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The shooting began at about 1330 (1930 GMT) on Thursday at a personnel and medical centre at Fort Hood – the largest US military base in the world, home to about 40,000 troops.

The commander of the base, Lt Gen Robert Cone, told NBC News that, according to eyewitnesses, Mr Hasan had shouted the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar!” [God is great] before opening fire.

He was shot four times during the attack and is currently being treated in hospital under armed guard.

Reports suggested that he had been increasingly unhappy in the military and that his work at his previous post – Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC – had been the subject of concern.

The New York Times said the FBI had been investigating internet postings by a man called Nidal Hasan that appeared to back suicide bombings – but said it was not clear whether it was the suspect.

How can we respond to such acts of terrible violence? Recently, Gary, a young man with a family living in Canada, faced an attack of his own: A package bomb left on the back steps of his home. Not knowing what the package was, he picked it up, and it exploded in his hands. Read Gary’s story of his survival, and how he was able to respond to an act of senseless violence.

If you are grieving or dealing with disappointment or despair, please contact us today to talk about it, we’re always here to listen.

Image credit: Daniel Greene, used with permission, Creative Commons 2.0 License.

At Annapolis, I was put in charge of a battalion of midshipmen–about 600 men. I also became faculty representative for the first class.  That meant is was my duty to advise and counsel the midshipmen who were administering what they called their honor concept. I felt a heavy weight of responsibility to all those bright young future leaders!

One day a former Navy friend of mine called me. He operated a Christian bookstore in Annapolis.

“When can I see you, Lee?” he asked.

“You can come over to my office right now, Jim,” I answered.

After we talked for a while, Jim asked me, “Lee, are you a Christian?”

I looked at him in surprise. “Well, er, ah,” I stammered. “I think I am.”

Self examination

He talked to me about Jesus Christ and about the importance of attending a church where God’s Word was preached. But the thing that nagged me in the days that followed was that one question: “Am I a Christian? I’ve been baptized. I belong to a church and attend it regularly. But does that make me a Christian?”

I thought about the Apostle’s Creed I had recited in church all my life. Did I really believe all that? “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, crucified and risen from the dead”–heaven, hell, and Christ’s coming back “to judge the quick and the dead?”

Then some other friends spoke to me about attending a church where they said God’s Word was preached. Finally I said to my wife, “Honey, we don’t hear the Bible taught in our church. Why don’t we try another?”

So we did. We also joined a home Bible class my friends invited us to. At both I was confronted with something I had never heard before: God’s plan of salvation. We’re all sinners. But God loves us; He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die for us. In order for us to truly be Christians, we have to repent of our sins and trust Jesus Christ as our Savior.

I knew I had never done that. But as I thought about it, doubts assailed me. The biggest one was, “Can I be a marine officer and a genuine Christian at the same time?” It was one thing to be an uninvolved professing Christian and quite another to be the fervent kind our friends were! Yet it became very evident to my wife and me that they had in their lives and their relationships with their teenage children something we didn’t have. We admired it and desired it. So I felt compelled to find out if what they were telling us was true.

Thinking like a military officer

What is the authority behind these salvation messages we’ve been hearing? I wondered. Military officers follow this procedure: When we report into a new base, we immediately start studying its particular book of regulations and procedures. Thus we know how to act. Thus we find out the authority.

So I tackled the procedure book for Christianity, the New Testament. As I read through it, I came upon Paul’s word to Timothy: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:14-16).

“That’s it!” I thought. “That’s the authority!” Now the salvation verses my friends had shared with me came alive with meaning!

I suddenly saw myself as a lost sinner (see Romans 3:23). In my heart I knew “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The further promise of that verse held out hope to me: “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Prepared to live or die

Not long after I trusted in Jesus Christ, I was sent to the war zone to command a battalion of 1500 men. How glad I was that my family and I were now on praying ground! My family and our Christ-honoring church back in Annapolis upheld me in prayer. I prayed for my men. Our battalion, although in heavy combat activity, gained a reputation of accomplishing its missions with very low casualties. I knew the Lord was answering prayers!

I had to meet with all new men who joined my battalion. I imparted to them conventional military wisdom such as: “Be sure to wear your flak jackets, keep your helmets on, take cover when we have incoming heavy artillery.”

