Shaun got over a bad back and neck injury from a car accident while training with me. It was a very slow process. Shaun ended up having such a drive and passion for exercise after getting over his injury that he I made him exercise partner. For a short while we tried making Q&A fitness youtube videos. Later on as I got over booked with clients I would call upon Shaun to assist me with personal training some of my clients.
Shaun's Words:
"Hi, My name is Shaun. I just wanna tell you people out there that my life has changed for the better. I was once a kid that was really small when I was growing up. I have tried everything to gain lean muscle over the years and nothing ever worked. I realized that I was doing things wrong until Mathew started training me. I learned that hard work and dedication can take you very far in anything you do in life. My nutrition and diet was very important so he made a chart for me. I never would have thought I would be squatting 300 pounds. Elevation in the mind made me focus on building up my attributes such as confidence,focus, and intensity through the strict regimens bodybuilders achieve. My goal is to be the best athlete I can possibly be. The more I train, the more I feel healthy and energized to handle all the rigorous obstacles this world offers. So that the beauty of peace and longevity nourishes the body, mind, and soul. I wish everyone luck and I hope this inspires others." -Shaun
Meet Joel
Over the years Joel has become a good friend as have most of my clients. Joel is unique in that his story wasn't about losing weight, he just wanted to get in better shape. Physically, he was my weakest client and today, with the help of my training methods, he truly is the strongest client. As I like to say Joel is a deceptive power house. Based on the feats he has accomplished, he lives up to the saying, 'age is nothing but a number'. My personal hope & goal is to be as strong as hm when I get older. I find it funny that I train him yet somehow he has become my inspiration for what I want to achieve in the years to come. I'm starting to realize that as I'm typing out his intro, that even though Joel is writing a testimony for me, it sounds like I'm writing a testimonial for him. itone for me. I truly feel thankful to have met and trained him.
Joel's Words
"I've never thought I could get back into shape. With Matt's expert guidance, I've been able to lose weight, meet my goals and gain far more strength then I imagined possible. Matt takes a personal approach, designing a program to meet your goals. I am continually impressed with his depth of knowledge, and ability to adapt the fitness program around my personal goals and needs. He combines health and fitness passion, knowledge of physiology and how the body responds to exercise. Matt's a rare and uniquely skilled trainer who I do not hesitate to recommend to anyone looking to get into shape" -Joel Plaut
(For a real trainee's perspective on what it's like training with me you can email Joel Joelplaut@gmail.com)
Joel's Video Testimonial
Joel was kind enough to make a video testimonial for me as well
I
have personally suffered sciatica nerve pain issues multiple times in my life.
At least once a year sometimes twice a year it isn't fun. I don't have any
herniated disc or injuries so you would think it shouldn't happen. After doing months of research on sciatica nerve pinches I
understand it better. I don't plan on being a victim of sciatica nerve pain
again. One article I read and wish I could site but sadly lost the link for
stated that 84% of people will suffer from sciatica nerve pain in there life
time. On a positive I felt like at least I'm not alone. Being in pain for weeks
and sometimes months is not fun. The idea of rest is great, but work and bills
don't allow you to sit on your butt for two months. Sadly working and not
resting only aggravates the injury more, it's a real conundrum.
Time to Fight Back
The
last time I suffered sciatica nerve pain I started understanding what I can do
to ensure I don't suffer it and how to rehabilitate it. In this blog I plan on
showing you what I learned. The best thing, it doesn't cost a dime. It just
takes some initiative on your end to keep yourself functioning optimally. This
will ensure it doesn't occur again.If it does occur it won't be as bad, plus
you can heal faster.
Understanding The Sciatica Nerve
Sciatica nerve pain to put it bluntly can be a pain in
the ass and I mean that literally. A lot times when people complain about
chronic lower back pain. They should really be complaining about the sciatica
nerve which is causing the issue. Our backs just like our knuckles can crack
and stretch out of the socket. Sometimes that pesky sciatica nerve will slip in
between the joint that is being cracked or over extended. When this happens the
nerve ends up getting clamped down. When that happens boy can it be a real
pain, no pun intended.
