The Back in Action Podcast

If you've made it to 40 without a regular exercise routine, how long does it take before working out starts to feel like a natural part of your life?Six months? A year? And what makes the difference between getting started and sticking with it?In this episode of The Cooldown, Dr. John Lavelle, Coach Dusty Holden, and Coach Josh Bunch explore how fitness becomes a habit, especially for people getting into strength training later in life.They discuss the importance of finding a training program that fits your needs and lifestyle, why time and money are such common barriers to consistent exercise, and what they've learned from working with people who initially planned to train for a few weeks but ended up staying for years.The conversation also looks at the bigger picture of fitness after 40: how the choices you make now can influence your strength, mobility, and quality of life decades down the road.And as the coaches have seen firsthand, once people begin feeling the benefits of regular training, sometimes the bigger challenge becomes convincing them it's okay to miss a workout.Ready to make movement a regular part of your life? Start with our four-week training program at thebackinactionpodcast.com.

Getting through a medical procedure or finishing physical therapy doesn't necessarily mean someone is ready to return to everything they want to do.So why aren't doctors, physical therapists, and fitness coaches working together more often to help patients make that transition?In this episode of The Cooldown, Dr. John Lavelle draws on his background in physical medicine and rehabilitation to explain why collaboration across healthcare and fitness matters, and why it so often falls through the cracks.From the limitations of a simple “PT eval and treat” referral to the value of following a patient's progress over time, the conversation explores what gets missed when medical treatment and long-term movement are treated as separate responsibilities.Because helping someone recover from an injury or medical condition is only part of the picture. Helping them regain strength, function, and confidence in everyday movement takes continued support.Looking for a practical way to build strength and get moving? Explore our four-week training program at thebackinactionpodcast.com

What if one of the most promising tools in cancer prevention, treatment, and recovery is something we've known about for decades?A recent New York Times article examining the role of exercise in cancer care has Dr. John Lavelle, Coach Dusty Holden, and Coach Josh Bunch asking a bigger question: With growing research supporting the benefits of physical activity, why isn't structured exercise a more routine part of cancer treatment?The conversation gets into the science behind how exercise affects the body, including the role of muscle contraction and myokines, and what clinical studies are finding about exercise alongside conventional cancer treatment.They also get practical about what training might look like for someone undergoing chemotherapy or immunotherapy, how to account for fatigue, and why a coached, individualized approach matters.Along the way, they discuss the benefits of combining strength training and aerobic conditioning, their experience working with cancer survivors through Survivor Fitness, and the role of exercise in building physical capacity before major health challenges.Whether you're navigating cancer treatment, supporting someone who is, or interested in the long-term health benefits of exercise, this episode offers a closer look at the growing connection between fitness and cancer care.Listen to the full conversation on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.thebackinactionpodcast.com

Ever thought about throwing on a weighted backpack and turning your daily walk into a workout?That's essentially rucking, and it's one of Coach Dusty Holden's favorite ways to get in his zone 2 cardio. He'll even show up early to his kids' practices to get a few miles in instead of spending that time sitting in the car.In this episode of The Cooldown, Dusty and Dr. John Lavelle get practical about rucking for beginners, including how much weight to start with, how long to walk, what kind of backpack to use, and how to gradually increase the challenge without overdoing it.They also get into the difference between rucking and walking with a weighted vest, why footwear matters, and what to pay attention to if your body isn't responding well to the added load.If you've been looking for a way to make walking a little more challenging or work cardio into an already busy schedule, this is a good place to start.Want more structure for getting back into exercise? The Back in Action Program starts with just four weeks of progressive training designed to help you move and function better.Find the program at thebackinactionpodcast.com

In this episode of Back in Action, Dr. John LaVelle, Coach Dusty Holden, and Coach Josh Bunch break down how they approach their own training and use it to unpack what makes a good workout in the first place.The conversation gets into consistency and frequency, combining strength work with conditioning, and why variety doesn’t mean abandoning the movements you need to get better at. For someone new to training or coming in with back pain, doing the same basic movements over and over may be exactly what builds the baseline needed to eventually add more load and variety.They also get into why some days you still have to talk yourself into training, the value of having a coach or program to keep you accountable, and why power matters as you age—including how movements like power cleans can help train the strength and explosiveness that tend to decline over time.If you’ve ever wondered how often you should train, how much variety you need, or what your workouts should look like as you get stronger, this episode gives you a look inside how a doctor and two coaches think about programming and how they apply it themselves.If figuring out what to do every time you walk into the gym is something that keeps getting in the way, some good programming might be just what you need to build momentum and see results. Go to thebackinactionpodcast.com to get access to workouts that rebuild the back and help you regain movement and start training for the life you want to live.

