MotionWorx

🧠 Back Pain? It Might Not Be Your Spine — It Could Be Your QL (Quadratus Lumborum)

The QL (quadratus lumborum) is a deep muscle in your lower back that runs from the top of your pelvis up to your lower ribs (and connects to the low back area). Its job is to help with:

-Side bending (leaning left/right)
-Stabilizing your pelvis and spine
-Supporting your posture during walking, running, and lifting

Why the QL often gets blamed for “random” low back pain

When the QL gets tight, overworked, or irritated, it can create pain that feels like:

-A deep ache on one side of the low back
-Pain near the top of the hip
-Discomfort when you stand up after sitting
-Tightness or pain when you bend sideways or twist
-“Pinching” during squats, deadlifts, or even long walks

Common reasons the QL gets overworked

Your QL often kicks in when other areas aren’t doing their job well, such as:

-Weak glutes (especially glute med)
-Poor core control / lack of bracing
-Tight hip flexors
-Limited hip mobility
-Sitting a lot + then training hard
-Carrying kids/bags on one side
-Sleeping positions that keep one side shortened

In other words: the QL can become the “helper muscle” that does too much… until it complains.

What usually helps (simple, general steps)

✅ 1) Gentle QL breathing + release
Think: relaxed breathing into the lower ribs/side body and light stretching (not aggressive).
✅ 2) Restore hip + glute function
Glute bridges, side-steps/band walks, single-leg work (done with good control).
✅ 3) Core stability
Dead bugs, bird dogs, planks (done pain-free) to help reduce low-back overcompensation.
✅ 4) Improve hip mobility
When the hips move better, the low back doesn’t have to “steal” the motion.

✅ If you’re experiencing low back pain and would like assisted stretching, contact me at TampaspersonalTrainer.com or comment on this posting.

⚠️ Quick note: if you have numbness/tingling, pain down the leg, major weakness, or pain that’s getting worse—get evaluated by a medical professional.

🧠 Carbs vs Fat… and when the body may use MUSCLE for energy

When you do cardio, your body can use 3 main fuel sources:
Carbohydrates (glycogen/glucose)
Fat (fatty acids)
Amino acids (protein) — which can come from dietary protein or, in worse situations, muscle tissue
✅ Oxidative (aerobic) cardio
This is your steady/moderate pace. You use a mix of carbs + fat, and a higher percentage of fat compared to hard intervals.
Why it’s “muscle-friendly”:
Lower stress on the body
Easier to recover from
Less likely to push your body into “breakdown” mode
⚡ Glycolytic (high intensity) cardio
Hard intervals and very intense work rely more on carbs because they’re faster fuel.
⚠️ When can the body use MUSCLE/protein for energy?
Your body doesn’t prefer to burn muscle, but it can happen more when:
You’re in a big calorie deficit
You’re doing a lot of cardio without strength training
Your protein intake is too low
You’re training hard with poor sleep/recovery
Long sessions + low fuel (especially repeated often)
Your body can convert amino acids into usable energy (and/or glucose) when it needs to — this is why people sometimes get “smaller” or “softer” when they diet with only cardio.
✅ How to burn fat while protecting muscle
If fat loss is the goal, the best combo is:
Strength training 2–4x/week (signals the body to keep muscle)
Adequate protein daily
Mostly oxidative cardio + sprinkle in intervals if desired
Recover well (sleep + rest days)
Bottom line:
Cardio can absolutely help burn fat — but to avoid “losing weight” by also losing muscle, you need the right balance of training + nutrition.
👇 What’s your go-to cardio right now: walking, jogging, cycling, rowing, or intervals?

💪 What is Hypertrophy (and how do you train for it)?

Hypertrophy is the process of building muscle by increasing the size of your muscle fibers. In simple terms: it’s training with the goal of muscle growth—not just “getting sweaty” or only lifting heavy once in a while.

Here’s how to design your workouts to promote hypertrophy:

✅ 1) Train each muscle 2x per week
Most people grow best when each muscle group gets quality work twice weekly (example: upper/lower split, push/pull/legs, or full-body 3x/week).

✅ 2) Use the right rep ranges (most sets)
A great hypertrophy sweet spot is 10–12 reps, but muscle can grow anywhere from 8-10 reps as long as sets are challenging.

✅ 3) Control the tempo + full range of motion
Lift with control (especially the lowering phase)
Use a full, comfortable range of motion
This keeps tension on the muscle where it matters most.

✅ 4) Progressive overload (the growth driver)
To keep growing, you need progression over time—such as:
add reps (8 → 10 → 12)
add weight (once you hit the top of your rep range)
add a set (if recovery is good)
improve technique and range of motion

✅ 5) Rest enough between sets
For better performance and growth:
2–3 minutes for big compound lifts (squat, bench, rows)
1–2 minutes for isolation work (curls, triceps, lateral raises)

✅ 6) Don’t forget recovery + nutrition
Training stimulates growth—recovery builds it.
Sleep: aim for 7–9 hours
Protein: roughly 0.7–1.0g per lb of bodyweight/day
Consistency beats perfection.
If your goal is to build muscle, your workouts should feel intentional—not random.

💪 Mobility + Strength Training = Better Results (and Fewer Injuries)
One of the most important things people can do before starting a strength and conditioning program is to first look at their mobility.
Why? Because if your joints and muscles can’t move well, your body will often compensate during exercise.
That can lead to:
Poor form
Less strength output
More wear and tear on the body
Increased injury risk
✅ Mobility helps prepare your body to move correctly
When you improve mobility in areas like the ankles, hips, shoulders, and spine, it becomes easier to squat, hinge, press, pull, and rotate the way your body is designed to.
✅ Better mobility = better movement patterns
And better movement patterns mean your strength training becomes:
Safer
More effective
More consistent
✅ Strength training then helps you keep that mobility
Once you improve mobility, strength training helps you build control and stability through that new range of motion.
That’s the sweet spot:
Move well first → then get stronger
If you skip mobility and jump straight into heavy training, your body may still get stronger — but often with compensation patterns that can cause problems later.
Mobility and strength go hand in hand.
They’re not separate goals — they’re part of the same process for building a healthier, stronger body.
What’s one area you know you need to improve mobility in? 👇