Why most pain is not a mystery — and how movement transforms your life

I’ve coached thousands of people.

Pro athletes, office workers, parents, students, people who train every day, and people who haven’t stretched in 20 years.

And no matter who comes to me — the story always starts the same way:

“Oleksiy, something hurts.”

back pain

hip pain

shoulder tightness

neck tension

feeling stiff

feeling old

feeling disconnected from their body

and behind that pain there is always fear:

“what if something is wrong with me?”

today I want to show you the truth.

not from textbooks.

not from Instagram trends.

but from my 30+ years of living inside a body that had to perform at the highest level — from the national team in Ukraine to the stage of Cirque du Soleil.

this is the philosophy that shapes every program inside KONONOV Club.

this is the mindset I teach my students.

this is the foundation for a pain-free, confident, powerful life.

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The avocado rule: what you don’t use, you lose

I first heard the name online — “avocado rule” — and I laughed, because it’s true.

an avocado goes bad fast.

and your body is exactly the same.

if you don’t use a movement,

if you don’t bend,

don’t squat,

don’t stretch,

don’t rotate,

don’t hang,

don’t walk,

don’t jump —

your body quietly removes this movement from your system.

not because you’re broken.

but because your body is efficient.

as kids we ran, climbed, hung from trees, rolled, jumped, bent forward, bent backward, twisted, explored, played.

no one needed “mobility programs”. we lived mobility.

then life changed.

chairs replaced movement.

screens replaced play.

the body adapted — and not in a good way.

sitting eight hours a day is enough to change the entire architecture of your muscles.

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Muscle imbalance: the real cause of most pain

here is the uncomfortable truth:

80–90% of non-contact injuries and chronic pain come from muscle imbalance.

not the weather

not age

not “bad genetics”

usually not even serious injuries

imbalance.

you have strong muscles that became tight

you have weak muscles that became too loose

and somewhere in the middle — your body is trying to survive

the moment you bend forward and your hips don’t help — your lower back pays the price.

the moment your shoulders can’t lift overhead — your neck compensates.

the moment your ankles don’t move — your knees and spine suffer.

your pelvis shifts like a cup of water tilting forward or backward.

your center of gravity changes.

your posture collapses.

and suddenly everything feels wrong.

I’ve seen this with thousands of clients.

I’ve felt this myself.

pain is not the enemy.

it’s communication.

your body is telling you: “move.”

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Pro athletes rest. Normal people need to move.

if a Cirque du Soleil artist wakes up with pain — yes, they rest.

because their body is overloaded from insane physical stress.

but if someone who sits eight hours a day feels pain — the last thing they need is rest.

you don’t fix a sedentary lifestyle with more stillness.

you fix it with movement.

even a deep squat for 10 seconds.

even walking for 15 minutes.

even one simple exercise done daily.

movement is always the medicine.

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How I diagnose any problem: the general body checkup

when someone comes to me with pain, the first thing I think is NOT:

“which exercise should I give?”

I start with: “what movement is missing?”

before I give any program, any challenge, any correction — I check the basics.

your hips

your hamstrings

your psoas

your shoulders

your ankles

your spine

your posture

for example:

can you lie on your back and raise each leg to 90°?

most people who sit cannot.

not because they are “bad”.

because the hamstrings adapted to sitting.

then I check the other direction — your hip flexor (psoas).

if it’s too short, standing becomes uncomfortable even if you don’t notice it consciously.

this is why my Fitness Checkup and all KONONOV mobility programs work so fast — we don’t guess, we measure.

when you fix the missing movement, pain drops in 3–7 days for most people.

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The pelvis: the king of posture

people think posture is shoulders and back.

but posture starts in one place: the pelvis.

if the front of your legs is tight → pelvis tilts forward

if the back is tight → pelvis tilts backward

either direction → the spine compensates, and pain appears

release the tension → the pelvis shifts → the spine aligns → pain melts

that’s why mobility always works.

you’re restoring the natural mechanics your body once had.

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Shoulders, hips, neck — everything is connected

a tight ankle affects your knee

a tight hip affects your lower back

a stiff upper back affects your neck

tight shoulders affect your ribcage

your posture affects your breathing

your breathing affects your energy

your energy affects your movement

you cannot fix one joint and ignore the others.

this is why my training always goes full-body.

I don’t care if you come for “shoulder mobility”.

you will still work on hips, spine, and ankles — because that’s where the real solution is.

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The shrimp posture: the lifestyle problem no exercise can fix

I tell this to every client:

I can work with you for one hour…

but if you spend the next 12 hours slouching, holding your phone under your chin, sitting with rounded shoulders, eating in a bad position, working in a bad position — you defeat your own progress.

most people don’t realize this:

your lifestyle shapes your anatomy.

how you sit

how you stand

how you scroll

how you watch Netflix

how you hold your phone

how your desk is set up

this is 99% of the battle.

small lifestyle changes create massive results:

use bluetooth headphones

tilt your screen higher

change the chair

walk during calls

after work, lie on your stomach for 10 minutes

don’t collapse into your couch like a shrimp

these tiny corrections often fix pain faster than any exercise.

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Men vs women? not important. body vs body — that’s what matters.

people ask me if training should be different for men and women.

honestly?

that’s TikTok thinking.

I’ve seen women with better ankle mobility than pro male athletes.

I’ve seen men with tighter hips than 70-year-old grandmothers.

body structure depends on lifestyle, sports history, genetics, habits — not gender.

online creators need “hooks”, but in real life everyone is different.

I’ve trained thousands of bodies — and no two are the same.

this is why personalization matters.

this is why mobility checkups matter.

this is why coaching matters.

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Your body is not your enemy — it’s your teammate

one of my favorite moments as a coach is watching people discover how fast their body can change.

when someone tells me:

“I have pain for 10 years”

and in one week they tell me:

“I feel lighter”

the whole world changes for them.

you have only one body.

you will live in it for 90+ years.

and the biggest lesson I’ve learned in my life — from gymnastics, from Cirque du Soleil, from injuries, from comebacks, from coaching thousands of students — is this:

your body listens to everything you do.

every repetition

every position

every hour sitting

every hour moving

and every single moment you choose movement,

you choose health.

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Your next step

if you are struggling with:

lower back pain

tight hips

stiff shoulders

neck pain

poor posture

low energy

feeling “too old” for your age

or simply feeling disconnected from your own body

start with movement — even 15 minutes a day.

and if you want a clear path, not random exercises, join me inside KONONOV Club.

I’m here to help you understand your body, fix your pain, and build a life where you feel strong, confident, and free.

movement is not just fitness.

movement is identity.

and when you learn to move well — everything in your life moves better too.