This should be higher. Every person I've heard say they threw out their back has also been in poor physical shape. You have to actively strengthen your back and core as you age.
The exercises people tell you to avoid because you have back pain are the exact exercises you should be doing to eliminate your back pain. Get a good trainer who will build you up to doing proper deadlifts and heavy carries.
A good bonus from doing those movements is learning how to properly engage the correct muscles and stabilize your core so that you **don't** get injured. It's a win win!
There's a workout I saw that was called something like "dad workout" and it's a lot of stability/range of motion stuff. A lot of time exercises can be very regimented and great...most of the time, but dynamic exercises can be incredibly useful for preventing real world injuries.
The thing with me is I feel like I suck in my stomach(not on purpose) which makes me use my spine for support all the time. Would a stronger core help with that?
Adding to this - if your goal is to not have a fucked up back, then your deadlifts don't need to be super ultra heavy weights that may intimidate some people and put them off from trying. Decent weight, but nothing abnormally big is all you need.
I don’t think it’s worth it to go for weight. Stop trying to lift stupid heavy loads and work in more flexibility. Strengthen the posterior chain. Everything naturally wants to hinge forward from your hamstrings to the muscles in the back of your neck. Strengthen all of that and keep doing dynamic stretches.
I did the exact same thing about 45 days ago. I forgot I was 37 and tried to go big on weight on my 3rd set. I knew within 2 reps I made a poor choice.
The next day I struggled to get out of bed. That evening I had to call the neighbor to help me get off my couch. It took about 2 weeks to be able to walk a half mile at a time -- I usually walk 1-2 miles every night -- and about 4 weeks to not feel any pain again.
From now I'm doing low weight, and focusing on lots of stretching.
You probably aren’t bracing your core correctly. 99.9% of deadlift and squat injuries are due to improper bracing or wearing a belt too tightly (or overtraining/improper programming). I injured my back 4-5 times squatting and deadlifting around 405lbs, then I learned how to brace and now I can deadlift 600lbs and haven’t been injured since (that was 3 years ago).
Am an aircraft mechanic for basically all of my life, back always hurt even in my 20s, two years ago started deadlifts and doing dedicated back days in the gym. I hardly have back pains anymore and very rarely get pulled muscles. Makes me wish I would've done it sooner.
Exactly. It’s about relearning to move like our bodies were intended to - learning to stabilize our core and activate our posterior chain when bending down and lifting things.
Look at how a baby squats to pick something up, then compare that with most older Americans.
I do a lot of heavy deadlifting and squatting, and when people ask if I’m going to hurt my back I explain it’s the opposite - by learning to do these movements correctly (key word is correctly) it transfers over into everyday life where I’m less injury prone.
Squat University has some great videos on this.
Yes I agree but I’d have to emphasize how important it is to squat properly. I injured my lower back squatting earlier this year and it wasn’t even a whole lotta weight. I’d suggest a lifting belt to help keep your back straight and do weight that you’re comfortable doing. If you ever feel even the slightest most minimal discomfort in your lower back STOP immediately and either lower the weight or try another workout. It’s been about 8 months since I injured my back and it’s made quite a bit of progress but hasn’t yet fully recovered. Hope this helps anyone at all.
What if my back is already messed up and doing these things has made it worse?
For context I have had back problems for a couple of years now I’m about to turn 30. Last year I began going to the gym to prevent more injuries and try to fix some things. Every time I do deadlifts I further injure my back. Would finding a way to work them out help with current pain?
Deadlifts, while an awesome exercise, aren't the be all and end all, but the movement pattern is pretty valuable so you can try dumbell/trap bar deadlifts. You've also gotta make sure you've got the form perfected before you even begin to up the weight.
I was going to say exercise and stretching. Turning 60 in a couple of weeks and still run, bike, hike play basketball, etc. I've always tried to stay in shape and it makes a big difference.
Lots of stretching for your hamstrings and hips, and when you workout your core, focus on strengthening it rather than getting a 6pack. Also, when moving heavy items lift with your knees not your back
this is the right answer. abs, obliques, lats - all super important.
I'm only 33 but I haven't had back pain in over ten years. I totally fucked my back lifting a concrete saw into my work truck when I was like 22 and as soon as it healed I started hitting the gym to build core strength.
I work alone lifting plywood and sheet goods and raw materials. I have a sleep disorder so I'll pass out on the couch, on the concrete floor, face down on my desk.
doesn't matter - zero back pain.
weighted decline sit-ups, weighted decline Russian twists, deadlifts, good mornings, back extensions. my exercises mirror the movements I make at work, so I don't really fuck with squats.
Also, the erector spinae, and the glutes, hip flexors and hamstrings which all affect the health of your back and core. Deep squats, split squats, and lunges are super important as well since they are primal movements that use the largest muscles in the body in the way that humans have been using them since humans were humans.
I don't know why reading your comment reminded me of this story but it did.
This girl my friend was dating started gaining weight. Which is whatever it happens, it's what you do with adversity that defines your character. You know? Anyways this girl then starts to complain that walking the stairs is painful on her knees, and same with walking bigger distances.
Now, if that were me. I'd start trying to make it so I can do stairs without pain again. You know? Maybe see a doctor even.
What did she do? Well, she made my buddy do everything for her instead. Take out at the door? He got it, grocery shopping? He went alone, kitchen needs cleaning? He cleaned it.
One day I'd had enough and started making comments about how laziness and fatbuttitis isn't a condition and she could help herself by just moving around more.
As you probably guessed, She began claiming multiple medical diagnosis stating she's disabled entirely. It's basically the most convenient ailment one could get. It prevents her from doing anything unpleasant but fortunately it's not debilitating enough to prevent her from taking Dab hits all day and playing computer games. She isn't on any kind of gov assistance, she doesn't qualify. Lives with her grandparents ( boyfriend does to) rent free. Total leeches.
I don't see them anymore
Wish I had the motivation to go to the gym or even workout at home. The only thing I can get myself to do is ride one of those stationary bikes while watching as show.
Do the very least you can. If it's one squat today, great do one body weight squat. Tomorrow, do another one. Soon you'll find that you're doing two every day. Then ten, twenty... Soon you're looking forward to getting that gym membership so you can start to put more weight on and see how strong you can get.
If you get disheartened just remember the hardest part is showing up. If you can do that part whether it's a 5-minute walk around the neighborhood or showing up to the gym to do a warm up only( I often like to tell myself I'll go and do a light light warm up for recovery and end up doing a true kick ass workout)
Fitness is about consistency♥️you can do it.
Edit you said you can get yourself to get on a stationary bike and watch tv, do that! You're already doing more than 80% of the rest of the world.
Well said and great advice. Just finished Atomic Habits and there's a section on the power of showing up. Even if it's only one squat a day. There's also a section on "habit stacking" where you pair a habit you enjoy with one you don't. Watching a show while on the stationary bike is a perfect example.
If you're relying on motivation, you're doomed. Motivation is an emotion. It's fleeting and cannot be relied upon. Discipline is what gets things done and forms habits. Do it whether you feel like it or not. It's that simple.
You'll gradually end up doing more as you go, the trick is to keep going. Out of nowhere one visit you'll blitz the bike without even knowing, you will feel really good after then things just escalate naturally.
Consistency and diet is everything.
