I’m a 44 year old male weighing 280 lbs. I desperately need to get healthy and strong and am motivated. However anytime I do the least bit of any exercise, whether it’s walking, jogging, other forms of cardio or weight lifting, etc., my lower back muscles fatigue extremely fast and ache causing me to stop and rest them, limiting my exercise. It’s very frustrating as I can’t get into a rhythm and I feel like I’m not getting the max potential from my workout.
- Is there any particular reason for this?
- Is this common for over-weight and out of shape people?
- Are there specific exercises I should do to remedy this?
- Are there specific exercises I should not do until this is no longer an issue?
Hey there Dougiemac. I’m 36 years old, 295 pounds and familiar with what you are describing. I’ll share my $0.02 on the subject.
I’m not one of those college-educated doctors, but my internet diagnosis is that you are over-weight and out-of-shape. Your back is not strong enough for what you are asking it to do. This can be remedied.
I think it is. My back was sore all the time when all I did was sit at a desk and eat cheese.
I’ve managed to get somewhat strong on both the squat and deadlift in the last 2.5 years. This coincided with the disappearance of back pain of any type. I still work a desk job but I make sure to spend more time on my feet. I take any excuse I can to get up an move at work.
Before I found barbells I did a lot of back extensions. Those helped too. Deadlifts helped more. Start light and progress sensibly.
Generally-speaking, you’ll want to avoid anything that fucks you up beyond expected muscle soreness. But being fat and out-of-shape is not reason in and of itself to avoid anything in particular. That said, be mindful of your joints. Work hard. Get stronger. Drop fat. Become a lighter person. These will all be beneficial to you.
No matter what, don’t puss out and use this as an excuse to stop working. Stay at it and don’t quit.
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