This is quite a controversial subject for many people, especially people in the body building scene. And I would like to start off by saying I have nothing against body building if that is your passion and that is what you like to do. I just have a problem with people adopting body building techniques who are not body builders and want to become fit and healthy. And especially people who go to someone for a rehabilitation or injury prevention training program  and think they are doing "functional training" or "core training" but are really using a muscle based approach no different to body building. This type of training has taken over almost all of the gyms you go into these days, and even in the rehab world itself with physiotherapists, specialists, Pilates even, there is still a real emphasis on muscle based training. I myself used this approach early in my career as a personal trainer 11 years ago. And although some people recovered well from some injury or pain, there were many people that never really improved or seemed to be continually re-injuring themselves, myself included.

Back pain injuries are very common these days and statistics show that 85% of people will experience severe back pain in their life and any will have repeated episodes. This can be due in part to people not getting treatment from a qualified physician early enough along and self diagnosing their problem with Dr Google. This is one of the worst things you can ever do for you may apply a corrective strategy that was not right for your body. Before you attempt to restore an injury it is wise to get a thorough examination and diagnosis from a well respected health practitioner. Once you have that diagnosis it is easier to determine what course of action to take and whether you are a high risk injury or low risk. This is very important to know for it can help to select the right exercises for your body at that point in time.

I have been a Personal Trainer based in Melbourne for 15 years and the number one obstacle preventing people from achieving their goal is TOO MUCH STRESS! I don't know anyone who does not want to get results with their health and fitness goals, yet that is exactly what it seems like when I see my clients sabotaging their own goals by eating junk food, drinking too much alcohol, working too many hours, not drinking enough water, I could keep going and going but I think you get the point. For many years I had spent endless hours studying and paying big bucks to learn the latest exercise methods and techniques to provide the best Personal Training experience ever! However I was very frustrated from many of my clients lack of results due mainly to the poor habits listed earlier. I soon came to the conclusion that it does not make any difference to their goal at all how hard their training sessions or what latest exercise technique I was using if they continued to adopt these destructive habits. So for the past 5 years most of my learning has gone into the reasons behind the lack of motivation, desire, willpower and willingness to stick to a plan. Which I will admit is significantly harder than any exercise program or advanced method I have ever tried to learn! And out of all of this I can conclude now the biggest factor and saboteur of any program is STRESS. In this article I will share with you some of the important lessons and tricks I learned over the years to help you avoid the trap so many fall into.