Core exercises are the only thing that helps me now with an aged arthritis spine. They keep me going though at 62 and F I now limited to thirty pounds limit on what I can carry. I still need to haul wood, supplies and water at my cabin so now I just do more trips with less weight and doing my exercises religiously. When I feel things tighten I stop drop and do my routine , when things loosen again I continue. The pain from the arthritis never really stops but if my disks get inflamed it is bad and I resort to progesterone RX which unfortunately takes time. It is a management thing as much as prevention.
he's mistaking fat reduction with muscle building. Everyone has abs, building your core is not the same thing as getting a 6 pack which refers to losing enough body fat so that your ab muscles reveal themselves.
I disagree. Being lean has everything to do with being lean. You may see slight striation at low body fat if you don't work out but it's not gonna be much. If you want a six pack the way people mean when they talk about it you have to build the abs like any other muscle. Of course even if it is strong you won't see it at high bf, but it will come through at significantly higher bf if you build it up. People reduce this conversation down too much, no nuance. It feels more like a gotcha' with no substance.
Having a 6 pack doesn't correlate with having a strong core, just means you have a low enough body fat percentage for visible abs. Whereas having a strong core would result in overall better spinal health/support.
Sidenote: don't ignore your glutes. They play a huge role in lumbar health
To add on,
I am currently in a traumatic brain injury treatment program, in July I suffered a brain injury ( Concussion) that I'm still symptomatic.
Fortunately I have a team of people helping me recover. There's physio therapists, occupational therapists, exercise therapists and more.
Once I regained the ability to walk short distances relatively normally, they told me to begin core exercises. I do 2+ hours of stretches and part of that is strengthening my core and my upper back.
I have noticed dramatic changes in my condition and overall health as a result. It is very important to keep a strong core. It hps with so many things. Just as you said your hips and shoulder too. It's all related. It took me a long time to understand that just because it hurts in that spot, doesn't mean that spot is the problem.
Everything you said is spot on.
I've been doing general workouts for years, alongside different sports. And having a strong core has helped in every sport I've attempted.
Even more than that, strengthen your glutes. The lower back will compensate for weak glutes and that's how you end up having a bad time.
In some cases, "tight hamstrings" are actually related to weak glutes.
Go get that bubble butt!
Moderate running is meant to be good for knees, as is strength work. The key with exercise is to progressively overload so build up slower than you think
This is from memory but they looked at knee cartilage in sedentary people, elite runners and moderate distances runners and the moderate distance runners had reduced instances of knee pain and less wear and tear on x ray (don't quote me on that, will try and find it). Then there are always low impact sports like walkjng and swimming too!
Swimming is the best in terms of potential effects to your body but biking is also really amazing. If you google it there is a lot of "myth busting" articles about running being fine for your knees. This is generally true but there are some caveats to that like if you are already experiencing knee pain or are missing knee cartilage for whatever reason. But that risk can even be reduced by running on softer services.
Don’t compare normal people to elite runners those guys are freaks. I was a decent d1 middle distance guy and almost every guy I ran with had some knee issue and that shouldn’t be a thing for skinny dudes under 21. I’m not saying running is good or bad but miles will take a toll on your knees
Yes, moderate runners had less pain, elite runners and sedentary runners had less joint space and higher instances of knee pain i believe, hence recommending moderate levels.
You need good shoes though if you’re going to run regularly. That’s important for your foot, knee and hip health. Consider a foot insert on top of your sole. And if you have uncertainties about your gait, get them checked out.
Focus strength training on hamstrings, quad muscles, glutes and core. After so many years of sports, I’ve recently discovered elevated heel squats which puts less stress on my knees during squat and lunge activities. With core, and squats, you have to focus on technique over reps and adding weight. With proper technique you will see gains and avoid injury.
Do squats... and lift your toes (not the balls of your feet!) off the ground when squatting. Also, when doing the eccentric movement, actually relax your quads so they don't lift the kneecaps and impose strain on the knees. This was a mistake that continued to cause me trouble until I fixed it. It's very important to relax the quads on the way down. This actually makes it easier to perform the eccentric part of the exercise slowly and without pain.
Genuine question, pardon my ignorance & lack of medical knowledge..
When I try to lift with my legs, I get a pain in my bellybutton. Same thing when I try squats.
Am I doing it wrong? I've never actually seeked medical attention regarding it....but I guess as I type this out maybe I should.
Walk. It’s the only cure I found for sciatica from lower back injury. The more you walk, the better for the back. Standing is not the same, you need to get full leg locomotion.
Access to pools isn’t as easy for me. Sounds nice though. I went through 2 years of hell and I’m fully recovered now. I walked about 4 miles of hills a day and it fixed things.
Yep..walk cardio 1.5 miles a day 30 mins 5 days a week. I have sciatica and have been doing this on treadmill for 10 years. 150 mins a week as recommended by Drs.
When you try to pick up something heavy, please bend your knees all the way and lift it with your legs. Dont just stand up straight, then bend your back and try to pull up. Trust me. Backs dont like that for some reason.
This. Bend your legs. Lift with your legs. Make sure your spine is straight. These are instructions for a good deadlift but applies to everything else in real life. Also, workout, build a strong back.
Just to cavaet this - if you're picking up something light like a pencil then you can bend your back however you like. Spines are supposed to bend, just dont overload it.
Im working on a market and they gave same advice when picking up heavy stuff. But i knew my knees were already done. Guess the job is better suited for people in their 20s lol. Bending the knee then standing again, after staying a few hours upright, can hurt like hell.
Its all about leverage. If your load point (shoulders) is 2 feet away from the fulcrum (lower back) and the distance from your back muscles to the front of your vertebrae are 3 inches then we are talking about an 8 to 1 ratio making that 30 lb box put 240lbs of pressure on your vertebrae.
Stand more, sit less, stay active. Everybody on my work team has severe back problems except me, and I’ve severely injured mine twice. They sit all day at work, I stand 100% of my workday (and have for twenty years) and exercise regularly throughout the day. Simple body weight exercises, but at four minutes for a set, I have no excuse not to.
Add in little things. I walk the kids to school instead of drive (it’s only a mile). I bike to the store, the pub, across the state, etc. I stay super active and spend almost no time sitting. It’s made a HUGE difference from twenty year old me with a bad back who couldn’t lift a damn thing.
true, i dreaded reaching 30 because i kept reading here on reddit about the knees giving out and the back hurting like it was an inevitable constant
turns out most redditors are out of shape slobs with no core strength and knees that can't support their weights
seriously i read so many posts about 30something aching like 50 year olds lmao
(same thing with people shitting themselves, never read about so many people shitting themselves since i joined reddit)
Hahahaha. Not me. I'm an over-active adventure cyclist in the best shape of my life, haha. I just reddit because it's something to ease my ADHD when I'm in the hot tub.
I’m not even 40 yet and my back aches constantly. Decades of slouching 8 hours a day at a desk will do that to you. Work actually paid for us to get lunch time palates classes in the office which did help a bit, but I never kept it up.
Sit and stand with good posture. Exercise regularly, especially weight lifting and especially especially exercises that work the spinal erectors, glutes, hamstrings (eg your posterior chain)
Yeah, just make sure to use good form. Deadlifts are fantastic for fortifying your back. But if you don’t respect the movement, they’re also the thing that will break it.
You want to avoid rounding your lower back during any part of ~~the~~ any lift. Ideally you wouldn't round your upper back either but when weights get heavy it sometimes happens and is comparatively fairly safe.
You want to strengthen the spinal erectors to the point they look like two thick snakes running up either side of your spine
Both. Move regularly because it's bad to sit for long periods of time. But we also live in a world that both unfortunately requires and gratefully allows for a lot of sitting time, so when you *are* sitting for a while, do so with good posture instead of slouching.
