if you are not huge by any means and do not put up big numbers, you are a beginner.
this does not apply to your past injury, but this guy is 44 and a competitive cyclist:
he finished one year of serious training and made respectable gains. what’s more, his sprints became more explosive.
what kind of hernia do you have? has it been repaired? also, do you think that heavy back training will not aggravate a hernia?