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I suffered a moderate-to-severe back injury while surfing when I was 19. It wasn't debilitating, but it regularly affected my quality of life and was healing ve

I suffered a moderate-to-severe back injury while surfing when I was 19. It wasn't debilitating, but it regularly affected my quality of life and was healing very, very slowly (at the rate it was going, it probably would've taken 6-12 months to fully heal). I began deadlifting twice a week, and within two weeks my back pain significantly reduced, and within six weeks my back had healed completely. I also felt much less back discomfort or pain from activities that would previous cause discomfort or pain in my lower back (e.g., sleeping on my stomach). I think everyone (women included) who is physically able to should lift weights regularly. Not only for the primary benefits of getting stronger and looking better, but for all the passive secondary benefits that come with it: improved posture, permanently increased metabolism (6-10 calories per day per pound of muscle), reduced risks of osteoporosis, reduced likelihood of injury, etc. The important thing is to lift consistently, heavy, and progressively lift heavier. It can be pretty intimidating for someone who hasn't done it before, so I recommend a routine like StrongLifts 5x5 or Phrak's variant of Greyskull LP to start. /r/fitness has lots of good info in its wiki.

noir_lord 11y ago
Was big into lifting in my twenties, was very healthy. These days I have a rare spinal condition that limits me to lifting 25lbs Max, so I've had to exercise differently, I run and cycle (cycled for years) and have started Pilate's, the Pilate's made a massive difference to quality of life, its amazing how back pain over a long period causes postural changes your arent aware off as you instinctively restrict your own motion to minimise pain.
viewer5 11y ago
> and progressively lift heavier I assume it varies from person-to-person, but is there some kind of rule-of-thumb for what rate to increase your weights?
- sturgill 11y ago
  There are lots of strength training programs out there for beginners (Starting Strength, Stronglifts, Greyskull). Most studies I've read suggest all that really matters is that you are strict with your form and stick to it. A program's success depends largely on you showing up... That said, I'm a big fan of the Greyskull program. You increase the weight 2.5 - 5 lbs per session (provided you hit the goals of your previous session).
- vlehto 11y ago
  So that you are lifting with 90 - 100% of your strength. Then you are developing your strength. I try to stay away from the 100% end by always gradually working my way up there. "warm up with weights"
dwc 11y ago
I had a lower back injury at about that age resulting in a ruptured disk. It was debilitating and required surgery. The surgery worked wonders but, unsurprisingly, I've had intermittent back trouble in the decades since then. I've had two periods of my life where I've been free from back problems for extended periods. The first was when I was doing aikido. There was some minimal warm up stretching, but the main thing was that practice involved a lot of range of motion. Despite seemingly bad things like awkward positions and getting thrown and hitting the ground hard, I had no back problems at all during that time. The second time was when I was lifting free weights. Squats and deadlifts (done correctly) strengthen the support infrastructure for the back (and everything else). During both of those regimens I also lost a fair amount of fat. (I actually gained weight while lifting but my wife remarked that I looked thinner). I think that many kinds of exercise could have similar effects. Yoga, anyone? Maybe Tai Chi? Man, I need to get back to doing something regularly again!

noir_lord 11y ago

Was big into lifting in my twenties, was very healthy. These days I have a rare spinal condition that limits me to lifting 25lbs Max, so I've had to exercise differently, I run and cycle (cycled for years) and have started Pilate's, the Pilate's made a massive difference to quality of life, its amazing how back pain over a long period causes postural changes your arent aware off as you instinctively restrict your own motion to minimise pain.

viewer5 11y ago

> and progressively lift heavier I assume it varies from person-to-person, but is there some kind of rule-of-thumb for what rate to increase your weights?

sturgill 11y ago
There are lots of strength training programs out there for beginners (Starting Strength, Stronglifts, Greyskull). Most studies I've read suggest all that really matters is that you are strict with your form and stick to it. A program's success depends largely on you showing up... That said, I'm a big fan of the Greyskull program. You increase the weight 2.5 - 5 lbs per session (provided you hit the goals of your previous session).
vlehto 11y ago
So that you are lifting with 90 - 100% of your strength. Then you are developing your strength. I try to stay away from the 100% end by always gradually working my way up there. "warm up with weights"

dwc 11y ago

I had a lower back injury at about that age resulting in a ruptured disk. It was debilitating and required surgery. The surgery worked wonders but, unsurprisingly, I've had intermittent back trouble in the decades since then. I've had two periods of my life where I've been free from back problems for extended periods. The first was when I was doing aikido. There was some minimal warm up stretching, but the main thing was that practice involved a lot of range of motion. Despite seemingly bad things like awkward positions and getting thrown and hitting the ground hard, I had no back problems at all during that time. The second time was when I was lifting free weights. Squats and deadlifts (done correctly) strengthen the support infrastructure for the back (and everything else). During both of those regimens I also lost a fair amount of fat. (I actually gained weight while lifting but my wife remarked that I looked thinner). I think that many kinds of exercise could have similar effects. Yoga, anyone? Maybe Tai Chi? Man, I need to get back to doing something regularly again!