Then I shared my personal testimony with them. “Men, I want to tell you that in combat your life is on the line every day. I just turned my life over to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. On a day-to-day basis, He is answering my prayers; and I believe that He is not only taking care of me but of this whole battalion. I encourage you to also trust in the Savior, Jesus Christ!”

I was blessed to have two fine committed chaplains in my battalion. Working closely together, we saw many men trust Christ as their personal Savior. This “salt” permeated our battalion. We assigned lay leaders within the platoons. In chapel services God’s message of salvation in Christ was proclaimed.

God with us in action

God protected us all. One day I suddenly heard the voice of one of our company commanders coming over the radio. “Skipper, we’re receiving heavy fire. We’re pinned down and can’t move!”

“Hold what you’ve got!” I exclaimed. “Take cover. We’ll get you some supporting fire!”
A few minutes later another voice tinged with fear came through. “Skipper, the company commander’s been hit! I don’t know how bad it is, but I’m in charge now!”

We managed to join the pinned-down company and with our reinforcements were able to pull them back and bring all our wounded with us. How I thanked God for answered prayer! Yes, I learned on the battlefield, while still a new Christian, what “pray without ceasing” meant.

Another time when the amphibious tractor I was in ran over a land mine, it exploded. I sailed through the air and landed on my head. But I wasn’t hurt! I considered it a miracle of God that not only my life was spared, but those of the men who were with me.

Thus I found that a Marine officer not only could be a dedicated Christian but by being one, he could be a far better leader of men! After 30 years in the Marines, I retired after becoming a full colonel. My wife Gloria and I have continued to serve the Lord, seeking to help others know and live for Him.

More
Air Force pilot at a crossroads

On September 12.

Since September 11, 2001, I’ve often wondered what might have happened had her appointment been a day earlier or the terrorist attacks a day later. I could have been walking the streets of New York City with her picture.

What were your feelings that tragic day? Shock? Fear? Anger? Confusion? Sadness? How do you process those feelings now, as reminders of the attacks come in anniversary commemorations and media coverage? Nearly two-thirds of American Red Cross 9/11 adult counselees still grieve, according to a study of those directly affected by the attacks{1}.

“I Hate You!”

In the immediate aftermath, my feelings of sadness blended with intense hostility. Once when Osama Bin Laden’s face appeared on television, I spontaneously shouted, “I hate you!”

I was and am a follower of Jesus. He taught his followers to “love your enemies.”{2} Why was I yelling “I hate you!” to a picture on a TV screen?

I wondered why this guy hated my sister. If Deborah Wright had been among the victims, her death would have been included among those he applauded. If I had been a victim, he would have applauded mine. I wrote a radio series on “Why Radical Muslims Hate You” to discover historical, socio-cultural, political, religious, and psychological roots of such anger. It helped me to connect with Muslims who shared similar concerns but disavowed the radical methods.

Dust of Death

Deborah’s experience as a corporate chaplain took her back to New York to help WTC-based companies and their employees who suffered loss on 9/11 cope with the emotional and spiritual whirlwinds their worlds had become. Many suffered from survivor guilt. Failure to process grief could lead to serious consequences. Some firemen, for instance, were assigned to look after widows of fallen comrades. “There can be enormous intimacy and bonding in shared grief,” Deborah notes. “Some of the firemen and widows ended up in bed together.”

Some competitive, driven businesspersons re-examined their rat race—making big bucks and accumulating the most toys—and asked, “Is that all there is?”. Long looks at corporate culture prompted many to consider spiritual realities.

Part of helping survivors process their experiences involved taking them to Ground Zero. Deborah comments, “As I stood at Ground Zero and picked up the dust, I could not help but think that we were standing in a giant crematorium. The ground seemed hallowed to me.”

Personal Lessons from 9/11

What personal 9/11 lessons persist? Perhaps you can relate to these that seem poignant to me:

We live in a contingent universe. Human decisions and actions have consequences, often for good or evil.

