Reddit reviews Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, and Move with Confidence

Read this book. It works amazingly well for me. Its a program of simple exercises that will really strengthen your back and teach you proper posture and movement patterns.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1609611004/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?qid=1372548698&sr=8-5&pi=SL75

I've been suffering from low back pain for years and had a slight scolosis when I was younger. I would keep three things in mind:

1 - If an exercise hurts your back, stop right away! Bad form will ruin you. I've hurt myself doing handstands (arched lower back), burpees, leg raises, even squats. Work on the form, the form, the form, forget about reps! Take videos of yourself, exercise in front of a mirror, ask a friend... Hollow body at all times is the key, even when playing other sports!

2 - Posture. I read a lot about form here, but my everyday posture was very bad and this was causing the most trouble. I've fixed an excessive anterior pelvic tilt (APT), and I'm forcing myself to keep my lower back slightly arched when I sit - those helped a lot.

3 - Work out your posterior chain! That's hamstrings, glutes, and all the back muscles. There are some good exercises for that in the Foundation book (the back pain book). While some good bodyweight exercises will build everything at once, like the L-sit, I like doing specific exercises for my back. Here's the link to the book : http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Redefine-Your-Conquer-Confidence/dp/1609611004/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419981950&sr=1-3&keywords=foundation It's not as revolutionary as they claim it to be at all, but it helped me with back pain so have a look at it!

Lay down on ice or a heating pad? That's not very helpful. I have chronic lower back issues, have been so rapt in spasms that I ended up in the ER unable to move, injected full of painkillers, endured months of PT, tried yoga, diet changes, followed every youtuber's advice - nothing helped.

Here's the only thing that helped me: Crossfit and Foundation Training (http://amzn.com/1609611004) - strengthening the core and learning how to hinge. Squats, good mornings, chair pose, planks, even dead lifts. If I can get in a good round of dead lifting, I know my back is going to be good for days. If my back goes out of whack again, I have a regimen of stretches I can return to and get right again quickly.

Or, lay down on some ice I guess.

Foundation training by Dr. Goodman has been great for my SI issue I've been having. His book is great, and there are tons of free videos on youtube and his website

L5-S1 herniation here. Most important advise, GO SLOW!!!!! Taking a year, or two, or even three for slow progress is a pain in the ass, but compared to a life altering injury that plagues you daily, there's no question. Just suck up your pride on this one.

As for a fantastic the best starting place, do Foundation Training, based on this book, or see his website here. I started here, and then at the end of the designed protocol I slowly introduced dead lift back in.

Exactly one year to the day of my back injury I dead lifted 315x7. Still not as good as it once was (and it probably never will be, but whatev...), but I was pretty pleased.

Go slow, and good luck!

Hey - keep your head up, you can get this thing fixed. I'm in my late thirties and have had two herniated discs (first around 15 years ago). I am an ultrarunner, and what's worked for me is balancing out my miles with yoga (Yin specifically) and strength training. Specifically for keeping the back in good shape, I highly recommend Foundation. I noticed a difference almost immediately after beginning these exercises (no weights involved). Also, for a general understanding of how the back works and how you can keep it healthy, I recommend Gokhale's 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back. Really good guidance on posture, sitting, sleeping, etc. Good luck.

Hey thanks for reaching out. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I am not used to getting messages on here.

Anyways, I highly recommend buying his book Foundation. I bought the kindle version so its always on my phone but I can see the value of a hard copy so that you can mark and fold pages of your favorites. I say get the book only because he explains what these exercises are doing and what muscles you are conditioning. The knowledge helps as your doing the exercises so you can feel the tiny muscles working. I had the problem of getting lazy once my back felt better and stopped doing the exercises but I learned my lesson and do at least my favorite exercises every day. It will really help.

My latest breakthrough in terms of my back and health has been doing circuit exercises. Sorry for the long story here. So I tried the P90x and the beach body in the past and each time I did I hurt my back and had to stop. Last year after our second child my wife started doing Bikini Body Guide - Kayla Itsines after 12 weeks I couldn't believe how good she looked. She searched for a while to find the right workout that she could do because of her bad knees. This was it for her. She said that I should try it and that she is seeing more guys doing with great results as well. I was hesitant at first because of the name of the workout but I got into it and I have never felt or looked better. I am almost 33 and feel/look so much better than I did when I was weight training at 23. It also is great for your back and works well with the Foundation training stretches. The other thing that is so great about it is that the workouts are 28 minutes Mon, Wed, and Fri. and 40 mins of cardio Tues, Thurs, and Sat. I do all the exercises at home so you don't have to take the time to go to the gym or the cost of a gym. The time is the biggest part for me because the family takes so much time and energy. I would be happy to send you the zip file of the workout if you would like it.

Another thing I would recommend is finding a Chiropractor that practices kinesiology in cases of emergency. A couple times a year my back gets inflamed to where I can not adjust it myself and so I go see my Chrio. I am very lucky with the one I have even though she doesn't take insurance, she also doesn't require an xray to do an adjustment. She is the only chiro that has actually fixed me and wants me to get better instead of telling me I have to go back and see her every week. She is the one that told me to get the Foundation book and said that she loses customers because of this but she is happy to give people a better life.

The last thing that I do and recommend is buying a pool noodle and cutting it down to the width of your car seat and using that at your lumbar for when you are in the car. I drive a lot for work and that sitting in a car seat is sometime the most uncomfortable position that I can be in. The pool noodle at the lumbar really helps and also flexing my abs muscles takes the pressure of my back.
I hope this helps. Feel free to reach out if you would like the Bikini Body Guide aka BBG. Let me know if you have any questions and thanks again for reaching out.

