Joey and all- I have a question. My neck is A MESS. It is painful and STIFF. Today for example I had an ultrasound on my leg and had to be on my belly. I had my head to the left for about 10 min. Trying to turn it to the right took about a full 60 seconds. I do have a bulging cervical disc and some evidence of my cervical spine straightening too much.

I've been reading that side sleeping with shoulders close together due to gravity can lead to shortening adaptations of the pecs- that daily stretching cant really help since the muscle fibers have truly changed. It was recommended to wear a comfortable brace that keeps the shoulders back (a bra-like thing) or to really try to sleep on your back even with a short oblong pillow aligned with your spine so that the pecs get a gentle sustained stretch for as long as your sleeping in that position- hopefully for hours if you can stay put. 

My question for Joey is- if you have shortened pecs which i think i do- is it counterproductve to do strength training moves of the chest? Wouldnt they make the problem worse? A neurologist said to me that no amount of back stregthening will help forward arm posture until you re-lengthen the pecs. 

Should I skip chest and instead focus on stretching the chest and continue to do back movements on Chest and Back day?? 

Hi everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Annie. I found Joey's SYMULAST program waaaay back in 2012 (or something) and I really got results. Then things went crazy in my life and I forgot about it all. Fast forward to 2026 and YouTube showed me one of Joey's videos and I though - well huh- I bought that program! But I didnt remember the name of it, or the old email that I got it with. 

I finally found my receipt and was brought back into the world of Joey Atlas- except now, instead of just wanting smoother legs, I am in perimenopause, and have spent the last 10 years sick from a combination of undiagnosed and untreated Lyme (now treated) that had lead to early onset (teens/20's) arthritis for which I've now had 4 lower leg surgeries (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) all of which had complications, including a medical mistake injury of my sciatic nerve and probably permanent weakness in my right foot, a bunch of hardware in my left foot, and the best prize of them all- complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) which has the lovely honor of being the most painful chronic disease in the world. I spent solid months around a level 9 and lost a ton of weight and muscle because I could barely eat. Luckily, it is in remission, and MUCH treated by physical activity and re-forming neural connections between the injured limb and the brain. 

With all that I also experienced extreme and prologed injury from the medications I was prescribed for all of this and spent much of 2024 and 2025 housebound and at the worst bedbound. 

After stopping one of these meds in Nov 2025 and another of them this October I've had the best 3 months of the last decade. I had been reconditioning with very gentle movement practices but I KNOW I need muscle mass. I am a trained personal trainer (though I never followed that route). I have, in the past, run 3 marathons, did years of crossfit and then orange theory. 

But the wear, tear, and cortisol associated with the modalities I used to do are just a big NO NO now! I want nothing to do with them. I want peaceful, mindful strength training that addresses not only the cosmetic muscles but the tendons, ligaments, supporting muscles and fascia all working together, as they always should have!

I paid for the $19 promo for total access and I am SO GLAD I did! Joey's style is exactly what I needed to add to my life and at this point in my life. The workouts feel so amazing to my battered, injured, and deconditioned body I cant even tell you! Sometimes I moan it feels so good to be training with resistance and mindfulness. 

Very long story- thanks for reading and happy to be here! Thanks for your legit programming Joey.