When was the last time you moved a couch by resting it neatly on your upper back and lifting with your legs?

Obviously never.

The movements and lifts we come across in everyday life are rarely neat. We don’t get to “bench press” a piece of drywall to the ceiling. We lift it however we can find leverage, and then hold it there.

Just like we don’t “squat” a couch. If anything the movement looks closer to a deadlift, but even then, they weight is never perfectly balanced weight nor does it fit within our comfortable range of motion. We do what needs to be done to move the couch.

When people get injured, it’s rarely during an athletic move, and it’s rarely because of the force they’re exerting. Most often, we get hurt simply because our body is placed in a position that we aren’t used to.

So what can we do about that?

Understanding how the body works is a great place to start. If we can’t intentionally engage our glutes and hamstrings while lifting a couch, then the weight will almost certainly fall on a weak, rounded back – which can easily lead to an injury.

But taking it a step further, it isn’t enough to simply train within the convenient conditions that exist in a weight room. We need to make the effort to practice moving in a way that mimics the real world.

It’s the difference between academic knowledge and actually being able to apply our learnings in the real world.

-Brandon