I have been recovering from a relapsed back injury over the past few months but finally got the go ahead from my chiro/physiotherapist to start lifting heavy again. During recovery, my workouts consisted mostly of upper body work and light weight (or bodyweight) unilateral exercises. I’ve been told I can squat again (slowly increasing the weight), but must stay away from deadlifts…at least until I increase my back strength and flexibility.
At the moment I am doing hyperextensions to increase strength… but I’m wondering if there is anything else I could do. I think stiff-legged good mornings would be a bit harsh but I am wondering if one-legged or bent knee good mornings would be easier on my back??? Anyone know?
[quote]Jade1 wrote:
I have been recovering from a relapsed back injury over the past few months but finally got the go ahead from my chiro/physiotherapist to start lifting heavy again. During recovery, my workouts consisted mostly of upper body work and light weight (or bodyweight) unilateral exercises. I’ve been told I can squat again (slowly increasing the weight), but must stay away from deadlifts…at least until I increase my back strength and flexibility.
At the moment I am doing hyperextensions to increase strength… but I’m wondering if there is anything else I could do. I think stiff-legged good mornings would be a bit harsh but I am wondering if one-legged or bent knee good mornings would be easier on my back??? Anyone know?
thanks[/quote]
I absolutely love doing heavy good mornings. However, that would probably not be good in your case. I’d say for low back strength, the weighted back extensions are ok, pull-throughs should be really good for you, and if you can find a table or set up a bench high enough to hang off it, then reverse hypers with a dumbell between your feet or using a mini/monster mini jumpstretch band would probably be good.
I’d keep the good mornings light for high reps right now. Pull-throughs should be 8+ reps, but try to increase the weight or reps like you would with any other lift. Reverse hypers and back extensions, same.
If you were to consider deadlift, I’d suggest making it sumo-style, and lighter, or at least staying away from failure/fatigue. Check out the elitefts.com exercise index guide -->under barbell lifts–>sumo DL.
Marc Bartley gives a pretty good explanation, with the exception that you should NOT hyperextend the back past upright, or “arch back” to complete the lift like he does…take it easy on the back and use the glutes to push forward into the bar to finish the lift. The big key would be to try to keep your body as upright as possible and really shift all the strain to the hips/glutes/hams.
Again, deadlifting is up to you and your doctor. But if you were to do it, do it sumo.
Oh, you should also look up neanderthal no more and every other cressey/robertson article there is, and also on glute activation. It should give you some ideas for postural correction that are bodyweight only and some really good tips.