It isn't just the back however the sciatica nerve is
the largest nerve in the human body. It goes down our legs but generally gets
pinched in the back and around our hip joint which this picture will illustrate
to the left. When it gets pinched around the hip region the pain will radiate
up to our back as well. Leaving us feeling like it is our back that is causing
the issue.
What can you do if you are currently suffering from a nerve pinch?
The obvious answer is alternate a heat and ice pack while lying down with
plenty of rest. This luxury however doesn't always exist; we have work and
things to do. So in the following video I will show you exercises you can do to
speed up the healing process and allow you to cope with your day to day better.
Why Is It That Women Who Workout Seem Less At Risk Of Sciatica Nerve Pinches Now we are going to talk about what preventative measures we can take, but first. I've made a personal observation of a people that don't exercise with weights, as well as men who exercise with weights both seem suffer sciatica issues. Now the twist females that exercise with weights don't seem to have sciatica issues. So what makes it so different for a female that lifts weights? My theory is it has to do with how females train compared to males.
Generally females put a greater emphasis on the lower body, especially the booty and abs. Some men completely ignore legs all together which is horrible. For the men who aren't just curling warriors when they do legs, they pay little attention to the butt and abductor muscles. They generally don't do stability based lower body weight exercises either. You will often find female lifters mixing body weight stability legs exercises with your more traditional basic squats, deadlifts and lunges.
My personal experience, I've had my sciatica go out on me almost yearly for many years sometimes twice a year. The second to last time it went out I started taking advantage of the abductor machines in the gym (with the snickering and glances of the other men in the gym). I went to what has been stereotyped a female only machine, heck even some females looked at me weird for using them. I also started to implement back extensions more. I did this for two years straight at the end of every workout. Come year three I neglected it completely. Starting to close in on year four my sciatica went out again. So for almost four years I had no sciatica indecent. Once I started to implement the abductors machines. I Believe It Is More Than Just Abductor Machines
I believe it goes way deeper than doing just some abductor machines. At that time I didn't do them with an real reasoning. It was more of me waiting for a friend and just messing around. What I realized is that I was horrible at the abductor machines. Once I maxed out the machine I stopped caring about the exercise. I didn't realize the benefits it had at the time nor understood why.
Now looking back at it and reading countless articles I understand how important stability, the abductors and ball socket joint in the hip are for keeping a sciatica nerve from being pinched. Just the benefits of feeling more stability in daily day to day activities alone is worth it.
I have two routines I do at the end of every workout one is for stability (my at home routine) The other is building strength for core, abductors and the glutes. Almost all physical therapy routines when it comes to a sciatica will focus on building stability plus working the abductors and glutes. Sometimes they might do a little core work as well.
The core sadly was something else I neglected. Since abs are made in the kitchen I never focus building up core strength, while the sciatic issue gravitates more so around the hip region. I've become a firm believer in building core strength to help with this as well, it just feels right I don't have any rhyme or reason behind it.
When I don't go to the gym my at home routine focuses on building stability. It will be in the video below.
Gym Prevention Routine
Links demonstrating the exercises will be below from www.bodybuilding.com. All exercises follow the same format as my stability video.
Some gyms have a glute kick back machine some don't. You'll typically find a machine in one of two kinds. Since they look a little weird I'll post up both of them. If your gym doesn't have it not to worry I have a solution for you that can be done using a leg extension machine which every gym has. I don't recommend doing a glute kick back with the cable attached to your ankle. The reason for this it you are off balanced and it involves twisting slightly. If you are having sciatica issues it is not the wisest thing to do.
Standing Glute Kick Back
Laying Glute Kick Back
No glute kick back machine. No problem make your own with a leg extension.
As for abs I don't have a set of exercises for you. Gyms have so many various ab machines it isn't feasible to name a specific exercise. I recommend doing the leg raise I showed you in the video. Pick 2 exercise machines that you feel comfortable with one for upper and lower abs. If you have a machine that does both at the same time take advantage of that as well.
I hope that this article has been informative and you don't have to deal with sciatica issues in the future. If you have any questions for me feel free to email me I will try to get back to you and maybe even use you question in a future article. Make no excuses and stay healthy
Meet Shaun:
