Billy and Bob had similar upbringings: they went to the same school, played the same sports, were the same weight & height and neither had experienced any injuries before.
Both of them experienced the “middle aged spread” and decided to hire a personal trainer. Strangely enough, despite not seeing each other for years, they both went to the same personal trainer… but they hadn’t realised it.
Since they were both similar in age, weight and training experience, the personal trainer started them on the same beginner strength program… However, on the very 1st day they both hurt their backs while performing a deadlift - the weight, technique and everything else identical!
(With our inside knowledge, we know they both have triggered a bulging disc in between the L4/L5 vertebrae, but they don’t know that).
Billy and Bob both go to the exact same Physiotherapist, get the exact same treatment, and are told the exact same words and phrases throughout the course of the appointment:
“You need to be careful with deadlifts” “Your glutes aren’t firing” “Do these hip stretches in your warm ups” “One of your legs is shorter than the other”
Billy agreed that he would be more cautious with deadlifts from now on and maybe take a closer look at his technique. He realised he’d never really thought about his glutes, so he decided to ask his Personal Trainer about it when he was next in – plus, he’d ask his Trainer to show him those hip stretches, he’d never done anything like that before. The leg length thing was interesting though. He’d never had any problems in the past, so he decided to bear it in mind, but not worry too much about it.
Bob, on the other hand, is really worried that his glutes aren’t firing and that one of his legs is shorter than the other. He decides it’s best to stop doing deadlifts and cancels his upcoming sessions with the Personal Trainer until he can get everything sorted. He books another session with the Physio instead.
Billy is back training with his Personal Trainer again and does his recommended hip stretches every session. He starts deadlifting again (lighter than before, with far more focus on technique) and over time he builds some awesome hamstring strength – plus he’s losing weight and feeling great! He decided to increase his sessions from two a week to three! His family are noticing a difference in his day-to-day mood!
After cancelling his sessions, Bob decided to ask for a refund on his remaining sessions as he won’t be going back for a while. He’s been taking painkillers and avoiding certain movements until he gets another physio appointment to check if his glutes are firing properly again. Since he has an active job he’s booked a Doctor’s appointment to see if he can get some time off work – since he pulled his back, many of his day to day tasks are causing him pain and he doesn’t want to make things worse. His family are noticing a difference in his day-to-day mood.
Keep in mind, both Billy and Bob have the exact same disc injury, it is their reactions and thought processes that have affected what happened next: Billy saw and chose action, whereas Bob only heard problems and fear.
Billy still finds he is getting a bit tight when he wakes up, so he’s decided to start doing his warm up stretches first thing in the morning - they always help to get him going. He doesn’t want to cancel his gym session later as he’s making such great progress! His family can’t believe the difference in him. IMG_0025.jpg34.74 KB
Bob dreads the mornings, rolling out of bed in agony and limping down the stairs. He’s finally got his doctor to send him for an MRI scan and was presented with the news that he has an L4/L5 disc bulge…. Bob is devastated. His family can’t believe the difference in him.
Skip forward 10 years.
Billy is still loving training, doing all kinds of active things, progressing in his career, fun family holidays, even ended up with an injured shoulder from doing monkey bar tricks on the beach, but it’s healed up now and he’s looking forward to hitting his bench press goals.
All his friends make fun of him because he’s a fitness freak and never stops, they all wonder where he gets the energy. He has no idea he has a disc bulge, and it never bothers him. He dropped his Personal Trainer and just trains himself now, working from program to program. His wife would go crazy if she knew how much he spends on protein and supplements.
Bob changed jobs so he didn’t have to be so active, he doesn’t go on family trips as he can’t walk around for too long without his back seizing up. Despite his efforts to be careful and avoid any strenuous activity, Bob is now dealing with sciatica and knee pain which makes it difficult for him to stand up straight.
He has become withdrawn, spending most of his time just lying down. His disc bulge bothers him every second of every day. He went to loads of different physios, but they couldn’t fix him, tried a few chiropractors but they just seemed to make it worse… so he gets strong painkillers on prescription because they are the only thing that helps the pain.
Both Billy & Bob end up going to their high school reunion. They bump into each other and get chatting! They discuss training and injuries, and Billy invites Bob to his gym the week after to show him the hip stretches that he uses when his back feels a bit tight. Bob, with a “what else have I got to lose” mindset, agrees to try them.
They are the exact same stretches given to both Billy and Bob 10 years previous, but this is the first time Bob had tried them, and they feel pretty damn good!
Bob starts to hang out with Billy more often and they even start training together! Over time, his back becomes completely pain free now and he’s starting to do things he hadn’t done in years! He is incredibly happy but can’t stop wondering why he didn’t do any of this 10 years ago… where did that time go.
This may seem like a crazy, over-exaggerated story but make no mistake - I meet Billy and I meet Bob every week without fail and I have done for years. As soon as you become scared to move, that's when your body becomes weaker. Regardless of underlying injuries, when you get weaker, you will feel more pain.
A fearful reaction to pain is happening everywhere in some form or another, be it Samantha, Jeremy, Gordan or Kirsty, shoulders, knees, hips, or necks… the things you're told about your injury, whether they’re right or wrong, can be life altering. We’ve found that taking action, learning more about your body and learning to move better always leads you down a better path than fear & avoidance.
If you’re unsure where to start, but want to build confidence through moving then the Beginners Bundle is the best place to start with us!
