Movement Snacks: If you ever feel tension or tightness in your back, this email is for you.
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Hey Reader, A week or so ago, one of my personal training clients reached out to me because she hurt her back and didn't feel comfortable doing any of the strength training she was scheduled to do. Honestly, she didn't feel good and was worried about doing any movement at all. That's a fairly common concern. Often when we're in pain, the instinct is to rest until the pain goes away. And sometimes that works. But more often, not moving can be worse. Here's why: Movement helps increase blood flow to tense, tight, or stressed (aka painful) areas. Movement can also prevent the tightness or stiffness from getting worse because inactivity will actually weaken those muscles over time. Plus, gentle movement reminds your body that it's actually safe to move, which can ease your body out of the pain cycle it's in. Are there situations when it's important to fully rest? Yes, of course! If you're experiencing acute pain, give your body a break for a day or 2. But generally speaking, movement is helpful rather than harmful when your body isn't feeling great. That leads me to my movement snack... For my client with the angry low back, we dialed it way back. For now, we're ditching weights in favor of mobility. We'll add weights back in when the flare-up has passed and she's managing the trigger that seems to be creating the pain. Here's one of the sent her: It's my favorite stretch for low back tension that you can do, pretty much anywhere. I also filmed 4 videos with other movement options that can create gentle movement to increase circulation and mobility. These are building blocks to help eventually make a path back to strength training, when she is ready. If you'd like me to send you one of those short mobility videos, respond to this email! Happy to share a little bit of the low back love. Thanks for being a part of my community this year. I am so grateful for you. Warmly, Naomi Want to stay in touch during the week? Here are a 2 easy ways: Follow me on YouTube. I share strength and movement practices twice monthly and shorter educational/inspirational videos 3 times a week, plus (almost) daily posts. Follow me on substack, where I write about the intersection of movement, perimenopause, and the culture that we are all moving through. Or better yet, subscribe so you have immediate access to regular essays, including my most recent substacks. There are many ways to support my writing on substack, which focuses on women's fitness, health, and motherhood during perimenopause through an anti-diet and pro-science lens: 😍 Become a free subscriber I also just published an article about how I reclaimed my relationship with running in a healthier way on my favorite fitness platform, Fit Bottomed Girls. You can read that one here. |