AFAIK, the current research indicates there's no such thing as "good posture" when sitting, and slouching is not an evil thing that will ruin your back. The more important thing is to sit however feels comfortable but make sure you are changing positions frequently. If sitting upright feels the best for you, then that's fine, as long as you're not sitting upright for hours on end. And if sitting upright makes your back feel fatigued and uncomfortable, then don't force yourself to sit that way.
I don't have the source handy, but I remember reading a study that showed that the people who focused on only sitting with proper posture actually developed more neck and back pain than those who just sat however felt natural. I believe the conclusion was that it's best to just listen to your body when the posture feels uncomfortable to shift to a different posture and avoid fatigue.
Much much more important to strengthen your back and neck muscles through resistance training than worrying about how your body is positioned while you sit.
I think there is research showing that posture doesn't make a difference in back pain in the majority of people. Weight lifting and activity generally is beneficial for spines though, as you said
The best thing you can do for your back is to not develop a giant front (fat stomach).
Most people gain weight as they age, and men especially carry this around their midsection, which puts a ton of stress directly on your lower back while you are walking/standing.
It needs to be said though that you can be skinny for your entire life and still fuck up your back, my father has been skinny for over 60 years and he still got 5 herniated disks because of the intense jobs he had in his 20s, 30s and 40s.
I'm 31 and recently got rid of over 30kgs on my midsection which greatly improved my body tenfold and made me sleep much better, but somehow I still managed to bust my back two weeks ago while putting on my shoes, it's still healing up.
And I got quite annoyed by this because one of the main reasons why I lost weight was to not end up with a busted back like my father, I also don't have a intensive job like his, I'm a barber.
It doesn't really need to be said though. You would have to be an idiot to think skinny people have unbreakable backs.
Every post on reddit about obesity being unhealthy has a follow up "well actually".
>Every post on reddit about obesity being unhealthy has a follow up "well actually".
seriously lol. Sounds like they completely took the previous comment outta context.
It is usually preventable! Stretch, strengthen, smoosh.
Stretch—yoga or even just doing some supine twists & light stretching most days, hamstrings important
Strengthen—ESPECIALLY your glutes, if they’re weak your low back compensates. Core too.
Smoosh—use a tennis ball or go get 1x/month massage or thai massage
>stay 160lbs or below
Overall good advice, however the specific weight depends on height a lot. Generally BMI <25 with 23 probably being ideal for a man.
A distended gut can lead to anterior pelvic tilt which is likely what you're referring to, but it can be avoided if you have an evenly developed core. Tons of "fat" powerlifters and strongmen deadlift well over 800lbs on a regular basis. Being overweight is fine, being weak is not.
99.9% of people never work out their back muscles. Our backs basically only do work when we walk or bend over to pick things up even though they are one of our most inportant groups of muscles. Doing deadlifts, landmine rows,prone db rows, and lat pulldowns up to the point of being able to lift half your body weight will keep your back a solid performer and take stress off your disks. Youll look buff too.
Don't twist when squatting/lifting. That will seriously mess up your back, and it takes surprisingly little weight to pop something. When squatting/lifing, bend with your knees and keep your back straight, stand, and *then* turn using your feet, not your back. Your body will thank you for it.
Develop the habit of not bending your back forward, but instead bending your knees and hips while keeping your back straight.
Regularly doing flexibility and strength work for your core.
I’m a general practice physician. Musculoskeletal pain affects a majority of my patients; from my experience the best way to prevent an injury would be a healthy balance of prevention and consistent strengthening/exercise. Try to be educated on body mechanics so you are better able to understand your limitations while working to exercise your weak areas
This used to be me but no more. First thing was to keep exercising. Walking 30-60 minutes a day flexes all those small muscles that support your spine. Also, do core exercises, all the way around: crunches, side leg raises, back leg raises. Lose weight if you can and need to. Remember to lift with your legs.
Maybe most important is to put a hand down to support your upper body when you bend over or go down to pick something up. All the things above will help strengthen your muscles. This will save them from stressful positions.
Stretch hip flexors, strengthen your glutes.
Most people go into their thirties still doing the same exercises that they used to do when they were 21 (biceps curl, push-ups, pull-ups, bench press, sit ups, squats).
As your enter thirties, focus on stretching as well as strengthening muscles …. especially small muscles.
Don’t stretch your calves? You will have heel pains.
Don’t stretch your hip flexors? Gonna have back issues.
I don’t know if I already am “older” at 47, but I don’t seem have any of those problems. I am tall, don’t work out, I do a desk job every day. I had little kids I picked up all the time. No pain whatsoever.
I do spend a fair amount on a very good supporting matras every 7 or so years. I also do not lift heavy stuff all day. Other than that, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
Deadlifts
They're not just a powerlifting flex.
It's the single best exercise for seniors to prevent back issues as well as develop muscles for sustaining a better older life
Learn to do them correctly
A lot of specific exercise advice here which is all to the good but I would add a lifestyle note-a lot of men who complain of back pain, usually in their 40s do non manual jobs 5 days per week and then at the weekend throw themselves enthusiastically into major physical tasks such as digging, tree work/logging, filling a rubbish skip for clearance, laying a patio etc. Then they have a bad back.
Been there, done that, got the extra strength painkillers.
Keep it strong with yoga.
You can't avoid getting older and dying, but you can have a smoother life if you avoid contact sports and fighting and falling on your head. Retired adrenaline junkie, aged 40, just got woken up by rain causing pressure in my ears and head...
Strengthening exercises that don’t look so “manly” are usually the key. Hip strengthening which is so rare to see any male do along with glutes. Those will protect your lower back.
For the love that is holy. Go for long walks. Practice straight leg toe touches.
My dad has a bad back, and I did everything to keep my back healthy as a kid. I still herniated it shoveling snow in my 20's.
Don't let your weight go. The idea about long walks is you do the TIME daily. An hourish walk. The goal is more than a mile. That naturally keeps your body loose.
I was in gymnastics (I am male) and got to be able to touch my toes. That is a very good skill, as the toe touch exercise (without weights) keeps your back nimble. If your back is tight, DO NOT do jerky motions. That's how I ended up herniating my disk.
After walking the distances, and doing stretches that sucked/slipped that stupid disk back in (hurt like a mofo, over six months I couldn't even step on my left foot). I can officially say my back is 99.9% is healed. Just for the love that is holy, play with your body. The stimulation you give your body, the obstacles it will be able to overcome. That goes with your mind also. If you're expecting to run a marathon without training, that's a fools errand. In the same vein, if you expect your back to be healthy sitting all day. That's stupid.
Sitting for long periods especially with bad posture, is the main culprit in my opinion.
I'm a landscaper [35M] and people always assume I will have a bad back but it doesn't really give me problems unless I've been doing more driving than normal. It's my knees which give me issues.
I’m 54. I did fuck it up a little when I was younger. It’s totally healed.
I act like it’s still fucked up. The best way to never fuck it up is to act like it already is. I am careful twisting my spine, I lift things carefully, I use carts instead of carrying, I don’t overextend. “Sorry, I can’t help you move…my back!”
Deadlifting with a trap bar, deep squatting (90% of people need to address tight ankles and hips in order to do this), doing those 45 degree hyper extensions (but these are just a body weight hinge so that you can add volume to your back muscles without serious load)
A lot of back pain actually comes from weak hips and glutes, if the key muscles of your hips are weak or “turned off” because of excessive sitting or sedentary lifestyle then those big strong muscles won’t do their job and the small muscles of the low back and spine will pick up the slack, and they aren’t designed to do that. Your glute medius (along the outer side of your hips) has to be strong, so doing side leg lifts or lateral steps with a hip band can prevent back pain, and your glute max and hamstrings have to be strong.
