In January of 2019, I was in a head-on car collision. The driver veered into my lane and totaled my Mazda 6, causing me to have to climb out of the window because the door was so damaged it wouldn’t open.

From that accident, I now have multiple spinal herniations and chronic back pain. In spite of the back problems I’ve managed to put on muscle, breakthrough weight lifting plateaus, and got under ten percent body fat.

I don’t say this to impress you but to exemplify that you can still exercise with back problems.

In a recent report by the Healthy Policy Institute, they state back problems affect nearly 65 million Americans. If you’re reading this article, you’re probably one of those 65 million.

Don’t let that be an excuse to not workout because I know you’re capable of so much more. I know this because you’re human (probably LOL, robots..) and humans have astonishing resilience.

 

How To Exercise With Back Problems

One

The first thing you have to do to exercise with back problems is find out what agitates your back the most.

For me, it’s jump rope and running. That makes sense because those two exercises have an up and down component that can compress the intervertebral discs.

After you discover what agitates your back the most, then do your best to avoid doing those exercises! It sounds intuitive but often times the exercises that irritate us the most can be our favorite.

 

Two

Find the strength exercises and the cardio exercises that you can do with limited back problems. I say strength and cardio because those two in conjunction with each other will yield the best fitness results.

For me, I can do weight lifting (strength) and walking or biking (cardio). The only caveat, for me, with weight lifting would be to avoid the barbell squat because the bar has to sit on the posterior portion of my neck which can cause back agitation.

Walking is an amazing exercise to get movement and burn fat. Because walking is low-impact and low-intensity, the body doesn’t need to allocate copious resources for repair. I aim for 3 to 4 walking sessions a week lasting 45 minutes.

 

Three

The third piece is to find low-impact but high-intensity exercises that you can do which won’t cause back pain. This is essential because strength training and low-intensity cardio may not get your heart rate high enough to really push yourself for growth.

Low-impact but high-intensity exercises are considered power exercises. Power exercises are movements that have an explosive factor to them.

For me, exercises like jump squats, jump lunges, plyometric pushups, high knees, kick sits, fast feet and more don’t agitate my back.

So you now have to find exercises that are low-impact to you but high-intensity. Jump squats work for me but may not be good for you. Jumping jacks irritate my back but might be fine for you.

 

Getting Started

Follow this 3 step plan for learning how to exercise with back problems. Keep in mind it may take time to find what does and doesn’t work but once you do you’ll feel more confident about exercising without hurting yourself.

 

If you’re looking to get 1-on-1 virtual support to help you with the discovery process of finding exercises that don’t agitate your back then set up a free phone consultation!

Click here to go to the virtual personal training page and get personal support online. No pre-recorded classes or lessons, only live online interaction with a personal trainer.

 

Disclaimers

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The information in this article is for educational and entertainment reasons, it should not be interpreted as medical advice or as a recommendation for a specific treatment. Always talk to your doctor and in the event of a medical emergency one should seek the help of a qualified and licensed health care provider.

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