Last week I caught my first cold of 2016.  I know, first world problem, right?  But in typical introvert fashion, it made me reflect.

To be clear, I wasn't reflecting in a melodramatic, Nancy Kerrigan "Why me?" sort of way. Instead, I wondered why I've only been sick once in 10 months, while others will tell me how they're constantly getting sick.  I also remember hearing that "having 4 or more colds a year is normal."

Yeah, about that.

I don't talk nearly enough about my clients.  But I should.  Because they're some of the best and most interesting people I've ever met.  

Below is a client spotlight I wrote for our company blog and I'm reposting here.  You'll also note that Sara has her own snarky comments bolded below.  Enjoy her story - she deserves it!

My favorite computer game growing up was "The Oregon Trail." I would play one version in the computer lab* in Elementary school and another version at home. Yes, I loved it THAT much.

(*On that note, do they still have computer labs in school? I hope so, because all I can think of is an annoying, pretentious commercial where one girls asks "What's a computer?")

Anyway, why did I love "The Trail" so much? Because the game's choose-you-own-adventure format, and against-all-odds mentality (even when playing on the "easy" level), are a combination that's still uniquely suited to my personality. 

But I realized this week that "The Oregon Trail" serves as a great analogy to how many individuals view their own exercise and fitness programs. Go with me on this one.

With all of the noise on social media, and so many paths to choose from, most people are left to navigate the fitness industry for themselves. Only in this case, they're not deciding between the Columbia River Gorge or Barlow Road. Instead, they're left to decide: running or strength training? Crossfit, Flywheel, or Barre classes?

And not only are these fitness decisions different than the game, so too are the stakes - you won't die from dysentery, but you may fail to see results despite all of your time and effort.

Last year I published my most popular post to date: Is Exercise a Stress Reliever or a Stress Amplifier?  It explained that while we often think of exercise as stress reliever, it can often have the opposite effect. 

That’s right.  Instead of helping your overall health, your mode or intensity of exercise could be contributing to why you’re constantly getting hurt, sick, or unable to sleep.

While this may seem obvious to you, realizing this fact put me light years ahead of where I was as a coach. Everything started to click. I realized why certain people with frequent back pain, or who were always sick, didn't necessarily feel better after their workout.  And sometimes they even felt worse.

So the inevitable question is: how do you know where on the stress spectrum you fall, and that you're not sabotaging yourself with your mode of exercise?  

From age 14 to 25, I was convinced that heavy deadlifts would break my spine in half.  After all, it seems legit.

But my view was molded by user error.  Or as I like to say, "deadlifts don't hurt your back. What you're doing will hurt your back."

Deadlifts look as simple as picking it up and putting it down. However, it's one of the most nuanced and technical exercises out there.  While I field a ton of questions about the deadlift everyday, one I hear most often is:

How much can - or should - your lower back round during a deadlift?