PoppaScotty

I've got an appointment with my Doctor for next week. Will provide feedback then. To be clear, I wasn't looking for medical advice, but for alternative ways to work the muscles. For example; which machines might target the lower back so it doesn't get ignored?

I get pain almost all the time in my lower back. It's the bent over position that seems to have the biggest impact. (Though I can do bent over rows without the same types of pain.) Aches aren't a problem... I love the post workout aches that come with working the muscles. Unfortunately, I go to a big box gym where the philosophy is to burn as many calories as you can during the time you're there. All the barbells are attached to Smith Machines, so I mostly do Dumbbell work. My technique could be off, but I think it has more to do with my previous injuries. I'll see if I can figure out a way to put together a video this week. Thanks for the feedback, SpecialSundae!

From everything I've read I'm supposed to listen to my body, so that's what I've been doing. Years ago I hurt my back on the job and ever since it's been the main thing keeping me from working out as much as I did before the accident. Now I'm finally getting back in the gym on a regular basis and enjoying my strength training workouts more than I can put into words. That said, on a few workouts I'm noticing a sharp shooting pain in my lower back when I do deadlifts and reverse flys. I've had a trainer spot me to see if my form is off, but she told me I should stop strength training and do more cardio to burn more calories, sooooo... yeah. I've tried even doing these workouts with only body weight and I get the same pains. I'm going to be seeing a doctor in a few weeks and having a serious conversation with him about my back, but in the meantime, I'm looking for some advice on how to work out the same muscle groups (Hamstrings and lower back) with a more targeted approach. 1. Which machines or free weight workouts can I use to put a lighter load on the muscles in my lower back? 2. Can I stick with the leg press and Squats to build my hamstrings or are they too focused on the quads? If they are, what might be a good alternative to target my hamstrings without the pressure on my lower back?

All great stuff. I had a crazy week with Christmas and didn't get to the gym nearly as much as I wanted. (I still got there, but workouts were shorter than I wanted.) Finally to the point where the gym isn't a burden anymore, but something I'm looking forward to every day... Which is a huge help. However, I'm running into a new problem that I'm going to post in a new thread. Thanks for all the great feedback.

Awesome! I'm coming from the other direction. Hope to see you there soon!

WOOT! Get it girly! I wanna hear you come back and tell us you're up to ten. Then twenty. Then 50! You can do eet!

lol... Thanks Rooks. I didn't realize that was the point of that one. I'll add it back in and be the weirdo walking around the gym carrying dumbbells.

Ultra, I don't want to tell you how to determine your 1RM, but it's basically start light and work your way up. You can google it and get some great ideas on exactly how to determine it. (Because it's not just the "heaviest" you can lift... It's more like "a little more than you can actually warm up to".) I'd suggest finding one of those resources and following their directions. The way I did it last night was to do 5 reps with just the bar, then 3 reps with progressively heavier and heavier loads until I couldn't move it without losing form. I'll be posting numbers tomorrow night when I have more time. As for when to start, I suggest just jumping into SOMETHING. Every day we say "tomorrow" was another day we wasted that could have gotten us towards our goals. Not only that, but when you start a routine you'll find that you want to tweak and adjust it a little bit based on what your body tells you. I'm about to head out to the gym tonight for a light workout before I go home to bed. Good luck and keep at it!

Hey Ultra! Welcome to NF! (I feel weird saying it, I'm still new myself. lol...) For strength gains check out the warrior forums. You'll also want to research bodybuilding. That's where the size comes from. If you're really new, there's a lot of resources out there for guys like us. Stronglifts 5x5 is super easy to understand. Starting Strength is basically the strength training beginner's handbook. Muscle and Fitness mag has a website with a wealth of great information, so does Men's Health. I read that stuff whenever I'm not doing anything else. Have you figured out your 1 rep maximums yet? I'm going to figure out some of mine tonight so I have numbers to compare to as I progress.

Awesome story! I love how positive this place is! Can't wait to hear how you're progressing down the road. Also major congrats to that guy of yours! 141 lbs is amazing!