The Cooldown is our short follow-up to the latest episode of The Back in Action Podcast, where we take one question from the conversation and spend another 5–10 minutes getting practical with it.Coming out of Ep. 21, “Don’t Squat. Don’t Deadlift.” And Other Back Pain Myths, the question is: what happens when you’re ready to start exercising—or keep training through back pain—but the people around you aren’t so sure?Maybe it’s a spouse, parent, caregiver, or someone else who hears “back pain” and understandably thinks you should be careful. How do you explain what you’ve learned about movement, strength training, and pain without asking them to just take your word for it?In this Cooldown, we get into how to have that conversation and help the people in your corner understand what you’re working toward.

A disc bulge shows up on your MRI. You’re told to be careful. Maybe stop bending, stop lifting, definitely don’t deadlift.What happens next can matter just as much as what showed up on the scan.In this episode, Dr. John Lavelle, Coach Dusty Holden, and Coach Josh Bunch get into some of the most common back pain advice they hear people carry into the doctor’s office and the gym — and how quickly that advice can turn into fear, avoidance, and eventually more deconditioning.They talk through why an MRI finding isn’t automatically the source of your pain, what pain can do to the muscles that stabilize your spine, and why getting people moving again is often one of the first priorities.They also get into:→ why “don’t squat” and “don’t deadlift” doesn’t hold up very well when those movements are already part of everyday life→ how the words a doctor or provider uses can change the way someone moves for years→ what separates a good coach from someone handing you a generic workout→ why back pain often doesn’t trace neatly back to one single incident→ whether someone who has never trained should start with a coach or a doctor→ and why strength training at 55, 60, or beyond isn’t off the table — it may become increasingly importantIf back pain has slowly reduced the list of things you feel comfortable doing, this conversation is about expanding that list again.Listen to the full episode of The Back in Action Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.thebackinactionpodcast.com

Your back has been hurting for six months. You’re out of ideas, and you don’t know what to do next. Where do you start?In the Season 3 premiere, Josh steps into the role of the patient while Dr. John Lavelle and Coach Dusty Holden walk through the first steps they would take.Dr. Lavelle starts by listening to the patient, understanding how long the pain has been present, and ruling out signs that something more serious may be happening. He explains what he notices before an exam even begins, why he wants to see how someone walks, sits, stands, squats, lunges, bends, and hinges, and why an MRI is not always necessary to determine the next step.From there, Dusty explains how he assesses what someone is currently doing, whether the problem may be connected to too little movement or too much of the same activity, and why he may ask someone with lower back pain to perform the movement they have been avoiding.That does not mean forcing a painful range or ignoring discomfort. It means finding the movement and range currently available, working from there, and helping someone become more comfortable moving again.The team will get into:→ what a spine physician looks for during an initial back pain assessment→ when imaging may or may not be useful→ why movement is part of the assessment→ using the hinge to understand what someone is avoiding→ the difference between tolerable discomfort and a reason to stop→ adjusting range, weight, and movement instead of abandoning the exercise→ progressing beyond the back into whole-body strength training→ why getting better and staying better require continued programmingThis starts with back pain, but the long-term aim is not to keep treating the back forever. It is to build a stronger, more capable body and develop a training routine that continues after the pain improves.Want to see these ideas applied in a workout? Watch Rebuilding the Back, the free bonus episode where Josh, with the help of an athlete, takes you through a progression of movements, adjustments, and loading.Ready to put it into action every day, just like Dusty said to do? The Back in Action Program is built for exactly that. Imagine in four weeks from today, you could be feeling better in your body and getting back to doing the things you love. And then keep going strong from there.Watch the free bonus episode on our channel and explore the programming at: thebackinactionpodcast.com

