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Anecdotal evidence time: I'd never in my life had "good posture" - I was able to sit/stand that way if I focused on it, but as soon as my concentration slipped

by defen 13y ago

Anecdotal evidence time: I'd never in my life had "good posture" - I was able to sit/stand that way if I focused on it, but as soon as my concentration slipped I'd be back to my old slouching or hunched over ways. So I never understood how people with good posture were able to do it. Then, about 1 year ago (age: early 30s) I started experiencing pretty bad back pain. I'd get out of bed and it would take 10 minutes before I could stand up straight, due to lower back pain. Similarly, when I stood up after sitting for more than 30 minutes or so, it took a while to "straighten out" I tried stretches and a new mattress to no avail, before trying the advice of a co-worker: powerlifting. And holy shit! Within 3 months of deadlifts and squats, my back pain was totally gone. Furthermore, I now understand how some people have good posture - It just happens when your back and supporting muscles are strong enough. No focus required. Anyone else having my kind of problems should look into that. If you've never done it before, pay a trainer so you can learn the proper form. Remember, it's a marathon and not a sprint - if you start at a lower weight than you can do, it's not really a problem, because the goal should be to make gym-going a lifelong habit.

criley2 13y ago
Same anecdote! I hate hearing friends tell me that they don't squat because their knees hurt. Dude, your knees hurt because you don't squat! Mine did too, until I learned 1) the proper way to perform complex human motions like lifting something from the ground and 2) increased all of the muscles from my core to my legs that are involved with those complex movements.
- buss 13y ago
  > I hate hearing friends tell me that they don't squat because their knees hurt. Dude, your knees hurt because you don't squat! This is not strictly true. What works for you does not necessarily work for others, and hassling them for not doing something that hurts them isn't going to help. I've been lifting for almost three years (started Dec 2010). I have very good form which I learned from a friend who was very experienced in lifting (and corroborated by several trainers and random dudes at the gym saying "wow, nice form!"). Before I started lifting I had been running for about 10 years (started running in middle school, didn't start lifting until after college). Everything was going great. Lifting three days a week, running another three days a week, and resting completely one day. Then one day I took a weird step while running and my right knee started hurting. It's never stopped hurting. Two X-Rays, an MRI, two physical therapists later and they don't have any idea why I'm in constant pain (literally constant pain, I'm constantly aware of my knee hurting). I still lift, still with good form, still moving lots of weight around, but my knee still hurts. I can't run anymore, though, as that aggravates the injury. And before you say it, I hurt my knee after I had been running in vibrams for three years. I was running 6-7 miles 3x a week in vibrams and all it took was one weird step to totally ruin that. After the injury, on a PT's advice, I tried switching back to "normal" running shoes. They didn't help at all. I played around with my gait, trying to run with a wider stance since they were guessing my narrow gait was putting stress on the bad point in my knee; that didn't help. Stretching doesn't help, drugs don't really help (the most effective drug so far is Aleve). Lifting seems to have no effect on my knee. I tried not lifting or running for three months and my knee still hurt. I picked lifting back up and it made no difference to my pain levels. Anyway, I'm just trying to say that we all have different physical ailments that cannot necessarily be solved by general advice. Maybe your friends' knees hurt because there's something wrong with them and lifting will make it worse.
  - deleted 13y ago
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nhangen 13y ago
Never thought I'd see the day where we're talking weightlifting on HN. Deadlifts and Squats are two of my favorite parts of the week.

by defen 13y ago

criley2 13y ago

Same anecdote! I hate hearing friends tell me that they don't squat because their knees hurt. Dude, your knees hurt because you don't squat! Mine did too, until I learned 1) the proper way to perform complex human motions like lifting something from the ground and 2) increased all of the muscles from my core to my legs that are involved with those complex movements.

buss 13y ago
> I hate hearing friends tell me that they don't squat because their knees hurt. Dude, your knees hurt because you don't squat! This is not strictly true. What works for you does not necessarily work for others, and hassling them for not doing something that hurts them isn't going to help. I've been lifting for almost three years (started Dec 2010). I have very good form which I learned from a friend who was very experienced in lifting (and corroborated by several trainers and random dudes at the gym saying "wow, nice form!"). Before I started lifting I had been running for about 10 years (started running in middle school, didn't start lifting until after college). Everything was going great. Lifting three days a week, running another three days a week, and resting completely one day. Then one day I took a weird step while running and my right knee started hurting. It's never stopped hurting. Two X-Rays, an MRI, two physical therapists later and they don't have any idea why I'm in constant pain (literally constant pain, I'm constantly aware of my knee hurting). I still lift, still with good form, still moving lots of weight around, but my knee still hurts. I can't run anymore, though, as that aggravates the injury. And before you say it, I hurt my knee after I had been running in vibrams for three years. I was running 6-7 miles 3x a week in vibrams and all it took was one weird step to totally ruin that. After the injury, on a PT's advice, I tried switching back to "normal" running shoes. They didn't help at all. I played around with my gait, trying to run with a wider stance since they were guessing my narrow gait was putting stress on the bad point in my knee; that didn't help. Stretching doesn't help, drugs don't really help (the most effective drug so far is Aleve). Lifting seems to have no effect on my knee. I tried not lifting or running for three months and my knee still hurt. I picked lifting back up and it made no difference to my pain levels. Anyway, I'm just trying to say that we all have different physical ailments that cannot necessarily be solved by general advice. Maybe your friends' knees hurt because there's something wrong with them and lifting will make it worse.
- deleted 13y ago
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nhangen 13y ago

Never thought I'd see the day where we're talking weightlifting on HN. Deadlifts and Squats are two of my favorite parts of the week.