Questioning personal physical fitness prowess

I’ve been a fitness fanatic ever since I could remember. By the time I was 12 years old I’d spend every free minute I could get in my basement lifting plastic-coated concrete weights with the hopes of getting a little bigger and stronger.

As I got older I realized I had a knack for strength, and I entered several powerlifting contests and did quite well with honors that included first in the state, second in the Nationals and third in the 1992 U.S. Powerlifting Federation Junior World Championships. Just like every other young male, I spent most of my time working chest and biceps and was more concerned with how big my arms were and how much weight I could lift.

I really thought I was in great shape, and then one day I was doing a heavy workout when all of a sudden I heard a loud pop and felt a sharp pain in my lower back as if someone had hit me with a baseball bat.  As the weight crashed to the floor in front of me I realized I was in a heap of trouble.  The next morning I couldn’t tie my own shoes, and the pain was unbearable. A trip to the doctor’s office and an MRI revealed the obvious. I had sustained a life-changing injury by rupturing three discs in my lower back. The doctor said my powerlifting career was over and it was time to think about less strenuous hobbies.  I couldn’t help but ask myself, how could this happen? I was big strong and spent most of my life working out and playing football. The answers were many, and it was time to take a good long look at what I was doing wrong and come up with a much different approach toward fitness.

Muscular balance is key
When I was young I spent entirely too much time working mirror muscles such as chest and biceps but neglected core stabilizing muscles such as abs and lower back. This was a huge mistake, because even though I was strong in some areas, other areas were weak, and the muscle imbalance put pressure on my joints. That was one of the main reasons why I got injured.

Bigger is not always better
In the past I had confused size with fitness, allowing my body weight to get up to 245 pounds.  Even though I had big muscles and could move large amounts of weight, I was not truly physically fit. These days I make sure to keep my body fat low and my weight between 185-190 lbs. where my body functions best.

Movements make a big difference
I now add lots of functional lifts to my weight-training program that simulate real-life movements.  Traditional weightlifting exercises are great, but they’re not always practical because they are one-dimensional. On the other hand, functional moves have the whole package because they require strength, balance, coordination, core strength and endurance, making them extremely beneficial in any program. As it turned out, my unfortunate back injury was one of the best things that ever happened to me because it forced me to take a different approach to fitness and explore new ways of getting in great shape. Don’t wait till it’s too late. Try some of the above ideas and learn what it’s like to truly be physically fit.