Kyle Zange
I started in the fitness industry in 2015 as a Personal Trainer. Almost 9 years later I am a Human Foundations practitioner, a Pilates/Yoga instructor, a breathwork coach, and a Functional Mobility coach. My experience has taught me what method of training works best for the individual rather than a one size fits all answer. Here, I want to share what I've learned and build a community training clients online.
Pain is NOT normalThere are 1,290 pain receptors per square inch of your body. Out of all receptors, pain is the most numerous. Some people go all day with these receptors screaming at them. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could live pain free? There is a way. We must strive to reach it. Here is how: The Science of Getting Out of PainI'm not the best artist when it comes to drawing, but I am an artist when it comes to getting people out of pain. In the image above there is your spine and a few terms that will help you understand why you have the pain you're experiencing. GravityGravity is like the rain. It pushes directly down on us all the time. If you cannot use gravity to your advantage then you will experience pain in some shape or form. Get good at using gravity. Ground Reaction ForceGround Reaction Force is the pressure that comes up from the ground in reaction to how much pressure is being applied to it. Simply put, gravity pushes down on you from above, ground reaction force pushes up on you from below. If you use ground reaction force the way nature intended, you will be in harmony with gravity. More on this later. Intra-Abdominal Pressure (IAP)If you take a ball of ground beef and push down on it, you'll make a patty. If you put a metal ring around the ball of meat, you won't be able to flatten it. Similar to the patty, gravity and ground reaction force push on your spine. Intra-Abdominal Pressure is the metal ring that keeps you from flattening. Intra-Abdominal Pressure is the use of your core musculature to synch your waist. Put your hands on your belly. Exhale as much as you can. Did you feel your belly button move towards your spine? That is the first step to understanding how to decompress your spine and get rid of pain. Force TransferThe final piece of the pain puzzle. Force transfer is how you use gravity and ground reaction force to move your body through space. If done correctly, you cause little to no wear-and-tear. Because of many bad habits we pick up, proper force transfer is the greatest enemy on our way to pain relief. What does any of this have to do with pain?CompressionMake a fist with both of your hands and put them together, knuckles to knuckles. Press hard and grind your knuckles together. Doesn't feel good right? The more you press your joints together and move around the more pain you will create. Luckily, this means you can take responsibility. You have control over how much you compress your joints to a large degree. All you have to do is become aware of how you're moving your body. If you become aware of how you're moving your body you can eliminate your problems. With awareness you can feel when you're putting compression on your joints and move in a way that doesn't. Awareness is a constant skill you must develop. If you become aware, then go back to acting how you were before you'll only repeat the same mistakes you've been making. Compression is caused by instability against gravity.Gravity is always pushing down on you. It's a good thing because otherwise, you'd float away. When you can align yourself in movement with gravity, you get out of pain. This requires stability. Joint stability is not just mobility exercises. Otherwise there wouldn't be yogis with back pain (but there are many). Joint stability is getting your joints to load and release the way they were designed to without obstructions (adhesions or "knots"). This is where your journey begins. My JourneyI’ve had an injury on almost every part of my body. From Powerlifting to Olympic lifting to Muay Thai and MMA to Gymnastics and calisthenics, I've played in many fitness playgrounds. Each of these came with their unique scrapes and bruises. Along the way I found what to do that eliminated pain (which there was plenty of)
The most challenging process was finding the method of pain relief that works every time. Applying the method is the easy part. We are meant to be pain free, grow, develop and make the world better. We do so by applying these 3 methods:
DecompressTo decompress, start with traction. Lay on your back and feel your muscles relax. The harder the surface you lay on, the better. Do you feel any areas that are bound up? Any sticky points that won't let go? That is your starting point. Take a tennis ball and lay on the sticky points. This is myo-fascial release. You need to release the webs that are binding you up before you can move through space easier. AlignCreate alignment by understanding posture. Stand with your back up against a wall. Take a small step away from the wall while keeping your hips against the wall. Lean your low back away from the wall while keeping your back straight. Do you feel tension in your back or in your hips? This will tell you if your back is doing the work your glutes (butt muscles) should be doing for keeping you decompressed. Your glutes are supposed to do a lot of the work, but usually get bogged down by the sticky points mentioned earlier. FlowOnce you have decompression and alignment, it is time to flow. Flow is when you can keep your decompression and alignment while moving and doing activities. Can you keep your posture while reading this? That's all there is to it.This is a simplified way to look at the complex organism that you are. Although I hope this shed some light on your situation. There is a way for you to feel better. Have hope. The truth is you are 100% more capable than you believe. To go in-depth on pain management, how your body moves, or how to look better while moving better: When you're ready: Schedule a call
I'm always here to talk about life, your goals, and if us working together is something for you. If you haven't already, grab the free book The 3 Proven Methods To Change Your Body Other Articles you may be interested in: Subscribe to MoveMail to learn everything you need to know about Functional Mobility, Breathwork, and Heart Rate Training. Until then, have a wonderous day and live an awesome life, my friend. - Kyle |
From Coach Kyle's Brain on 2650 N Narragansett Ave, Chicago, IL 60634 |
Kyle Zange
I started in the fitness industry in 2015 as a Personal Trainer. Almost 9 years later I am a Human Foundations practitioner, a Pilates/Yoga instructor, a breathwork coach, and a Functional Mobility coach. My experience has taught me what method of training works best for the individual rather than a one size fits all answer. Here, I want to share what I've learned and build a community training clients online.