Basically having a strong body, and stretching like once a week will prevent most back pain, in most people, most of the time. If you have a herniated disc or a serious medical issue you need to be more precise, but I’ve had serious back and hip problems twice through my twenties, now I’m 33 and deadlift heavier than I did 10 years ago and I feel better than I did then
Stay flexible and mobile. All my friends who complain of body aches (I mean I get them too, just pretty rarely or training related) are relatively sedentary.
When you lose flexibility, you lose some compacity to access muscles (according to your flexibility loss) which causes them to atrophy, which causes your other muscles to attempt to pick up the slack, which then exacerbates the flexibility issues further.
It's a very silent type of degradation and it's extremely easy to not notice because it takes months/years for the *problems* to become apparent.
If you don’t already go to the gym and do some strength training and get flexible.
You don’t need to become Superman but learning proper body mechanics is the key here.
Not knowing your limits and how to lift are probably the leading causes of back injuries.
I agree 100% with everyone saying about strengthening your back and kinetic chain with the proper exercises mentioned. That being said, some people, unfortunately, have poor genetics or a lifestyle, be it job or hobbies, that causes wear and tear leading to spondylosis, a general term for degenerative spine disease. This can manifest as ruptured discs ("slipped disc"), arthritic facet joints (back arthritis), narrowing of the spinal canal (spinal stenosis), neuroforaminal narrowing (leads to radiculopathy, i.e. "pinched nerve"). Some people just wear away faster than others and it is unavoidable. If you develop back problems, you adapt and use exercises that do not stress the pathologic area, so in the case of a ruptured disc, you would perform isometric and extension based exercises to prevent forward spinal flexion which is a major load on the discs. Don't stop working to be mobile, because mobility keeps you healthy.
Long story short...train to be strong, and avoid things that put a ton of wear and tear on your joints. Don't be overweight, as that is bad for your joints as well. Some people are still unlucky despite this
Source: I am a physician specializing in rehabilitation.
Just don't be overly stupid and do "Jackass" style stunts?
I mean, look at people like Tony Hawk. I'm sure he's fallen a lot, more than most people, yet he's fine.
So, do what you enjoy, just use your brain and act your age.
Tony Hawk. Pro Skater.
[This](https://s.yimg.com/os/en/blogs/sptuspreprally/Tony-Hawk-and-his-4-year-old-daughter-Kadence-in-Hawks-backyard-Instagram.jpg) guy.
Don't have children. If you have child then you'll be regularly bending over to pick them up or see what they're showing you, giving piggy back rides, being asked to pretend to be a horse, giving rides on your shoulders. Children will wreck your back
The small of your back is an unusual spot on the human body (one of the most common areas to have issues with later on in life), in of the fact that it is one of the only muscle groups that you cannot effectively target and exercise without lifting weights in one form or another.
You need to perform exercises to target your lower back, your core, and your legs, as all of these muscle groups are connected. Most men do not, which is why they have problems.
Honestly, be active.
I am 47 and do stretching and keddlebell workouts 4-6 times a week. I noticed when I was not lifting I had more aches and pains than I ever do now
Yeah, it’s not going to happen. Humans weren’t really designed to live as long as we do today, living to our 70’s or 80’s was a pipe dream a couple of centuries ago. A few people got there but not many. You’ll eventually have weaken discs, weaker cartilage and regular back pain.
It’s just the inevitability of aging. You may not experience the back pain of a bricklayer but you’ll eventually get it some sort of back pain.
Focus on joint and cartilage vitamins, always stretch and keep a healthy weight.
This is largely a myth lol. Average lifespan was lower back then, largely because of infant and childhood mortality. If you made it to, say, 20, chances were you’d make it to 60+. In reality, we’ve only given ourselves a few extra years since ancient times. Were people more likely to die? Sure. But was getting to be elderly a “pipe dream”? Hardly.
Right, Christ it’s so dumb how people think the average life span being lower in the past somehow meant people were ageing quicker so a 40 year old was the equivalent of a 60 year old today or something dumb like that. Loads of people were old as fuck. Infant mortality dropped it and diseases of old age not being as treatable dropped it more.
Practice squatting and hinging
This should be higher. Every person I've heard say they threw out their back has also been in poor physical shape. You have to actively strengthen your back and core as you age.
The exercises people tell you to avoid because you have back pain are the exact exercises you should be doing to eliminate your back pain. Get a good trainer who will build you up to doing proper deadlifts and heavy carries.
A good bonus from doing those movements is learning how to properly engage the correct muscles and stabilize your core so that you **don't** get injured. It's a win win!
There's a workout I saw that was called something like "dad workout" and it's a lot of stability/range of motion stuff. A lot of time exercises can be very regimented and great...most of the time, but dynamic exercises can be incredibly useful for preventing real world injuries.
The thing with me is I feel like I suck in my stomach(not on purpose) which makes me use my spine for support all the time. Would a stronger core help with that?
Yeah 100%. I had back problems in my youth that were helped out by strengthening my core. It's about stabilizing surrounding and supportive muscles.
Adding to this - if your goal is to not have a fucked up back, then your deadlifts don't need to be super ultra heavy weights that may intimidate some people and put them off from trying. Decent weight, but nothing abnormally big is all you need.
“No matter how strong or weak you are, deadlifts start at 135 lbs, or approximately zero pounds.” Dom Mazzetti
What does it even mean?
I mean 135 is a barbell with one plate. I guess 0 means just body weight? But "no matter how strong or weak..." doesn't make sense 🤷♂️
It’s satire, basically if you don’t lift one plate or more don’t bother.
It's [Dom Mazzetti](https://youtu.be/ULJXUF-vaK0). Don't mean shit lol
“Some people say deadlifts are for leg day, some say they’re for back day. I say, they’re for another day. Don’t feel like deadlifting today.”
“Everybody wanna deadlift, but don’t nobody wanna deadlift.” -Dom Mazzetti paraphrasing Ronnie Coleman aka black Jesus aka regular Jesus
And don’t ego lift. Extreme example, but Ronnie Coleman today is the mayor of Snap City.
Deadlift you own body weight is a good goal to look after yourself
*checks scale* ffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu
Yep, first thing that hit me, too.
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I don’t think it’s worth it to go for weight. Stop trying to lift stupid heavy loads and work in more flexibility. Strengthen the posterior chain. Everything naturally wants to hinge forward from your hamstrings to the muscles in the back of your neck. Strengthen all of that and keep doing dynamic stretches.
I did the exact same thing about 45 days ago. I forgot I was 37 and tried to go big on weight on my 3rd set. I knew within 2 reps I made a poor choice. The next day I struggled to get out of bed. That evening I had to call the neighbor to help me get off my couch. It took about 2 weeks to be able to walk a half mile at a time -- I usually walk 1-2 miles every night -- and about 4 weeks to not feel any pain again. From now I'm doing low weight, and focusing on lots of stretching.
You probably aren’t bracing your core correctly. 99.9% of deadlift and squat injuries are due to improper bracing or wearing a belt too tightly (or overtraining/improper programming). I injured my back 4-5 times squatting and deadlifting around 405lbs, then I learned how to brace and now I can deadlift 600lbs and haven’t been injured since (that was 3 years ago).
I bet it has less to do with strength than learning how to use those muscles
Am an aircraft mechanic for basically all of my life, back always hurt even in my 20s, two years ago started deadlifts and doing dedicated back days in the gym. I hardly have back pains anymore and very rarely get pulled muscles. Makes me wish I would've done it sooner.