Life is temporary. One early spiritual leader wrote of our lives’ fleeting nature, “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”{3}

Link with the eternal. Jesus of Nazareth, whom people of diverse spiritual persuasions respect as a great teacher, told a friend grieving her brother’s death, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish.”{4}

Cherish your friends. In the aftermath of 9/11, many friendships were deepened as people linked with each other for encouragement, solace and support.

Understand and love your enemies and intellectual adversaries. Support national defense, but learning about state enemies can help communication with moderates who share some of their convictions. Getting to know neighbors or associates with whom you differ politically, philosophically or spiritually can help build bridges that foster civility in public discourse.

Related reading: Lorraine tells the story of her son, a NYPD officer at Ground Zero on 9/11, and how she began her own search for meaning. Hear Lorraine ’s story.

Notes
1. Amy Westfeldt, “Study: Sept. 11 Survivors Still Grieving,” Associated Press, May 26, 2006, on AOL News. Also see full Red Cross report, http://www.redcross.org/images/pdfs/SRPClientSurvey.pdf, p. v.
2. Matthew 5:44 NASB.
3. James 4:14 NASB.
4. John 11:25 NLT.

© 2006 Rusty Wright, used by permission.

Image credit: Joseph Hoetzl, used with permission, Creative Commons 2.0 License.

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The headline in The Times of London grabs your attention:

“As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God”

The tagline is even more pointed: “Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa’s biggest problem – the crushing passivity of the people’s mindset.”

What kind of atheist is this? Matthew Parris, Times writer, award-winning author, and former Member of Parliament, is not your typical atheist.

Recent projects promoting atheism or agnosticism include bestselling books: Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, Sam Harris’ The End of Faith, and Christopher Hitchens’ God Is Not Great. Bill Maher’s film Religulous calls “anti-religionists” to unite against religion’s dangers and “enshrine … rationality.”

In Illinois and Washington state capitols, the Freedom From Religion Foundation countered government-sanctioned Christmas nativity displays with signs declaring religion false, heart-hardening and mind-enslaving.

It is unusual for an atheist to write favorably about faith. What led Parris to his surprising conclusion?

Parris grew up in Africa, and returned recently to cover a nongovernmental development organization for The Times. The NGO, Pump Aid, helps provide clean water to rural communities. The organization is secular, but several of its “most impressive” African representatives are devoted followers of Jesus. Their character evoked memories for Parris:

“Travelling in Malawi refreshed [a] belief … I’ve been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.”

“Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.”

Interestingly, Parris’ carefully considered conclusion, based on empirical observations across Africa, resonates with biblical statements: Jesus told a first-century leader, “You must be born again … of the Spirit.” Paul, an early skeptic-turned-believer, affirmed “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

Parris emphasizes Christianity’s impact on the individual, beyond the good works it spawns. Living in Africa, he observed “the Christians were always different.” Their faith seemed to have “liberated and relaxed them.” They exhibited a liveliness, curiosity, engagement and directness that seemed absent in traditional African life. The Christian Pump Aid workers he met stood out for their honesty, diligence and optimism.

Parris bemoans tribalism for fostering an attitude of fear and “exaggerated respect for a swaggering leader.” He credits Christianity’s emphasis on a direct, personal relationship with God for encouraging an individuality that can help “cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.”

Whoa! Christianity engenders individuality and frees the mind? Is this the same Christianity that some criticize for breeding a herd mentality among undiscerning followers—something like “a crushing groupthink”?

Actually, it isn’t. Parris specifies Christianity based on a personal relationship with God. He observes that such Christianity “smashes … through” the traditional collective mindset. No surprise. Jesus overturned Temple tables and blasted religious leaders for supplanting God’s ways with their own. Criticisms of Christianity/religion as mind-enslaving and heart-hardening likely respond to devotees—and there are many—tainted by misguided thinking or misplaced devotion, not led by the biblical God.

Though atheists and Christians might debate the mechanism, atheist Parris finds the fact undeniable: when God is personal, Christianity changes African hearts, lives and communities for the better.

Related reading:
Questions about God – Philosopher Michael Horner explores some of the most commonly asked questions in this 7-part series
The Uniqueness of Jesus – What’s so special or great about him anyways?
Contact us – Have questions about life? Struggling with circumstances? People are here to listen.

Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. His work is distributed through Rusty Wright Communications.

