INVERSION: You are only as strong as your lower back

One of the most common injuries for weight lifters, bodybuilders and aging men in general is lower back pain. My own history with lower back pain has been long and antagonizing. It wasn't until recently that I discovered the benefits of regular inversion and the accelerated pain relief that it offers. And I must say, my back hasn't felt as good as it does now in years. I no longer live in the almost constant dread of throwing my back out. Then being out of full commission for weeks at a time until it healed.

One day while sitting in my office I took notice of a commercial for teeter hangups on the television. For those who are unfamiliar with teeter hangup, the company makes inversion boots, inversion tables and other lower back pain relief devices. Because I was desperate for relief from my back pain and willing to try anything I paid full attention to the Teeter commercial. After the commercial was over I realized, I COULD USE MY SOLOFLEX FOR REGULAR INVERSION SESSIONS! I gave it a try. It worked beautifully!

I know there has to be other Soloflex owners out there who are also dealing with regular bouts of lower back pain. Who have never considered their Soloflex Muscle Machine as the means of long term back pain relief.

Here is the theory behind why inversion is believed to work to relieve lower back pain. The constant pull of gravity has a cumulative negative effect on the joints and spinal discs. Inversion puts gravity to work by placing the body in line with the downward pull of gravity. Not only can inversion therapy help to temporarily relieve back pain, but it also can be used as a method to relieve other negative effects that gravity has on the body. Hanging upside down stretches and relaxes the muscles and reduces stress on all the spinal discs.

Inversion temporarily lengthens the spine, increasing the space between the vertebrae, which relieves the pressure on discs, ligaments and nerve roots. This reduction in pressure on the discs translates into less back pain.

The inner core of the spinal disc is made of jellylike material which provides the "cushioning" in the back. You can lose up to .5" (1.3-2.0 cm) in height daily during your waking hours from the compressive effects of gravity. This daily height loss reverses overnight, but not 100%, resulting in permanent height loss, loss of flexibility and shock absorption. While inverted, you are able to temporarily reverse the downward pressure on your discs, helping the discs to recover an regain lost moisture and lost height, with improved flexibility.

Lying down in bed only releases 75% of standing body weight on the spinal discs. The hundreds of ligaments and muscles that encase and stabilize the spine act like a bunch of rubber bands holding the spine in compression equal to 25% of standing body weight. Inverting to 60 degrees helps to reduce the disc pressure to at or near zero.

Inverting yourself to as little as 20-25 degrees for even a few minutes can help relax tense muscles and speed the flow of lymphatic fluids which flush out of the body's wastes and carry them to the blood stream.

Unlike the cardiovascular system, the lymphatic system has no pump. Only the alternate contraction and relaxation of the muscles moves the lymphatic fluid "uphill" through capillaries and one-way valves to the upper chest for cleansing. Inverting the body so that gravity works with, not against, these one-way valves stimulates the flow of lymph system, helping to clear toxins from the body.

Your heart must work against gravity to pump blood up to your brain, which is the body's largest consumer of oxygen. Inversion is a simple way to improve circulation to the upper body.
When inverting, you are helping your heart to move the blood from your feet, legs, and lower body. This allows the blood in your limbs to circulate more easily, which may help to drain blood from varicose veins.

The experience of thousands of people who invert regularly is that it gives us the relief from back pain we have been looking for. Just as important, we gain the rejuvenating effects of inversion on the entire body, providing health benefits far beyond the relief of back pain.

The Proper Form Myth

A comment from one of my YouTube viewers addressed the poor lifting form that I used in my "Arms" Shock Routine video. From the instant that I reviewed the finished footage of the video I knew that my sloppy form would become a topic of intrest to someone. So, I waited. My plan from the beginning was to respond to the form issue with a blog post if ever a viewer broached the subject. The subject has been brought up, so here is the post.

Please consider the following.

In this example, I will say each set must be completed within 30 seconds.

Using proper lifting form, if, within 30 seconds, you moved 20 pounds for 10 reps, at the end of the set you will have moved a total of 200 pounds  (20 pounds X 10 reps = 200 lbs).

Using  fair to good form, if,  within 30 seconds, you moved 20 pounds for 15 reps, at the end of the set you will have moved a total of 300 pounds  (20 pounds X 15 reps = 300 lbs).

Which of these sets will put the greatest demand on the body?  Correct - the fair to good form set.  Because a greater  total  amount of weight was moved within the same 30 second period.

The greater total amount is all your body cares about when it comes to building muscle.    It strives to meet the greater total amount demand.  It could care less about  proper form.  Muscles only respond to the demands associated with  the form being used. 

The most physically powerful and visually impressive guys in the gyms often prove my point with regard
to proper form.  I personally cannot remember one huge guy standing firm  on the "proper form" issue.   Unless he was being forced to do so by the equipment he was working out on.

Personal trainers and trainer wanna-bes, on-the-other-hand, are often found  on  soap boxes with  proper form speaches for everyone within earshot.

I think many of us would progress faster if we spent  more time picking the weight up and putting it down. And less time pretending that form will be the decisive factor in our ultimate success or  failure.