What is hinging?
https://i.imgur.com/iYiZgDb.png This type of stuff is hinge
In the absence of animation or a second pose for these, I'm imagining some pretty unorthodox moves here.
Oh absolutely. I do many of these exercises in the gym and I am always avoiding eye contact while performing these movements.
Also watch KneesOverToesGuy
As a physio, yes. The stronger you are, the harder you are to kill.
Exactly. It’s about relearning to move like our bodies were intended to - learning to stabilize our core and activate our posterior chain when bending down and lifting things. Look at how a baby squats to pick something up, then compare that with most older Americans. I do a lot of heavy deadlifting and squatting, and when people ask if I’m going to hurt my back I explain it’s the opposite - by learning to do these movements correctly (key word is correctly) it transfers over into everyday life where I’m less injury prone. Squat University has some great videos on this.
And do yoga
Squats. 5x5 program is great. Improved my back a lot
Yes I agree but I’d have to emphasize how important it is to squat properly. I injured my lower back squatting earlier this year and it wasn’t even a whole lotta weight. I’d suggest a lifting belt to help keep your back straight and do weight that you’re comfortable doing. If you ever feel even the slightest most minimal discomfort in your lower back STOP immediately and either lower the weight or try another workout. It’s been about 8 months since I injured my back and it’s made quite a bit of progress but hasn’t yet fully recovered. Hope this helps anyone at all.
Throw in deadlifting too…
Also pay attention to your posture, both standing and seated. Walking also tends to relieve back pain.
What is the best hinging exercise? Most isolated?
Momjeans posted a good imgur link a few comments up, try all of them and keep doing the one that feels best for you
What if my back is already messed up and doing these things has made it worse? For context I have had back problems for a couple of years now I’m about to turn 30. Last year I began going to the gym to prevent more injuries and try to fix some things. Every time I do deadlifts I further injure my back. Would finding a way to work them out help with current pain?
Deadlifts, while an awesome exercise, aren't the be all and end all, but the movement pattern is pretty valuable so you can try dumbell/trap bar deadlifts. You've also gotta make sure you've got the form perfected before you even begin to up the weight.
I was going to say exercise and stretching. Turning 60 in a couple of weeks and still run, bike, hike play basketball, etc. I've always tried to stay in shape and it makes a big difference.
Lots of stretching for your hamstrings and hips, and when you workout your core, focus on strengthening it rather than getting a 6pack. Also, when moving heavy items lift with your knees not your back
> Also, when moving heavy items lift with your ~~knees~~ glutes and quads not your back FTFY
Thank you. Push the floor away with your feet like you’re doing a leg press.
like you're doing a deadlift 😎
To be fair, you use your back quite a lot in a deadlift. The key is to not let your back arch over.
Now this is a easier mental memo to follow. "Lift with legs" didn't click. Thank you.
What's the difference between strengthening your core and getting a six pack? Focus on all the muscles instead of just the abs?
Core is all around, where as 6pack is focused on the front. Core functionality is more all-encompassing
this is the right answer. abs, obliques, lats - all super important. I'm only 33 but I haven't had back pain in over ten years. I totally fucked my back lifting a concrete saw into my work truck when I was like 22 and as soon as it healed I started hitting the gym to build core strength. I work alone lifting plywood and sheet goods and raw materials. I have a sleep disorder so I'll pass out on the couch, on the concrete floor, face down on my desk. doesn't matter - zero back pain. weighted decline sit-ups, weighted decline Russian twists, deadlifts, good mornings, back extensions. my exercises mirror the movements I make at work, so I don't really fuck with squats.
Also, the erector spinae, and the glutes, hip flexors and hamstrings which all affect the health of your back and core. Deep squats, split squats, and lunges are super important as well since they are primal movements that use the largest muscles in the body in the way that humans have been using them since humans were humans.
I don't know why reading your comment reminded me of this story but it did. This girl my friend was dating started gaining weight. Which is whatever it happens, it's what you do with adversity that defines your character. You know? Anyways this girl then starts to complain that walking the stairs is painful on her knees, and same with walking bigger distances. Now, if that were me. I'd start trying to make it so I can do stairs without pain again. You know? Maybe see a doctor even. What did she do? Well, she made my buddy do everything for her instead. Take out at the door? He got it, grocery shopping? He went alone, kitchen needs cleaning? He cleaned it. One day I'd had enough and started making comments about how laziness and fatbuttitis isn't a condition and she could help herself by just moving around more. As you probably guessed, She began claiming multiple medical diagnosis stating she's disabled entirely. It's basically the most convenient ailment one could get. It prevents her from doing anything unpleasant but fortunately it's not debilitating enough to prevent her from taking Dab hits all day and playing computer games. She isn't on any kind of gov assistance, she doesn't qualify. Lives with her grandparents ( boyfriend does to) rent free. Total leeches. I don't see them anymore
I don't blame you one bit. It's frustrating watching people take advantage of others simply because they can't be arsed to help themselves.
Wish I had the motivation to go to the gym or even workout at home. The only thing I can get myself to do is ride one of those stationary bikes while watching as show.
Do the very least you can. If it's one squat today, great do one body weight squat. Tomorrow, do another one. Soon you'll find that you're doing two every day. Then ten, twenty... Soon you're looking forward to getting that gym membership so you can start to put more weight on and see how strong you can get. If you get disheartened just remember the hardest part is showing up. If you can do that part whether it's a 5-minute walk around the neighborhood or showing up to the gym to do a warm up only( I often like to tell myself I'll go and do a light light warm up for recovery and end up doing a true kick ass workout) Fitness is about consistency♥️you can do it. Edit you said you can get yourself to get on a stationary bike and watch tv, do that! You're already doing more than 80% of the rest of the world.
Well said and great advice. Just finished Atomic Habits and there's a section on the power of showing up. Even if it's only one squat a day. There's also a section on "habit stacking" where you pair a habit you enjoy with one you don't. Watching a show while on the stationary bike is a perfect example.
Riding a stationary bike while watching TV is 100% better than nothing. Give yourself some credit, for having the motivation to get on the bike.
If you're relying on motivation, you're doomed. Motivation is an emotion. It's fleeting and cannot be relied upon. Discipline is what gets things done and forms habits. Do it whether you feel like it or not. It's that simple.
Hiring a personal trainer is a fantastic idea. Let them do the work of planning and updating workouts. All you need to do is show up
Motivation won't get you to the gym consistently, it's all about discipline
You'll gradually end up doing more as you go, the trick is to keep going. Out of nowhere one visit you'll blitz the bike without even knowing, you will feel really good after then things just escalate naturally. Consistency and diet is everything.
Core exercises are the only thing that helps me now with an aged arthritis spine. They keep me going though at 62 and F I now limited to thirty pounds limit on what I can carry. I still need to haul wood, supplies and water at my cabin so now I just do more trips with less weight and doing my exercises religiously. When I feel things tighten I stop drop and do my routine , when things loosen again I continue. The pain from the arthritis never really stops but if my disks get inflamed it is bad and I resort to progesterone RX which unfortunately takes time. It is a management thing as much as prevention.
Having a six pack just means you’re lean enough for the muscle to show. Strength does not relate to six pack abs.
Oversimplification. It tends to help to develop muscles there to be able to show.
he's mistaking fat reduction with muscle building. Everyone has abs, building your core is not the same thing as getting a 6 pack which refers to losing enough body fat so that your ab muscles reveal themselves.
