You finally built the ultimate home gym and found a program that you love enough to stick too. You’re feeling strong and healthy, and you’re even fitting into the ‘one day’ jeans you keep hidden away in your closet. Then you wake up one morning and notice your back is a little sore. It’s almost time for your next workout but your back is bothering you more and more. Now you’re worried. Is it safe to train? Maybe you should rest and let things heal instead. You don’t want to lose all the momentum you’ve built with your program, but you don’t want to make your back worse either.
If this story sounds all too familiar, you’re in the right place. I’m going to let you in on a little secret that I share with all of my clients when they find themselves in this exact predicament.
Drumroll please…
Ready for it?
Here it is -
Lift those weights! Pull, push, squat and lunge!
If strength training is part of your normal routine, keep doing it.
Unless your symptoms are caused by serious tissue or neurological damage, which is rare, movement and exercise are among the most effective treatments for back pain. That includes you, kettlebells.
Whether we meet virtually or in-person, determining whether or not a serious condition is causing your pain is always the first step. Your back might feel sore when you lift, but we usually find that this is a reflection of how sensitive the tissues are rather than how damaged they are. As you continue to workout they often become less and less sensitive. That means you can keep making gains and feel safe doing it (fist bump!).
So keep those ‘one day’ jeans handy because they’re not going back into storage anytime soon!