if you have access to a reverse hyper i would try it with very light weight or as much as you think you can handle…and do higher reps with it…problem is most gyms dont have one…
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/reversehyper.htm
the belt squats and single squats are a great idea though…also put some focus on making your abs strong once you start getting better…
Thanks for all the advice guys. I’m going to try those workouts and see how they feel. And I’ll start reading the Charlie Francis site (I also have Kelly Baggett’s vert jump bible, which I was planning on starting on my workout calendar about 2 weeks after I injured my back 
. Should I do the bodyweight version of the jump workout that he has in there?) As far as reverse hypers go, I do indeed have a machine available and I try to do it once a week if possible. As far as band sprints go - I was actually interested in those to begin with, which bands would you recommend? ( what size, what type, etc…)
-DTC
well, i use a 100lb resistance band for sprints. if u run as hard as u can, u will stretch it as far as it goes, and then it will probably pull u back like in this vid:RossTraining.com - Band Sprints
so one day i may do pull backs(letting the band pull me back and then sprinting as hard as i can till it pulls me back again.
then another day i may go out not all the way but close to it and run for 10 seconds, and then the next time i have conditioning workout 30 seconds, so don’t think u can’t continue running, i love how it pulls u back and then u have to start again though, great for explosive starts
Belt squats seem to be a great exercise without loading the spine, but i doubt the machine pictured could be found outside of college training facilites. What do those who train in normal gyms or even private ‘sports performance’ gyms do to recreate this movement?
-k
I can certainly empathize with you since I have two ruptured discs. L4-L5 and L5-S1. No fun at all. After a few weeks of just doing cardio I started light upper body and cardio with some light sled work added in here and there. The first time I did any lower body at all I did lunges and to my surprise I experienced nothing negative (except for the soreness obviously).
Then I started adding more weight to the sled. Last night I did three sets of 12 lunges for each leg, three sets of 20 step ups for each leg, three sets of 20 body weight squats, and three sets of 10 body weight jump squats. I know that isn?t going to make me huge or super strong, and it is a humbling experience, but I have to start somewhere.
Christopher
Alright thanks Met.
Kane - I attached a weight belt to a pulley machine that I would generally do things like pressdowns, curls, lateral raises, etc. on, and moved two benches so that the ends of them were right next to where the pulley comes out. Then I put one leg on each bench after maxing the stack (it was so easy after having done heavy regular squats for awhile), then I’d step back to the opposite end of the bench, and squat from there. I imagine if I were to face away from the machine rather than towards it and arranged the benches a bit differently, I could do step-ups and lunges with the belt attached as well.
Yeah Monkey, mine was at L5-S1. However mine wasn’t ruptured, so I really feel for you ;/ . I know mine was a humbling experience, that’s for sure - I can only imagine what you must have gone through. Good work on the progress by the way.
In terms of regular back recovery - I’ve started up yoga again and it’s been doing my back wonders. I highly recommend that you do it if you think your back is healthy enough to start yoga, I’m a true believer in yoga for prehab and rehab purposes 
. Good luck with the rest of your progress!
[quote]DTC wrote:
Yeah Monkey, mine was at L5-S1. However mine wasn’t ruptured, so I really feel for you ;/ . I know mine was a humbling experience, that’s for sure - I can only imagine what you must have gone through. Good work on the progress by the way.
In terms of regular back recovery - I’ve started up yoga again and it’s been doing my back wonders. I highly recommend that you do it if you think your back is healthy enough to start yoga, I’m a true believer in yoga for prehab and rehab purposes . Good luck with the rest of your progress![/quote]
I have never had huge numbers, but it is still a very humbling experience. But we have to start somewhere and we don’t need to do something stupid and worsen the injury.
I am still leary of any movement that will curl my lower back. The moves I am doing know, without additional wieght, are allowing me to really keep strict form. Once I feel stronger I will consider advancing.
Thanks!