Meg Korpi is senior research scientist with the Character Research Institute. She holds a PhD from Stanford University, and has lived on four continents—including Africa.

• What might be the most important thing you can do is give the individual the opportunity to openly tell their story without interruptions or unnecessary questions. The person might find the need to repeat themselves while reliving the trauma. Be patient with them, show care while being to them a compassionate listener.

• Express respect, empathy, and compassion. Keep them calm. Try not to show your personal feelings, especially if you are amazed or frightened. Be conscious of how you are responding to the information you are receiving. Keep your time under control and if necessary take breaks during your session.

• The more the person is in control the better it is for them. This will help them decrease their sense of helplessness. Explore the alternatives and develop a plan of action. If they are not capable of making decisions, it might be necessary that you take control at first, but keeping in mind the goal is to help them become more independent. Be cautious of them developing an unhealthy relationship of dependency towards you.

• Explore with the person what their mechanism is on dealing with the situation. How do they tend to respond when dealing with stress? What helps them deal with the actual situation?

• Explore with the individual their current support system (for example: family, friends, partners in the Crusade or church, etc.). How is this support system helping? What other resources are available (for example: The Red Cross, faith based organizations or others)?

• Be aware the current trauma can possibly bring to surface past traumas (for example: related to war, abuse, loss of loved ones or others).

• You might want to ask what they feel might help them in their recovery process (possibly having a memorial service, or a meeting with others for mutual consolation).

• Keep in mind this person is a survivor and not a victim.

• In a timely matter, try and have a session with someone of trust, who can help you evaluate the interaction you have had with the person in crisis. Talk about everything you saw, heard, felt, and experienced.

Characteristics of a trauma

Dr. D. J. Schwartz describes how a person feels when facing a crisis:

• Sense of perplexity (dilemma): “Never before have I felt this way.”
• Sense of danger: “I feel fearful, something bad is going to happen.”
• Sense of confusion: “I can’t think with clarity, as though my mind no longer functions.”
• Sense of deadlock: “I feel I’m at a dead end, I have no alternatives.”
• Sense of desperation: “I know I have to do something, but I don’t know what to do.”
• Sense of apathy: “Nothing can help me, why bother?”
• Sense of helplessness: “I can’t try it on my own, please help!”
• Sense of urgency: “I need the help now!”
• Sense of discomfort: “I feel so unhappy and wretched.”

Oh, we talk about the best cold medications and if cherry cough syrup tastes better to kids than orange.

Then we clam up. We don’t want to hear. We are threatened. If her child died, mine could, too. What can we do when parenting goes beyond the normal expectations? “What do I say?” friends ask me with a look of agony in their eyes. “I feel so helpless. I can’t empathize, I haven’t had a child die.”

You can help. You don’t have to stand there with a blank stare or excuse yourself from the conversation. You can be informed so that you will be able to reach out to a friend who has lost a child.

“Jump into the midst of things and do something,” says Ronald Knapp author of the book, “Beyond Endurance: When A Child Dies.” Traditionally there are the sympathy cards and hot casseroles brought over to the bereaved’s home. But it doesn’t end there. That is only the beginning of reaching out to your friend or relative who has recently experienced the death of a child at any age.

Here are 15 tips you can learn to make you an effective and compassionate friend to your friend in pain:

1. Listen. When you ask your friend, “How are you doing today?” wait to hear the answer.
2. Cry with her. She may cry also, but your tears don’t make her cry. She cries when no one else is around and within her heart are the daily tears no one sees.
3. Don’t use cliches. Avoid lines like, “It will get better.” “Be grateful you have other children.” “You’re young, you can have another baby.” “He was sick and it is good he is no longer suffering.” There will never be a phrase invented that makes it all right that a child died.
4. Help with the care of the surviving children. Offer to take them to the park, your house for a meal, to church. Say “May I please take Billy to the park today? Is four okay with you?” Don’t give the line, “If you need me, call me.” Your bereaved friend may not feel comfortable with asking for help.
5. Say your friend’s child’s name. Even if she cries, these are tears that heal. Acknowledging that the child lived and has not been forgotten is a wonderful balm to a broken heart.
6. Give to the memorial fund. Find out what it is and give, today, next year and the next.
7. Some mothers start to collect items that bring comfort after a child dies; find out what it is your friend is collecting and buy one for her. My son liked watermelons and we have many stories of watermelons and him. Therefore my house now has assorted watermelon mementoes — a tea pot, kitchen towel and soap dispenser. Many mothers find solace in rainbows, butterflies and angels.
8. Send a card (I’m thinking of you is fine) but stay away from sappy sympathy ones.
9. Go to the grave. Take flowers, a balloon or a toy. How honored your friend will be to see what you have left there the next time she visits the cemetery.
10. Don’t use religion as a ‘brush away’ for pain. Stay clear of words that don’t help like, “It was God’s will.”
11. Don’t judge her. You don’t know what she is going through each day, you can not know of the intense pain unless you have had a child die.
12. Stay in touch. Call to hear how she is coping. Suggest getting together, but if she isn’t up for it, give her space.
13. Read a book on grief, focusing on the parts that give you ideas on how to be a source of comfort for your bereaved friend.
14. Know she has a hole in her heart, a missing piece due to the death of her child. Holes like these never heal so accept this truth and don’t expect her to ‘get over’ this loss.
15. Remember that with the death of her child, a part of her died — old beliefs, ideals, etc. Her life has been forever changed. Let her know your love for her as well as God’s love for her is still the same.

Even as you participate in the suggestions above, you will still feel uncomfortable. It has been three years since the death of my four year-old, Daniel, and even now when I meet a newly-bereaved mother, I am uncomfortable. Talking of the untimely death of a child is never easy for anyone. However, avoiding reality does not bring healing. You will provide many gifts of comfort along the way when you actively decide to help your grieving friend. When my friends and family acknowledge all four or my children, the three on this earth and the one in Heaven, I am honored. Each time it is as though a ray of warm sunlight has touched my soul.

Resources:

When A Child Has Died: Ways You Can Help a Bereaved Parent. Bonnie Hunt Conrad. Fithian Press, 1995.

When Your Friend Is Grieving: Building A Bridge of Love. Paula D’Arcy. Harold Shaw Publishers, 1990.

Beyond Endurance: When A Child Dies. Ronald J. Knapp. New York: Schocken Books, 1986.

Slices of Sunlight, A Cookbook Of Memories. Alice J. Wisler. Daniel’s House Publications, 2000.

“It’s my party and I can cry if I want to.” This was my attitude when my husband, a Marine pilot, was deployed over the holidays.

The first few holidays David was deployed, I went back to Canada where my parents live so I wouldn’t have to be by myself. But that became costly and it was too much work dragging four kids on the airplane.

I remember the day I determined to finally spend Christmas at home without running away. I imagined waking up Christmas morning, with my four children tugging on my pajamas, excited to see what was under the tree. Then I felt anxious, knowing I would miss out on what I knew so many other couples were doing… drinking eggnog together, making pancakes, dancing to Christmas music.

And what about David? I knew he was having just as difficult a time. It was just different. What was he eating in Iraq during Thanksgiving? At least I was invited to a friend’s house, no matter how awkward it felt sitting at a formal dining room table with her and her husband. David was probably eating hot dogs and chips, perhaps the candy I sent him. And then he would take a baby wipe and wash his hands afterwards, seeing as there was lack of sinks and water. Of course, he would be imagining what I was doing with our kids, wanting to be home to fry a turkey and make a bon-fire, and just hang out.

As Christmas approached, he was probably looking in his mailbox wondering when a gift would come for him. What about a card? Was anybody back home thinking about him?

A new celebration

After languishing through the holidays during David’s first few deployments, it hit me: Why load the holidays with such expectations? Why not see every day as a holiday, a day of celebration?

I began to sit down with my children and make banners and gifts for their father on a daily basis. I would buy the kids gifts on non-calendar holiday days just to show them I celebrated them all the time. Sometimes, it was the simple things they longed to do… reading a book, or playing Frisbee, making crafts, even sitting down on the couch and watching a movie.

We found creative ways to celebrate, even without Daddy around. Every day became Christmas, in a way. Every day became a day of Thanks, and every day became a day of Love in our home. David would even find ways to celebrate with us by sending handmade cards to each of the kids on a regular basis. One year, I received around seven different Valentine cards in a week. I laughed. He knew.