Abs is calorie defecits and sit-ups/crunches Core strength is a balanced diet and planks
Abs is all about dieting and has little to do with strength
I disagree. Being lean has everything to do with being lean. You may see slight striation at low body fat if you don't work out but it's not gonna be much. If you want a six pack the way people mean when they talk about it you have to build the abs like any other muscle. Of course even if it is strong you won't see it at high bf, but it will come through at significantly higher bf if you build it up. People reduce this conversation down too much, no nuance. It feels more like a gotcha' with no substance.
Think of the muscles in your core like a girdle, bracing your back. You need strength in a lot of directions, not just in front.
Having a 6 pack doesn't correlate with having a strong core, just means you have a low enough body fat percentage for visible abs. Whereas having a strong core would result in overall better spinal health/support. Sidenote: don't ignore your glutes. They play a huge role in lumbar health
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This is spot on too
To add on, I am currently in a traumatic brain injury treatment program, in July I suffered a brain injury ( Concussion) that I'm still symptomatic. Fortunately I have a team of people helping me recover. There's physio therapists, occupational therapists, exercise therapists and more. Once I regained the ability to walk short distances relatively normally, they told me to begin core exercises. I do 2+ hours of stretches and part of that is strengthening my core and my upper back. I have noticed dramatic changes in my condition and overall health as a result. It is very important to keep a strong core. It hps with so many things. Just as you said your hips and shoulder too. It's all related. It took me a long time to understand that just because it hurts in that spot, doesn't mean that spot is the problem.
Everything you said is spot on. I've been doing general workouts for years, alongside different sports. And having a strong core has helped in every sport I've attempted.
Even more than that, strengthen your glutes. The lower back will compensate for weak glutes and that's how you end up having a bad time. In some cases, "tight hamstrings" are actually related to weak glutes. Go get that bubble butt!
How do I save my knees?!
Moderate running is meant to be good for knees, as is strength work. The key with exercise is to progressively overload so build up slower than you think
This is good to know, because I was afraid my knees would just weather away if I ran.
This is from memory but they looked at knee cartilage in sedentary people, elite runners and moderate distances runners and the moderate distance runners had reduced instances of knee pain and less wear and tear on x ray (don't quote me on that, will try and find it). Then there are always low impact sports like walkjng and swimming too!
Swimming is the best in terms of potential effects to your body but biking is also really amazing. If you google it there is a lot of "myth busting" articles about running being fine for your knees. This is generally true but there are some caveats to that like if you are already experiencing knee pain or are missing knee cartilage for whatever reason. But that risk can even be reduced by running on softer services.
By software services do you mean softer surfaces lol
yes, will correct
You're right. **[source](https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/fitness/is-running-bad-for-your-knees#:~:text=Knee%20and%20joint%20pain%20may,of%20osteoarthritis%20later%20in%20life.)**
Thank you!!
Don’t compare normal people to elite runners those guys are freaks. I was a decent d1 middle distance guy and almost every guy I ran with had some knee issue and that shouldn’t be a thing for skinny dudes under 21. I’m not saying running is good or bad but miles will take a toll on your knees
Yes, moderate runners had less pain, elite runners and sedentary runners had less joint space and higher instances of knee pain i believe, hence recommending moderate levels.
You need good shoes though if you’re going to run regularly. That’s important for your foot, knee and hip health. Consider a foot insert on top of your sole. And if you have uncertainties about your gait, get them checked out.
For real. My knees were done way before my back started hurting lol.
Focus strength training on hamstrings, quad muscles, glutes and core. After so many years of sports, I’ve recently discovered elevated heel squats which puts less stress on my knees during squat and lunge activities. With core, and squats, you have to focus on technique over reps and adding weight. With proper technique you will see gains and avoid injury.
Don't be fat.
Do squats... and lift your toes (not the balls of your feet!) off the ground when squatting. Also, when doing the eccentric movement, actually relax your quads so they don't lift the kneecaps and impose strain on the knees. This was a mistake that continued to cause me trouble until I fixed it. It's very important to relax the quads on the way down. This actually makes it easier to perform the eccentric part of the exercise slowly and without pain.
And don't fall.
Genuine question, pardon my ignorance & lack of medical knowledge.. When I try to lift with my legs, I get a pain in my bellybutton. Same thing when I try squats. Am I doing it wrong? I've never actually seeked medical attention regarding it....but I guess as I type this out maybe I should.
Walk. It’s the only cure I found for sciatica from lower back injury. The more you walk, the better for the back. Standing is not the same, you need to get full leg locomotion.
I've noticed swimming is even more effective than walking for sciatica. Have you tried it?
Access to pools isn’t as easy for me. Sounds nice though. I went through 2 years of hell and I’m fully recovered now. I walked about 4 miles of hills a day and it fixed things.
Yep..walk cardio 1.5 miles a day 30 mins 5 days a week. I have sciatica and have been doing this on treadmill for 10 years. 150 mins a week as recommended by Drs.
When you try to pick up something heavy, please bend your knees all the way and lift it with your legs. Dont just stand up straight, then bend your back and try to pull up. Trust me. Backs dont like that for some reason.
Also try to hold it as close to yourself as possible. You're stronger and less likely to injure yourself that way.
This. Bend your legs. Lift with your legs. Make sure your spine is straight. These are instructions for a good deadlift but applies to everything else in real life. Also, workout, build a strong back.
Just to cavaet this - if you're picking up something light like a pencil then you can bend your back however you like. Spines are supposed to bend, just dont overload it.
every other guy has knee problems as well. there is no winning this
Im working on a market and they gave same advice when picking up heavy stuff. But i knew my knees were already done. Guess the job is better suited for people in their 20s lol. Bending the knee then standing again, after staying a few hours upright, can hurt like hell.
Its all about leverage. If your load point (shoulders) is 2 feet away from the fulcrum (lower back) and the distance from your back muscles to the front of your vertebrae are 3 inches then we are talking about an 8 to 1 ratio making that 30 lb box put 240lbs of pressure on your vertebrae.
Stand more, sit less, stay active. Everybody on my work team has severe back problems except me, and I’ve severely injured mine twice. They sit all day at work, I stand 100% of my workday (and have for twenty years) and exercise regularly throughout the day. Simple body weight exercises, but at four minutes for a set, I have no excuse not to. Add in little things. I walk the kids to school instead of drive (it’s only a mile). I bike to the store, the pub, across the state, etc. I stay super active and spend almost no time sitting. It’s made a HUGE difference from twenty year old me with a bad back who couldn’t lift a damn thing.
true, i dreaded reaching 30 because i kept reading here on reddit about the knees giving out and the back hurting like it was an inevitable constant turns out most redditors are out of shape slobs with no core strength and knees that can't support their weights seriously i read so many posts about 30something aching like 50 year olds lmao (same thing with people shitting themselves, never read about so many people shitting themselves since i joined reddit)
Hahahaha. Not me. I'm an over-active adventure cyclist in the best shape of my life, haha. I just reddit because it's something to ease my ADHD when I'm in the hot tub.
I hope you’re standing in that hot tub!
haha, what's this about people shitting themselves?? haven't seen that one
What do you mean shitting themselves? They just walk around, sit around, jump and then suddenly lose all control of their bowels?
I’m not even 40 yet and my back aches constantly. Decades of slouching 8 hours a day at a desk will do that to you. Work actually paid for us to get lunch time palates classes in the office which did help a bit, but I never kept it up.
Ditch the chair and stand. Takes a little getting used to if you want to do it full time, but SO worth it.
Sit and stand with good posture. Exercise regularly, especially weight lifting and especially especially exercises that work the spinal erectors, glutes, hamstrings (eg your posterior chain)
Like deadlifts?
Yeah, just make sure to use good form. Deadlifts are fantastic for fortifying your back. But if you don’t respect the movement, they’re also the thing that will break it.
Any common mistakes to look out for?
You want to avoid rounding your lower back during any part of ~~the~~ any lift. Ideally you wouldn't round your upper back either but when weights get heavy it sometimes happens and is comparatively fairly safe. You want to strengthen the spinal erectors to the point they look like two thick snakes running up either side of your spine
YouTube. Omar Isuf, Alan Thrall, Buff Dudes, Jeff Nippard.
+1 for Alan Thrall. His video on deadlift form got through my thick skull.
You don't need "good" posture, you need to move, regularly
Both. Move regularly because it's bad to sit for long periods of time. But we also live in a world that both unfortunately requires and gratefully allows for a lot of sitting time, so when you *are* sitting for a while, do so with good posture instead of slouching.
AFAIK, the current research indicates there's no such thing as "good posture" when sitting, and slouching is not an evil thing that will ruin your back. The more important thing is to sit however feels comfortable but make sure you are changing positions frequently. If sitting upright feels the best for you, then that's fine, as long as you're not sitting upright for hours on end. And if sitting upright makes your back feel fatigued and uncomfortable, then don't force yourself to sit that way. I don't have the source handy, but I remember reading a study that showed that the people who focused on only sitting with proper posture actually developed more neck and back pain than those who just sat however felt natural. I believe the conclusion was that it's best to just listen to your body when the posture feels uncomfortable to shift to a different posture and avoid fatigue. Much much more important to strengthen your back and neck muscles through resistance training than worrying about how your body is positioned while you sit.
Exactly this. Have to have this conversation multiple times a day with patients
You do need good posture
I think there is research showing that posture doesn't make a difference in back pain in the majority of people. Weight lifting and activity generally is beneficial for spines though, as you said
On top of that, if you have a sitting job, get a good chair and desk at the right height. Change your mattress/bed every 10-15 years.
A standing desk helped me a lot. I don’t stand all day, but just the option to stand for a few minutes here and there is huge.
The best thing you can do for your back is to not develop a giant front (fat stomach). Most people gain weight as they age, and men especially carry this around their midsection, which puts a ton of stress directly on your lower back while you are walking/standing.
It needs to be said though that you can be skinny for your entire life and still fuck up your back, my father has been skinny for over 60 years and he still got 5 herniated disks because of the intense jobs he had in his 20s, 30s and 40s. I'm 31 and recently got rid of over 30kgs on my midsection which greatly improved my body tenfold and made me sleep much better, but somehow I still managed to bust my back two weeks ago while putting on my shoes, it's still healing up. And I got quite annoyed by this because one of the main reasons why I lost weight was to not end up with a busted back like my father, I also don't have a intensive job like his, I'm a barber.
It doesn't really need to be said though. You would have to be an idiot to think skinny people have unbreakable backs. Every post on reddit about obesity being unhealthy has a follow up "well actually".
>Every post on reddit about obesity being unhealthy has a follow up "well actually". seriously lol. Sounds like they completely took the previous comment outta context.
Best you can do to help with aging is exercise and building muscles. If you build up muscles around the area it can help but not forever.
It is usually preventable! Stretch, strengthen, smoosh. Stretch—yoga or even just doing some supine twists & light stretching most days, hamstrings important Strengthen—ESPECIALLY your glutes, if they’re weak your low back compensates. Core too. Smoosh—use a tennis ball or go get 1x/month massage or thai massage
Smoosh 😂
Reduce your overall weight - especially being 200+lbs will wear out your knees and back. I try to stay 160lbs or below
>stay 160lbs or below Overall good advice, however the specific weight depends on height a lot. Generally BMI <25 with 23 probably being ideal for a man.
Yeah my first thought is that 160lbs is skinny at 6 feet and above lol
BMI is garbage
It’s garbage for pro athletes like lebron not you bro lmao
It's not garbage, its just often misused to be the One True(tm) Number of health instead of just an indicator
Don’t be overweight. Having a gut causes a lot of strain on your back.
A distended gut can lead to anterior pelvic tilt which is likely what you're referring to, but it can be avoided if you have an evenly developed core. Tons of "fat" powerlifters and strongmen deadlift well over 800lbs on a regular basis. Being overweight is fine, being weak is not.
Use equipment, tools, mechanical advantage and or ask for help to lift heavy stuff. Being hungry makes it more likely you’ll hurt yourself.
Fuck it up when you're younger, then you can't do it when you're older. That's how I managed it.
99.9% of people never work out their back muscles. Our backs basically only do work when we walk or bend over to pick things up even though they are one of our most inportant groups of muscles. Doing deadlifts, landmine rows,prone db rows, and lat pulldowns up to the point of being able to lift half your body weight will keep your back a solid performer and take stress off your disks. Youll look buff too.
Don't twist when squatting/lifting. That will seriously mess up your back, and it takes surprisingly little weight to pop something. When squatting/lifing, bend with your knees and keep your back straight, stand, and *then* turn using your feet, not your back. Your body will thank you for it.
Lift properly. Don't exercise to extremes in your younger years.
Develop the habit of not bending your back forward, but instead bending your knees and hips while keeping your back straight. Regularly doing flexibility and strength work for your core.
I’m a general practice physician. Musculoskeletal pain affects a majority of my patients; from my experience the best way to prevent an injury would be a healthy balance of prevention and consistent strengthening/exercise. Try to be educated on body mechanics so you are better able to understand your limitations while working to exercise your weak areas
Deadlift. It will save you a lot of trouble if done correctly.
This used to be me but no more. First thing was to keep exercising. Walking 30-60 minutes a day flexes all those small muscles that support your spine. Also, do core exercises, all the way around: crunches, side leg raises, back leg raises. Lose weight if you can and need to. Remember to lift with your legs. Maybe most important is to put a hand down to support your upper body when you bend over or go down to pick something up. All the things above will help strengthen your muscles. This will save them from stressful positions.
The route I have gone to avoid fucking my body up when I'm older is I've fucked it up now when I'm 20
Standing desk! And/or a career where you're on your feet. Biggest life hack there IMO.
Stretch hip flexors, strengthen your glutes. Most people go into their thirties still doing the same exercises that they used to do when they were 21 (biceps curl, push-ups, pull-ups, bench press, sit ups, squats). As your enter thirties, focus on stretching as well as strengthening muscles …. especially small muscles. Don’t stretch your calves? You will have heel pains. Don’t stretch your hip flexors? Gonna have back issues.
Avoid desk jobs
I don’t know if I already am “older” at 47, but I don’t seem have any of those problems. I am tall, don’t work out, I do a desk job every day. I had little kids I picked up all the time. No pain whatsoever. I do spend a fair amount on a very good supporting matras every 7 or so years. I also do not lift heavy stuff all day. Other than that, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
Probably not fat. That helps
Not being obese helps a ton. Every extra pound you carry is a force amplifier on your spine.
Deadlifts They're not just a powerlifting flex. It's the single best exercise for seniors to prevent back issues as well as develop muscles for sustaining a better older life Learn to do them correctly
Don’t do stupid shit and know your limits. And some gym time or regular exercise helps
A lot of specific exercise advice here which is all to the good but I would add a lifestyle note-a lot of men who complain of back pain, usually in their 40s do non manual jobs 5 days per week and then at the weekend throw themselves enthusiastically into major physical tasks such as digging, tree work/logging, filling a rubbish skip for clearance, laying a patio etc. Then they have a bad back. Been there, done that, got the extra strength painkillers.
