"Isn't that exercise putting stress on your back?"

Yes. Yes, it is.

I'm not sure where we lost the plot, but putting stress on the body is the entire idea behind lifting weights.

The human body is adaptive. If I squat with a challenging enough stimulus, my body will adapt to become better at squatting by increasing muscle strength and size in my legs as well as improving the motor control, stability, and coordination required for the movement.

So when I do a heavy Jefferson curl or Zercher deadlift, I'm applying stress to create a specific outcome, making my back stronger.

As soon as you understand this, you realize how silly the title question is. We confuse stress with over-stressing or over-working an area of the body. We also tend to think avoidance is the answer if something hurts, which is also misguided.

I have to say, undoing these beliefs is the most difficult part of working with a new client, but necessary to help them overcome their pain.

For six months, a client of mine questioned specific back exercises because she was convinced they were bad for her. Only when she was finally able to return to cycling again with zero back pain did she say, "I finally get it now". I'm glad she trusted me enough to stick with it.

If you have a problem movement, one that hurts, try to face it head-on. There are a myriad of strategies you can use to find the appropriate dosage to reintegrate it into your toolbox.

Because chances are, you're going to need to bend your spine. You're going to need to tie your shoes and put your socks on without worrying about throwing out your back. It's a vital human movement worthy of training.

So stop making stress a bad word. It's literally the entire point of training, be it for health or injury prevention purposes.

To your good health,

Coach Stephen

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Thanks for reading.

P.S.

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