The Back in Action Podcast is where fitness coaching, spine health, and movement science meet to help you move better, feel better, and live better. Hosted by two expert coaches and a spine physician, this podcast challenges the belief that pain always needs surgery, medication, or endless therapy. From breaking down back pain myths to exploring fear, recovery, mobility, and strength training, each episode gives you practical tools to trust your body again. Rethink pain. Rebuild strength. And get back to enjoying the things you love in life without pain.
The Cooldown: Rucking 101 — How to Start Walking With Weight | Ep. 22
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
25 Sept 2026
Ep. 22 - A Closer Look: A Doctor’s Workout vs. A Coach’s Workout
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.
11 Sept 2026
The Cooldown: What If Your Family Is Worried About You Working Out? | Ep. 21
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.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
10 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 12 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
11
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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