Stress, the Nervous System, and Why Your Back Pain Isn’t Just a Training Problem

If you’re a man in midlife dealing with persistent back pain, chances are you’ve asked some version of this question:

“What should I be doing in the gym to fix my back?”

It’s a fair question. You train. You care about your health. You want to solve the problem.

But after years of working with men in their 40s and 50s, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern:

Many of the men with ongoing back pain are wired.

They’re switched on from the moment they wake up. Anxious. Busy. Driven. Always thinking ahead. Always in "go mode."

And their nervous system never really gets a chance to stand down.