Talking to AI

Ever had a hiatus hernia stand in the way of your workouts? On this episode, AI breaks down tailored strategies for gym-goers managing hernias:

- How breathing tweaks can stabilize your diaphragm and reduce symptoms.
- Safer exercise swaps for overhead pressing and core work.
- The science behind diaphragmatic vacuums and gentle rotation drills.

Walk away with actionable tips you can apply in your next gym session. Tune in for real-world solutions and stay active, safely!

Show Notes

In this insightful episode of Talking to AI, Paul discusses a common challenge faced by gym-goers: managing exercise routines with a hiatus hernia. Drawing on both personal experience and AI-driven advice, the episode explores practical strategies to mitigate symptoms, especially when engaging in core-driven movements such as overhead presses and spinal twists. The conversation sheds light on how certain exercises can exacerbate discomfort for those with a hiatus hernia, particularly when combined with past medical history like gallbladder removal, and offers actionable modifications for safer workouts.
Listeners are guided through specific breathing techniques and exercise substitutions that minimize intra-abdominal pressure and reduce hernia flare-ups. Recommendations include exhaling through lifts, activating the core differently, and replacing aggressive spinal twisting with controlled rotational movements. The episode also suggests diaphragmatic vacuum pulls, a physiotherapist-endorsed practice to support the diaphragm and hiatus region without surgical intervention. This focused guidance arms those with similar challenges with new confidence to maintain fitness while respecting their body's limits.
Overall, the episode serves as both a source of encouragement and a practical playbook for anyone navigating the complexities of hiatus hernia management in the gym.
🎙️ Hosted by Paul at Talking to AI — where real people, real problems, and real conversations meet artificial intelligence.

What is Talking to AI?

Audio conversation with AI chatbots

I am talking to AI.
A successful day, you don't need to know all the answers.
Just have good questions.
Chatting to AI is different from normal speech
and I hope you enjoy listening to the show
whilst getting ideas on how to pose your questions
to get the most out of AI.
My name is Paul.
The live conversations you hear are uncut
although sometimes the AI needs time to think.
In those cases, I've cut out the dead space.
Hello, Brock.
Hey, Paul. Back for more?
Yeah, I want a bit of advice about an issue that I have.
I have a...
I hate us turning around, right?
And of course, all kinds of trouble,
but I think I have the main problem fixed.
It's...
I tend to eat now like not too late
and there's certain foods which don't upset things
so I don't have a problem generally digestively
but how it would manifest it would...
I would get sort of reflux,
but I'd also get very sore in my torso
which is caused by the reflux
and sort of you get inflammation in your stomach
and stuff like that.
But generally, that's under control.
One thing I have noticed is that when I'm at the gym
and I'm doing certain activities,
they can make it worse.
So, for example, spinal twists
if I'm doing things like in yoga, trigger nasana
and other things where I'm twisting my spine
do seem to aggravate it.
And also I've noticed that when I'm doing exercise
that uses my torso,
for example, if I'm doing an overhead press
with a barbell,
I get very exhausted in my torso
and it's something I've observed
and I'm just wondering if you have any thoughts on that.
I do understand that having this...
a haters hernia,
when you have pressure on your torso
it can make things worse
and I'm just wondering if there is a way
that I can overcome this issue
because I understand it's not really a strength issue.
And I have this theory about my haters hernia
which is not founded by any kind of evidence.
It's just my idea that it might be related
to the gallbladder that I had removed
maybe 15 years ago
and the damage that was caused to my fascia
as a result of taking that out.
So therefore, some of that stuff isn't holding in
as well as it should do now
and that might mean that things are moving around
in a way that they wouldn't have been moving around.
Otherwise, hence you've got this...
so a haters hernia,
which is basically a bit of your stomach
popping out through into your esophagus.
So yeah,
is there any things that I can do
either to improve the situation
when I'm working out
or limit any negative situations?
I'm really looking for solutions
that don't involve just don't go to the gym answers.
And if there's some physical ways
I can improve this,
I don't think there is.
I don't think if I strengthen up all my muscles
I'm going to fix this haters hernia.
But yeah, so if you've got any ideas
and I wonder if the overhead press
and me being exhausted in my torso
I'm pretty sure it is worse
because of this haters hernia
because I tend to get exhausted
in the area that I get exhausted
and I get the pain when I get the haters hernia
which is on the left side towards the back
and I sort of feel very tired there
when I do certain exercises
and I don't like that
because that often means that that might be before a flare up.
So what do you think?
Any advice over to you?
Yeah, that makes sense.
The hernia is like a loose hinge in your diaphragm
so any twist or bracy push
shoves your stomach up and rubs the raw spawn.
First off, breathe right.
When you overhead press, people gut breathe.
They puff the belly out
which hikes that hernia.
Try this. Exhale fully through the lift.
Suck the navel in hard.
Keep ribs down.
Sound tiny but it locks the diaphragm
so your stomach doesn't flop.
For twists, drop Russian style ones
or deep yoga spins.
Swap to standing cable woodchoppers
on a half moon pivot, core braced,
no spinal crank.
You still get rotation but the angle's kinder
and exhaustion on that left backside?
That's classic referral.
Gallbladder scar plus hernia
can team up so fatigue feels like tired organ,
not muscle.
Don't push through.
If it hits 10 minutes into presses,
load 30% and milk the last inch slower.
Your torso won't beg for air.
Long shot, diaphragmatic vacuum pulls.
Lie on your back.
Exhale all air.
Suck belly to spine 30 seconds.
10 rounds.
Physios swear it shortens the hernia gap
without surgery.
Won't fix the fascia tear but it'll snug things.
Try that plus the breath tweak next session.
Tell me how the left side feels after.
Wow, that's great.
It's very specific.
I'll give those a go.
I think that concludes.
I think this might be quite a short one then.
So yeah, thanks for that.
I will try that.
No worries.
Good luck with it. And if that left side flares anyway,
just ping me, alright?
Okay, so I think
I think I might just leave it there.
I think, wow, that was unexpectedly
productive.
That's definitely given me some ideas.
Look, I hope this gives you guys ideas
as well.
Every now and again, we get
intractable problems
that we live with.
And often when you have these kind of problems,
it seems completely
overwhelming
to try to find out
how to solve them.
But I think what I've done with this
is get some very specific.
I'm quite surprised that it was so
specific. So I'm definitely
going to have to write that down
next time I'm in the gym and
try and do those things. If it works,
I'm going to be pretty ecstatic about that
because I've pretty much given up
the overhead press because of that.
I'm a walking
textbook in
various chronic injuries.
So it'd be nice if I could get this one.
Okay, well, until next time.
Goodbye.
For show notes and more,
go to talking2ai.show.