Congrats! I've been there. If I can offer advice, it's easy to overdo it. You're on the right track, focusing on volume.
Tempo work did well for me - it is self limiting in terms of loading, and you can really focus on form. I liked 3-0-0 squats (3 seconds on the way down, no pause, normal speed on the way up) and 2-0-2 Romanian deadlifts for my recovery.
I think that has been the problem in the past. Worried about losing strength so jumping back in before I'm ready and re-injuring - rinse and repeat.
I like the tempo work idea, increase intensity without increasing absolute weight/strain. I am doing Romanians and am also focusing on unilateral work with Bulgarians/lunges to try and improve stability.
If you haven't already, Barbell Medicine has some good articles on this topic. If you're interested, look for the one on pain in training, and there's one for common pain rehab mistakes.
I love barbell medicine programs. I started my journey on their bridge program
Agreed. They put out lots of good content via their articles and podcast as well.
Thanks I’ll look through it
Oh man, sweet little setup, I miss mine. Had to move and give it away. Enjoy, pace yourself, and know that I may not envy your back pain but I envy your… rack?
Thanks - love having a home gym. I delude myself I’m saving money not paying for the gym membership but realistically the pay back period is still 5-10 years out.
I wanted to ask what would be some good exercises for building up lower back muscles? I thought squats are mainly for leg muscles, or am I wrong?
Squats and deadlifts activate the lower back in a stabilizing fashion, which is almost always the way the lower back is used.
Hyperextensions can allow you to target them directly as assistance work, however, for example.
Back extensions are probably the best ones as those directly train lower back muscles with full range of motion, but any deadlift variation, good morning and rows without chest support do train lower back in isometric holds as well.
You're not wrong, squats are mainly for legs, but as those require bracing it trains core muscles as well and lower back falls under core muscles too, though it's questionable how effectively it trains lower back muscles in comparison to direct work.
Thanks for the information, I’ll look into it :)
Squats are primarily a leg/quad exercise but they are irritate my back injury so I’m glad I’m able to get back to them. Squats definitely require back strength even if that isn’t the primary purpose. The classic all around posterior chain/lower back exercise is the deadlift but hyperextensions/good mornings and other variations all are good too.
What do you mean by "building up lower back muscles"? Understanding your goals would be helpful. Honestly deadlifts are a one stop shop and by far the best IMO, but I also like one leg stuff because it requires different stabilization (e.g. lunges, step ups). Planks help balance out the core too. The overwhelming majority of people would benefit from regular deadlifts, and other than specific sport needs or mobility issues, are enough.