That EMT test looks a lot like the ones for firefighters I've seen before, and the APFT you and I were doing a decade (or two) ago. Try the farmer's carry with some moderate weights to build grip strength, form is important though. Don't want to hurt your back with those weights. And maybe WALK the treadmill with a high incline. It'll build leg muscle (which you need on that test) that won't tear up your joints as much. It's how I warm up before I lift weights. (Usually set the incline around 6 and the speed at 2.5 mph, though sometimes I go faster or slower.) It's also low impact and I can catch up on the news when I do.

Man do I hate the treadmill, too. Back in highschool and in the Army I used to run 3-5 miles every day. Then I got sedentary and just started ballooning. My food intake never really went down and I still ate crap... I have some back issues in my lower back too. Injured myself on the job a few years back and afterwards every doctor just says "Well, you need to lose weight." No amount of cardio felt okay because I just kept killing my back and knees with the effort, and it made me loathe the next "workout". Now I'm doing strength training, keeping the weights low and focusing on technique. Already seeing some great improvements and my girlfriend just told me she can see that I'm slimming down today. I've also noticed that building the muscle is more fun, and as I get stronger my back is feeling better too. (Even though my weight is actually UP since I started...) You might look into the hotel room workouts and bodyweight workouts, as mentioned above. I'd also suggest some of those light "lady weights" as you called them. Doing things like Standing Flys, Standing Shoulder Presses, Squats, and even Deadlifts might help build some back muscle, but check with the doctor before you do them. (You'll feel silly, but you can totally do them without weights or with dumbbells, too. It's a good start to work on form and it's more activity and stimulation than those muscles are probably used too.) The most important thing is to keep the effort exciting for you. Find a reason to keep going back to the gym. That was the hardest part for me.

You're going to be so awesome! Have you tried Yoga yet? I gave it a shot a few months back and found it wasn't really my thing, but I've known a few ladies who had tremendous success with it. Combine it with the bodyweight or hotel room workout routines and you'll be kickin' ass and takin' names for sure. My ex wife was the same way as you with her weight and metabolism. She (and one of my coworkers) call it "skinny-fat". Just because they're thin doesn't mean they're healthy. Check out the story about Spezzy and look at how good she looks despite being a smaller woman. You tone up and build those muscles, and you'll look great even if you're 95 lbs. (Though you'll probably be quite a bit heavier with plenty of dense muscles.) As for motivation, find a way yo remind yourself of that goal so you can see it and focus on it after the babies go to sleep. I've got two kids myself, I know how precious that time after they fall asleep can feel... It's up to you how you use it. I wish I'd realize how much I could have "decompressed" by working out instead of watching reruns on YouTube.

Be careful with those sweeteners with Aspartame and Glucose (Or whatever it is). I read an article recently that talked about how Aspartame affects your body's ability to properly process sugar, and ends up being worse for you than just having the sweet drink. I'd suggest asking the doctor about the affects of artificial sweeteners and see which ones s/he recommends. I have the same problem though, not with soda but with sweet drinks... Especially caffeinated ones. I'm a huge fan of Sweet Tea, and had to find alternatives to drink. Turns out about half my daily calories were coming from my drink choices. Lately I've been drinking a lot of green tea, as the sugar content is about half of most of the pre-sweetened teas. I'm also brewing my own so I have more control over how much sugar goes in. I'm finding the unsweetened "naturally" flavored options work okay as well, like mint.

I don't have a pic handy to get started, but I'll come back later on and get one posted. I "discovered" a new passion for strength training a little over a month ago and started doing research. Watching videos, reading articles, and learning everything I could. Been hitting the gym since the beginning of Thanksgiving week this year, and tweaking my workout every visit to fit my goals and experiences. I'm working for size right now, but as I get more comfortable with the form, I'll switch my workout and start working purely on powerlifting with occasional swaps to bodybuilding. I started out at 296 lbs on November 23rd. I'm now 302 lbs. My first few weeks have seen significant gains in muscle mass in my legs, shoulders, and back, as well as fat loss that's visibly noticeable. (People who don't know I'm working out are asking me if I'm losing weight.) I can already see the difference myself, too, which just makes me excited to get back to the gym every day. My workouts are still focused on form and reps, which is (apparently) great for building size and is having noticeable improvements on my strength as well. I'm glad to have found the Nerd Fitness community, and the positive people on these forums are great.