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I'm plugging Tom Merrick.

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After switching from a 9-5 vehicle job to early morning physical labor I felt the price I paid for sitting too long. I've dedicated most of my free time since January to mobility and physical alignment. I am recovering from a life time of previous physical punishment but seeing incredibly quick improvements from a daily discipline of proper mobility. I've forgone all other training besides my job to strip my body down to its basics. I figure if the base is level and square, I can dedicate my physical ambitions in any direction. It's honestly felt 'spiritual' learning my own, individual body. With daily use of the same motions in a slow and focused manner, I'm continually squashing through pain spots and weaknesses; many that I never knew I had because I simply was never paying attention to them.

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I recommend Tom Merrick's routines to find your own weaknesses and have something to gauge progress with, and just make daily habits of the ones that work well for you. Pain Free by Pete Egoscue and Foundation Training by Eric Goodman have driven a lot of my progress as well as simple research into the discomforts or oddities I discovered in my body.

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I figure if life is a game, than longevity is the name of that game. My best odds rest in a body that's built to prevent injury and operate at peak levels. A couple of months ago I realized I will feel the urge to do daily mobility work for the rest of my life because it feels too damn good.

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Movement is so basic but so forgotten. It's fundamental to who we are as primal beings.

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I rant about this because I care so much about it. So many people in my life are in physical pain and it drives me mad that movement isn't taught by anyone in our lives until we discover our own need for it.

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Feel good, live good.

You gotta think of it day by day. Each time you do it, it dulls the pain 1%. Do it for 100 days. It took me about that long to considered my back healed but I wanted it to be stronger so I just kept going. It corrects your posture and I overly just feel better doing it without pain. It's like a hybrid of Yoga which is only good for you body.

There are different foundation excersize you can find online for free. I ended up just buying a 15 dollar book on Amazon. It had a bunch of 2 week routines with different complexities. Great pictures of what muscles should be activating and ect.

I probably spent $3000-4000 on pysio, chirco, and massages over 5 years and this 15 dollar book and free YouTube video I gave you are what fixed me.

First, I would check the fit. Second, poor posture will do that to ya. It's important to strengthen those core muscles and to perform your activities ergonomically. The muscles you'll really want to target are the ones supporting your spine on the backside and not so much your abs.

I highly recommend the exercises described in "Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, and Move with Confidence". They're mostly pilate/yoga type of exercises in which you only have to use your own body weight and gravity.

http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Redefine-Your-Conquer-Confidence/dp/1609611004

Hey, couple of suggestions

Try out foundation back training. Link to the book here

The exercises in the book are mostly for lower and mid back issues so might not be fully relevant to you. They helped me immensely when I had severe lower back trouble. Have been virtually pain free since I started doing them. I also had cervical disc trouble and was told that the space between two of my neck discs has reduced due to an injury. This left me unable to turn my neck, move my arms beyond shoulder level, throw things for a while. It got better on its own after a while though. I did go through trying many exercises online to fix it (dont remember which). The basic theory being that if your supporting muscles are strong, the discs will eventually be OK.

I have no personal experience but have seen a lot of noise about Qi Spine clinics in Bangalore.

Good luck, hope it gets better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOTvaRaDjI

http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Redefine-Your-Conquer-Confidence/dp/1609611004/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458777602&sr=8-1&keywords=foundation+back

Ice and ibuprofen to kill the inflammation. Then do the exercises from this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Redefine-Your-Conquer-Confidence/dp/1609611004/

I've had back problems a long time too, I don't think they will ever go away but we can't give up. We adapt and overcome.

I can't speak to fusion directly, but I had a microdiscectomy on my L5-S1 four years ago. Mine was due to a massive herniation at the L5-S1. Originally, the doctor thought he was going to have to fuse me as the location of herniation was in a place that was difficult to reach, but in the end he didn't.

Since my surgery, I made a full recovery and am stronger now than ever. Since surgery, I've competed in several Crossfit competitions (I even won one), done mountain ultra races, Spartan Trifectia's, and about 30 GORUCK events (including a bunch of heavies and a couple HTLs). I still ruck several times a week (many times with a 75# ruck) and Olympic lift in my daily workouts.

Your post op recovery/rehab is key. Don't rush it... listen to your body. I highly recommend the "Foundation Training" program (www.foundationtraining.com). I followed this programming to a "T" the weeks following surgery and I truly believe that it was a major contributor to my recovery/results (positive mindset/outlook is #1). The program focuses on redefining your "core" as not your abs, but your posterior chain muscles. The exercises are very "yoga-ish", but don't let it fool you, I've seen it make gym-rat & muscle heads alike shiver in their own puddle of sweat. Here's a link to the actual book I used https://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Redefine-Your-Conquer-Confidence/dp/1609611004. Several times a week I still integrate their movements into my workouts.

Best of Luck!!!

I jump higher at 35 than I did playing basketball all through high school. I credit it to two things.

1. Much stronger legs through actually learning how to hip hinge and incorporate my posterior chain.
   
   
2. Increased mobility in my hips which enables a more effective hinge.
   
   As the saying goes, "good athletes use their legs, great athletes use their hips".
   
   Edit: If you want to develop a good hinge you can do stuff like kettlebell swings and deadlifts, but I personally am I huge fan of Eric Goodman's "Foundation" exercises.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Redefine-Your-Conquer-Confidence/dp/1609611004

This http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Redefine-Your-Conquer-Confidence/dp/1609611004

http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Redefine-Your-Conquer-Confidence/dp/1609611004/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465044812&sr=8-1&keywords=foundation+low+back

great set of exercises that are very simple to do. The basic one is the "founder stretch"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwLcnYYOJms