Back from a short ban. This thread has really seemed to blow up in the last few months. Lots of new faces posting form check videos and the like. Awesome!
I have been rehabbing my back with great success the last few weeks. I am feeling a lot better and have been going to the gym 4x a week. I re-aggravated a herniated disc L5-S1 squatting a few weeks ago. I was in very bad shape. I could hardly sit down for more than 5 minutes, could hardly walk. When I did walk I was hunched over and in severe pain. I had severe shooting pains down the left side of my leg and stabbing pains in the low back.
I decided to do some research online and watched some Dr. McGill videos and saw youtube vids on the Mackenzie press up. I began to incorporate these exercises in the morning after a warm shower and they have really seemed to help me.
Every morning after a warm shower I do some Mackenzie press-ups and do 3 sets of bird dogs. When I go to the gym later in the day, I continue to do the Mackenzie exercises, bird dogs and walk speed intervals on the Stairmaster. I took Advil the first week but am no longer taking any pain medication for my back. I feel so much more mobile right now. I can actually sit at my desk at work and not be in severe pain!
I am even back to lifting. I am doing OHP (belted), Bench (taking it easy here), chin ups (getting stronger here did 13, 7, 4 last session).
Air squats and empty bar squats I can do easily but weighted squats are out for now and so are deadlifts. However I have been doing rack pulls with just the empty bar. After about 8 reps this actually gives me a little "pump" in the low back and seems to get blood flowing in the area. I am not pushing it AT ALL because I want to give my back some time to heal but I think this may be a good way to get some direct low back work in and keep the weight to a minimum.
I have been working on jump rope as "skill work" and I'm terrible but getting better at it! I bought one of those Everlast jump ropes from Modells but I think I need a new one. This one is kind of shitty compared to the jump ropes they had at the Crossfit affiliate I used to go to. Anyway, if anyone has any other good low back strengthening exercises they can recommend I am all ears.