Saying hi and inviting thoughts
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 4:05 pm
Hello everyone!
I discovered the gym with my school rugby team, some twelve years ago now. Being better at shifting iron than with ball in hand, I quickly fell into powerlifting, which I did non-competitively for about 10 years (no competitions at uni or on my rock, otherwise I would have.) I've been consulting ExRx pretty much the whole time, but this is my first foray into the forum. The lift I'm most proud of was a double body-weight squat. I had a shoulder stabilisation op in January 2009, which I recovered from without losing too much strength, but the wind had been taken out of my sails and I as started to concentrate more on career I switched from powerlifting to kettlebells. Kettlebells are fun. I like them. Unfortunately, my back doesn't. I have a low back problem (degenerating lumbar vertebrae) which was probably caused by a squat that went wrong (bad form) about ten years ago. Having spent most of my life walking round with one leg longer than the other probably didn't help either (I have been wearing a heel-raise for several years now to level things off.) Since I started a new job a year and a half ago I've not really 'had time' for the gym.
However, this is not a pity parade!
I'm pretty certain my back has been worse since I stopped going to the gym. Between that and the simple fact I miss the exercise, the high, and the people, I'm going to get back up there.
My training goals now are:
- Core strength, to help protect my back and generally improve posture (KBs are superb for this, alas).
- 'Functional strength', i.e. useful strength/muscular stamina (unlike what powerlifting gives you!)
Where I would like your advice is on how to achieve this, as it is quite different from my experience. I'm thinking some combination of bodyweight exercises and dumbbell work might answer, but I'd like to hear others ideas. Happy to clarify anything or answer questions.
Thanks,
Chez
I discovered the gym with my school rugby team, some twelve years ago now. Being better at shifting iron than with ball in hand, I quickly fell into powerlifting, which I did non-competitively for about 10 years (no competitions at uni or on my rock, otherwise I would have.) I've been consulting ExRx pretty much the whole time, but this is my first foray into the forum. The lift I'm most proud of was a double body-weight squat. I had a shoulder stabilisation op in January 2009, which I recovered from without losing too much strength, but the wind had been taken out of my sails and I as started to concentrate more on career I switched from powerlifting to kettlebells. Kettlebells are fun. I like them. Unfortunately, my back doesn't. I have a low back problem (degenerating lumbar vertebrae) which was probably caused by a squat that went wrong (bad form) about ten years ago. Having spent most of my life walking round with one leg longer than the other probably didn't help either (I have been wearing a heel-raise for several years now to level things off.) Since I started a new job a year and a half ago I've not really 'had time' for the gym.
However, this is not a pity parade!
I'm pretty certain my back has been worse since I stopped going to the gym. Between that and the simple fact I miss the exercise, the high, and the people, I'm going to get back up there.
My training goals now are:
- Core strength, to help protect my back and generally improve posture (KBs are superb for this, alas).
- 'Functional strength', i.e. useful strength/muscular stamina (unlike what powerlifting gives you!)
Where I would like your advice is on how to achieve this, as it is quite different from my experience. I'm thinking some combination of bodyweight exercises and dumbbell work might answer, but I'd like to hear others ideas. Happy to clarify anything or answer questions.
Thanks,
Chez