I got an MRI taken I found out that I have 2 slipped discs pinching nerves down my legs and another disc that is torn. That pretty much makes lifting weights right now impossible. What would be the best thing to do? I was thinking about HIIT and just pushups? Suggestions?
CT or Berardi?
Are you seeing a health care professional? They would/should be able to guide you in determining what exercises are safe and which ones would likely irritate your condition. Your MD may be suggesting surgery, but I would follow a conservative approach. If the conservative approach fails you can always go with the surgery.
I would imagine you would probably benefit from and be able to perform core stabilization work. More than likely, those muscles are not as strong as they should be. Pain and/or injury can inhibit muscles.
[quote]climbon wrote:
Are you seeing a health care professional? They would/should be able to guide you in determining what exercises are safe and which ones would likely irritate your condition. Your MD may be suggesting surgery, but I would follow a conservative approach. If the conservative approach fails you can always go with the surgery.
I would imagine you would probably benefit from and be able to perform core stabilization work. More than likely, those muscles are not as strong as they should be. Pain and/or injury can inhibit muscles. [/quote]
Thanks for the reply. I am scheduled to see an orthopedic surgeon, but my appoinment isn?t until the early January, so until then Im just trying not to do anything to make it worse while at the same time trying to stay somewhat active.
T-man:
Sorry to hear about your injuries.
Whenever I have had an injury in the past I have learned to somehow work around it. I have no idea what you are able to do, but I bet you are able to do somethings. Forearme work? Seated Presses for example? Etc.
Again, I have no way of knowing but try to find out exactly what you are able to do and then craft an eight week program around those exclusively.
I want you to focus on what you can do and forget about what you cannot do, at least in the short term. This entire experience can be turned into something positive if you can keep the focus strictly on the movements that you are able to perform.
When your injuries heal, you will find yourself far stronger in certain areas than you ever thought possible!
Write back and let me know the movements that will not harm your recovery.
Zeb
I have 2 slipped discs also. You can still train, but a month aways fromthe weights would probably be a good idea. Put your energy into stretching and other rehab that your physio recommends. Then when you return to lifting, choose exercises which don’t compress your spine. No squats deads or overhead pressing. As a reader of this site and as the one with the injury yourself, you will probably know better what weight training you can do than your health professional, ironically.
You could do a lot of bodyweight training like chins and dips. You could use pre-exhaust protocols for your muscles so you aren’t using such heavy loads. When you do return to squats etc, choose 20-rep sets rather than bashing out 3 reps of gargantuan weight.
Listen to your body carefully and you will know how fast you can proceed.
But don’t give up!