We all reach a point where we have a choice to make.Keep putting movement, strength, and your health on the back burner… or start investing in the body you’ll depend on for decades to come.In this Mixtape, Dr. John Lavelle, Coach Dusty Holden, and Coach Josh Bunch explore why getting older isn’t a reason to slow down—it’s one of the strongest reasons to start. They unpack what actually happens to our muscles as we age, why strength training protects far more than just your joints, and how it’s never too late to begin building a healthier future.Along the way, they discuss:What changes after 40—and what doesn’t have toWhy muscle is one of your greatest long-term health investmentsThe surprising connection between strength, metabolism, heart health, and brain healthWhy excuses often point to the very reason it’s time to beginHow to start safely, even if you’ve never trained beforeWhy the best time to invest in your future body is todayEvery day you wait is another day your future self can’t get back. The good news? The next chapter can start with your very next workout.The goal is to build a body that keeps letting you do the things you love—for as long as possible.Ready to put it into action?Coach Dusty and Dr. Lavelle built a program for exactly that. Phase One is just four weeks—which means four weeks from today, you could be feeling better in your body and getting back to doing the things you love. $15/month. → thebackinactionpodcast.comMixtape Sources:00:48 Episode 6: “My MRI Says I’m Broken” – What Imaging Really Tells You [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnXVGK6wQ4c]01:09 Episode 18: Fitness in Your 40s02:55 Episode 21: The Biggest Fitness Mistakes (Even Coaches Make) | Prevention vs Treatment, Excuses & Intensity03:19 Episode 19: Why Rest Isn’t Fixing Your Pain (The Real Cost of Avoidance)05:46 Episode 21: The Biggest Fitness Mistakes (Even Coaches Make) | Prevention vs Treatment, Excuses & Intensity06:27 Episode 18: Fitness in Your 40s

“Just start moving” sounds simple.But when you’re dealing with back pain, fear of movement, or years of being told what not to do, the first step can feel anything but obvious.In this Mixtape, Dr. John Lavelle, Coach Dusty Holden, and Coach Josh Bunch pull together conversations from across the show about where to begin when movement feels intimidating. They talk about why pain can make people fearful, how inactivity and deconditioning can feed the cycle, and why rebuilding confidence often starts with small, controlled movements before progressing into strength training.You’ll hear practical conversations around:* why treating function matters, not just pain* how quickly people can improve when they go from doing nothing to doing something* why strength training can be so effective for sedentary people with back pain* how fear changes the way people move* what the first few movements might actually look like* why rebuilding trust in your body happens one step at a timeThis episode is for anyone who wants to get moving again but keeps running into the same question: Okay, but how exactly?You don't have to start with barbells.You don't have to be pain-free before you begin.You just have to start moving. And here's your starting line.Ready to put it into action?Coach Dusty and Dr. Lavelle built a program for exactly that. Phase One is just four weeks—which means four weeks from today, you could be feeling better in your body and getting back to doing the things you love. $15/month. → thebackinactionpodcast.comEpisode 19: Why RestIsn’t Fixing Your Pain (The Real Cost of Avoidance) - 00:48https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgDedg1Rv1gEpisode 11: Strength Training for Desk Workers - 01:59https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxxU3PtwhRIEpisode 3: Pain, Injury & Getting Moving Again - 03:16https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3aTBf6kEs0Episode 5: Spine Health 101: What Everyone Should Know - 03:37https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZxvS2xybqIEpisode 12: Don’t Just Lift — Move: The Secret of Momentum - 04:32https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGPoIPALA2MEpisode 1: Coaching Meets Medicine: The Back In Action Approach - 05:12https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phkUZ3v0FjAYou don't have to start with barbells.You don't have to be pain-free before you begin.You just have to start moving.Ready to put it into action?Coach Dusty and Dr. Lavelle built a program for exactly that. Phase One is just four weeks—which means four weeks from today, you could be feeling better in your body and getting back to doing the things you love. $15/month. → thebackinactionpodcast.comMixtape Sources: Episode 19: Why RestIsn’t Fixing Your Pain (The Real Cost of Avoidance) - 00:48Episode 11: Strength Training for Desk Workers - 01:59Episode 3: Pain, Injury & Getting Moving Again - 03:16Episode 5: Spine Health 101: What Everyone Should Know - 03:37Episode 12: Don’t Just Lift — Move: The Secret of Momentum - 04:32Episode 1: Coaching Meets Medicine: The Back In Action Approach - 05:12