Last year, as I was approaching a goal PR in the deadlift I had been chasing for a long time, my back pain was getting worse. I started to worry about all those objections to deadlifting that I mentioned earlier, and I thought, “Great. I’ve slipped a disk. They’re gonna want to operate on my back. And my lifting career is done.” So, with my sciatic pain steadily increasing and X-rays not showing anything abnormal (aside from my already crooked spine and hips), they ordered an MRI of my lower back. I anxiously awaited the call from my chiropractor with the results, and I fully expected him to tell me never to touch a barbell again (have I mentioned I tend to be a pessimist?).

As a man, if someone tells you that you are too weak (especially too weak to simply hold your skeleton together) it drives you to change. I immediately began researching strength training programs, got a gym membership, and got to work! Now, if you've ever perused the internet for fitness advice, you're surely aware that there are more opinions than there are brands of overly priced yoga pants (what is LuLu Lemon, anyway?!). Not only that, all the opinions contradict each other. Muscle confusion, hypertrophy, sets of 5 or 8 or 10 or 30, cardio is awesome, cardio will kill you, squats are the best, squats will kill you...it's a nightmare!!! Eventually, all that advice becomes overwhelming, you fart around the gym for a couple months, progress and motivation stall, and you quit working out but keep paying for the gym promising yourself you'll go back next Monday. Ever been there?