“Choose life!”

In many ways…we can choose life…living to the fullest, seeing every day as a day of opportunity to celebrate. I have realized it is in all our perspective and how we choose to look at things. I choose life… every day! What about you?

It’s one thing for someone who sits at a computer all day and never exercises to have back pain, but for a bodybuilder,

The reason we say this is because, if you are going to spend so much time, money, and energy trying to build the “perfect body”, you have to make sure that you not only look good, but also feel good.

We’ve identified what we call “Bodybuilding Sins” that lead to back pain, sciatic pain, and other injuries… read ‘em and take action now if you are serious about bodybuilding and are fed up with your back pain.

Choosing the WRONG exercises

Get ready, this is gonna hurt! The exercises most bodybuilders focus on the most, are the ones that cause the most problems. Hopefully, you’re different.

But before we share with you what those exercises are, let’s talk real quickly about what bodybuilding is.

The goal of bodybuilding isn’t to get as big as you can, or at least to us it isn’t and shouldn’t be, but to build a balanced body that is as strong as possible in every way. For example, while being freakishly big may get people’s attention, it serves you no purpose at all. While on the other hand, what if you were not only big, but also extremely strong and powerful, lightning fast, flexible, and agile enough to kick butt if needed?

So many bodybuilders build massive amounts of muscle yet are so unbelievably weak and inflexible. For example, we know a guy who can bench press over 350 lbs but can’t do a measely 50 push-ups!

The point is, the exercises you choose and how you perform them not only determine how big, strong, and flexible you are, but also affect how your body functions and whether or not you suffer from aches, pains, and injuries like back pain and sciatic pain.

Ok, here they are–the exercises that create the most problems and are most likely to lead to back pain:

1. Bench Press
2. Leg Extension

So, any of your favorites on this list?

While there are others, these are the two that cause the most damage.

There are several reasons why these exercises made our list of the “worst bodybuilding exercises”.

1. Bench press

First, all of them target areas that already tend to get worked a lot in everyday life and oftentimes are overdeveloped. By focusing so much on these exercises you end up creating muscle imbalances, or worsening existing muscle imbalances, which pull your bones and joints out of their normal position.

This leads to uneven pressure and wear and tear on your muscle, ligaments, tendons, bones, and joints and will sooner or later lead to a break down or injury.

For example, chronic overuse of the bench press, coupled with little or no exercises targeting the upper back, leads to an overdevelopment of the chest and a lack of strength and development in the upper back.

This all too common combination leads to what we call “Turtle Back”. You know what we’re talking about, when the shoulders are pulled so far forward, lats are as wide as barn, and from behind, their back looks like a giant sea turtle shell!

This “Turtle Back” posture can create neck, upper back, and shoulder pain and injuries faster than you can pop an Advil!

Plus, how many times during your day are you forced to lie on your back and push up a bar loaded with weights? There are so many better exercises for chest development that not only stimulate more muscle, but also build more usable strength.

2. Leg extension

Not only does it place an unbelievable amount of strain on the knee joint, but it also will quickly overdevelop the quads, which are already getting far more work than their counterpart, the hamstrings.

An imbalance between the quadriceps and hamstrings, which is also extremely common in bodybuilders, is a key contributor to back pain. This imbalance is easily identifiable by what people often call “Bubble Butt” or “Ghetto Booty”.

So hopefully you can see how important it is to choose your exercises wisely. We strongly recommend you cut out these exercises, or at least cut back on using them and add in targeted exercises for the opposing muscle groups and targeted stretches for those tight, overdeveloped muscles.

The key to eliminating back pain, or any other ache, pain or injury for that matter, is to bring your body closer to balance.

What good is muscle if you can’t use it? How many more workouts are you going to miss because of back, neck, or shoulder pain? How much bigger and stronger could you be if back pain and other injuries weren’t ruining your training?

Just imagine how bad things will be 10, 20, or 30 years from now if you don’t make changes to your training now, but don’t take our word for it, ask some of the older bodybuilders who are paying the price now. You can spot them easily at the gym because they limp around trying to find something they CAN do.

Used with permission.