
Deadlift or “bend to extend” is one of the human movement patterns where we bend down by pushing our hips back as far as possible and with knee flexion as minimal thereby loading our hips and hamstring muscles and using the big back muscles along with strong grip and a strong intra-abdominal pressure for spine stability to left something heavy off the floor.
The above paragraph on Deadlift might feel loaded but believe me once you get the movement right with regular practice under the supervision of a Certified Coach such as StrongFirst Certified, you will understand very well what I mean.
Although Deadlift can be practiced with Dumbbells, Kettlebell, Barbell but Barbell Deadlift is the best when you reach a certain stage and want to maximise your potential as weight plates can be loaded as per the individual needs.
A great book written jointly by Pavel and Andy Bolton is “Deadlift Dynamite”. Andy Bolton, is a Powerlifter and the first person to deadlift 1000 pounds or 453 kg. The book, Deadlift Dynamite, is available on the Amazon and will help you learn how to Deadlift the right way.
In the recent years, I attended StrongFirst workshops on Barbell Course in Chennai and “Any weapon, one mind” in New Delhi, both taught by StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor Shaun Cairns. Armed with the finer details of Barbell Deadlift, and with regular practice, I was able to achieve my personal best of 200 kg last year.
Strength Coach Jazz
Movement and Strength Coach, StrongFirst Certified SFG 1, Functional Fitness Master Trainer, TRX Certified Instructor, Kettlebell Expert,Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Expert
