From someone who’s got first-hand experience, believe it: There’s very little that’s more debilitating in the gym than trying to train around a bad, aching, injured lower back. It’s only when you’re hurt that you realize how instrumental every piece of a working body really becomes to affect full functionality.
In the case of the low back, lumbar stability (or lack thereof) is going to likely frustrate most compound movements, rotation, and more. No fun. When it comes to keeping your size or strength training on track, we need to become innovative so we can train hard, but still respect our injuries and the healing and recovery process.
After all, if we don’t consciously work toward relieving our back pain then the inability to workout will be the least of our problems — sitting up, tossing and turning in bed, and just about any other daily task will be met with a sharp pain. It could then take days, possibly even weeks, for us just to get to normal.
You, or someone you know, might think that traditional bed rest might be the best prescription for getting rid of back pain. “If I just take it easy I can get back to the gym in no time,” you’ll tell yourself. Well, you’d be wrong.
Research shows exercise is actually more beneficial for reliving pain than rest.
Still unsure if you should be in the gym in the first place? Consult a professional.
If you’re cleared for action, here’s some tips to continue grinding it out in the gym while looking out for your backside.
Lee Boyce is a personal trainer, speaker, fitness writer, and college professor based in Toronto, Canada. He is the owner and operator of leeboycetraining.com and works with clients and athletes for strength, conditioning, and sport performance. With a background as a varsity level sprinter and long jumper in university amid his kinesiology studies, he now brings plenty of that experience and anecdote to the lectures and workshops he delivers around North America to help make trainers and fitness professionals more effective at their jobs. Follow him on all social media @coachleeboyce .
This is probably the first and foremost hack you’re going to need to pay attention to. If you’re married to your deadlifts and can’t go two workouts without having them in the rotation, then at least do yourself a favor and stop pulling from the floor … at least for now. The further you have to bend over to start your rep, the more stress your lower back will have to endure.
It’s a no-brainer that decreasing the pulling space on your deads will mean less lumbar strife. This way you can focus on other things, like your technique and target muscles.
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Per Bernal
Expand Your Horizon(tal Presse)s
Remember, vertical stress forces are usually the culprit for lumbar region injuries (think about throwing out your back during a heavy squat or deadlift). While you’re hurting, it’s best to avoid overloading the vertical pushes and pulls for the time being, and instead focus more on horizontal work.
These kinds of movements create minimal pressure on the lumbar region (and spine as a whole) since the force angle opposes the vertical orientation of the spine. Some examples of horizontal press patterns:
When it comes to big pulls like deads and bentover rows, sometimes perfect technique won’t leave you free of lumbar stress or aggravating your tweak. The reason why is because a controlled eccentric asks the most out of your muscle fibers and nervous system, and it can act as a silent killer to people who fit this demographic. If you can, sub out the touch-and-go deadlifts for deadstop deadlifts so you can drop the eccentric rep and spare half of the time under tension. Switch the bentover rows for pendlay rows to achieve the same thing. One example can be found at the top of this slide, and another below.
A post shared by @ coachleeboyce on Jan 2, 2019 at 2:05pm PST
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Isometrics
Another culprit to cause or aggravate back injuries is the phenomenon of the skeleton changing positions under the presence of load. Think about it: Most athletic injuries you’ve ever had probably happened while you were in motion and overload at the same time.
That could mean doing a heavy press, or it could mean having to make a hard cut on the football field. Removing movement from the picture altogether can be a game-changer that keeps you nearly guaranteed to be injury free, while doubling as a great workout for your muscular endurance, strength and mobility.
Mimicking common exercises while making the load immovable is a golden ticket to pushing through sticking points while respecting your body’s limitations in its current state.
Simply put, switching the barbell deadlift out for the trap bar creates a number of benefits that are worth reminding you of here:
– They provide a higher pulling position, which can be a back saver.
– The shape of the bar doesn’t impede your shins. That means they can shift forward, which drops your hips, involves your quads, and keeps the spine more upright and less bent over.
– The handles are neutral grip rather than internally rotated. That’s great for posture and comfort.
– The wider hand position as whole allows for a comfortable, wider foot stance.
Long story short, this is a gem that you should be taking advantage of. A trap bar deadlift is still a deadlift. And a more functional one at that.
Too much vertical pressing can bear down on the spine – as mentioned before. Slightly changing the angle so you’re not pressing directly above your head can be a real life jacket for your spine, specifically the lumbar region and the compression forces it would endure. Doing landmine presses makes a needed adjustment to shift the loading while still allowing the body to be perpendicular to the bar. Take the Viking press seen above as an example.
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Per Bernal
Behind-the-Neck Lat Pulldown
On a similar note, it’s important to differentiate between compressive forces and decompressive forces. Things that bear downward on the spine due to gravity and the spine’s vertical stacking will undoubtedly cause compression, and that won’t feel great if you have an injury. Make your workouts full of decompressive exercises instead – or at the very least, make decompressive exercises counter the compressive movements that you do include. Check out the table below for examples of each.