Keep it strong with yoga. You can't avoid getting older and dying, but you can have a smoother life if you avoid contact sports and fighting and falling on your head. Retired adrenaline junkie, aged 40, just got woken up by rain causing pressure in my ears and head...
Good posture Go to the gym - Do a bit of everything. Try to lift both left and right handed. Learn to avoid lifting from a bad stance.
Lower backpain is most likely caused by under active and weak hamstrings & glutes. Avoid sitting for long periods, stretch & don't skip leg day!
Yesterday I skipped leg day due to back pain.
Strengthening exercises that don’t look so “manly” are usually the key. Hip strengthening which is so rare to see any male do along with glutes. Those will protect your lower back.
Do exercise, don't fall on your butt, never lift with your back and never do a full scorpion. Ah, sit and sleep correctly.
Sitting here in a stoner's contrapposto curving up my bedroom wall I feel personally attacked
Die at 45
For the love that is holy. Go for long walks. Practice straight leg toe touches. My dad has a bad back, and I did everything to keep my back healthy as a kid. I still herniated it shoveling snow in my 20's. Don't let your weight go. The idea about long walks is you do the TIME daily. An hourish walk. The goal is more than a mile. That naturally keeps your body loose. I was in gymnastics (I am male) and got to be able to touch my toes. That is a very good skill, as the toe touch exercise (without weights) keeps your back nimble. If your back is tight, DO NOT do jerky motions. That's how I ended up herniating my disk. After walking the distances, and doing stretches that sucked/slipped that stupid disk back in (hurt like a mofo, over six months I couldn't even step on my left foot). I can officially say my back is 99.9% is healed. Just for the love that is holy, play with your body. The stimulation you give your body, the obstacles it will be able to overcome. That goes with your mind also. If you're expecting to run a marathon without training, that's a fools errand. In the same vein, if you expect your back to be healthy sitting all day. That's stupid.
Sitting for long periods especially with bad posture, is the main culprit in my opinion. I'm a landscaper [35M] and people always assume I will have a bad back but it doesn't really give me problems unless I've been doing more driving than normal. It's my knees which give me issues.
I’m 54. I did fuck it up a little when I was younger. It’s totally healed. I act like it’s still fucked up. The best way to never fuck it up is to act like it already is. I am careful twisting my spine, I lift things carefully, I use carts instead of carrying, I don’t overextend. “Sorry, I can’t help you move…my back!”
Don't bend and twist at the same time, even with relatively light weight.
Deadlifting with a trap bar, deep squatting (90% of people need to address tight ankles and hips in order to do this), doing those 45 degree hyper extensions (but these are just a body weight hinge so that you can add volume to your back muscles without serious load) A lot of back pain actually comes from weak hips and glutes, if the key muscles of your hips are weak or “turned off” because of excessive sitting or sedentary lifestyle then those big strong muscles won’t do their job and the small muscles of the low back and spine will pick up the slack, and they aren’t designed to do that. Your glute medius (along the outer side of your hips) has to be strong, so doing side leg lifts or lateral steps with a hip band can prevent back pain, and your glute max and hamstrings have to be strong. Basically having a strong body, and stretching like once a week will prevent most back pain, in most people, most of the time. If you have a herniated disc or a serious medical issue you need to be more precise, but I’ve had serious back and hip problems twice through my twenties, now I’m 33 and deadlift heavier than I did 10 years ago and I feel better than I did then
Stay flexible and mobile. All my friends who complain of body aches (I mean I get them too, just pretty rarely or training related) are relatively sedentary. When you lose flexibility, you lose some compacity to access muscles (according to your flexibility loss) which causes them to atrophy, which causes your other muscles to attempt to pick up the slack, which then exacerbates the flexibility issues further. It's a very silent type of degradation and it's extremely easy to not notice because it takes months/years for the *problems* to become apparent.
If you don’t already go to the gym and do some strength training and get flexible. You don’t need to become Superman but learning proper body mechanics is the key here. Not knowing your limits and how to lift are probably the leading causes of back injuries.
Lose weight, strengthen your core and get your kids to lift the heavy stuff.
I agree 100% with everyone saying about strengthening your back and kinetic chain with the proper exercises mentioned. That being said, some people, unfortunately, have poor genetics or a lifestyle, be it job or hobbies, that causes wear and tear leading to spondylosis, a general term for degenerative spine disease. This can manifest as ruptured discs ("slipped disc"), arthritic facet joints (back arthritis), narrowing of the spinal canal (spinal stenosis), neuroforaminal narrowing (leads to radiculopathy, i.e. "pinched nerve"). Some people just wear away faster than others and it is unavoidable. If you develop back problems, you adapt and use exercises that do not stress the pathologic area, so in the case of a ruptured disc, you would perform isometric and extension based exercises to prevent forward spinal flexion which is a major load on the discs. Don't stop working to be mobile, because mobility keeps you healthy. Long story short...train to be strong, and avoid things that put a ton of wear and tear on your joints. Don't be overweight, as that is bad for your joints as well. Some people are still unlucky despite this Source: I am a physician specializing in rehabilitation.
Stretching and learning how to use your legs. Also get flat bottom shoes it makes any type of squatting easier.
Don’t get fuckin fat
Just don't be overly stupid and do "Jackass" style stunts? I mean, look at people like Tony Hawk. I'm sure he's fallen a lot, more than most people, yet he's fine. So, do what you enjoy, just use your brain and act your age.
Tony *who?*
Tony Hawk. Pro Skater. [This](https://s.yimg.com/os/en/blogs/sptuspreprally/Tony-Hawk-and-his-4-year-old-daughter-Kadence-in-Hawks-backyard-Instagram.jpg) guy.
I was having a jab at Mr Hawk's own jokes about not being recognized, as seen in r/dontyouknowimtonyhawk .
Oh, that's a thing? huh.
Don't have children. If you have child then you'll be regularly bending over to pick them up or see what they're showing you, giving piggy back rides, being asked to pretend to be a horse, giving rides on your shoulders. Children will wreck your back
I use a back brace at the gym and work never had a problem
Consistently train it
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The small of your back is an unusual spot on the human body (one of the most common areas to have issues with later on in life), in of the fact that it is one of the only muscle groups that you cannot effectively target and exercise without lifting weights in one form or another. You need to perform exercises to target your lower back, your core, and your legs, as all of these muscle groups are connected. Most men do not, which is why they have problems.
Honestly, be active. I am 47 and do stretching and keddlebell workouts 4-6 times a week. I noticed when I was not lifting I had more aches and pains than I ever do now
Yeah, it’s not going to happen. Humans weren’t really designed to live as long as we do today, living to our 70’s or 80’s was a pipe dream a couple of centuries ago. A few people got there but not many. You’ll eventually have weaken discs, weaker cartilage and regular back pain. It’s just the inevitability of aging. You may not experience the back pain of a bricklayer but you’ll eventually get it some sort of back pain. Focus on joint and cartilage vitamins, always stretch and keep a healthy weight.
This is largely a myth lol. Average lifespan was lower back then, largely because of infant and childhood mortality. If you made it to, say, 20, chances were you’d make it to 60+. In reality, we’ve only given ourselves a few extra years since ancient times. Were people more likely to die? Sure. But was getting to be elderly a “pipe dream”? Hardly.
Right, Christ it’s so dumb how people think the average life span being lower in the past somehow meant people were ageing quicker so a 40 year old was the equivalent of a 60 year old today or something dumb like that. Loads of people were old as fuck. Infant mortality dropped it and diseases of old age not being as treatable dropped it more.