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Comment by throwaway-1209 | Hacker News Reader

I had really bad lower back pain years ago. Started going to the gym and doing weight training. Went from not being able to deadlift 80 lbs without pain to 495lbs for 3 reps. No back pain now. I also recommend "Starting Strength" by Mark Ripptoe. It works. I wish I could convince my wife to do back squats and deadlifts. She's also having back problems but she's stubbornly refusing to do anything about them.

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Over 6 years ago I came across the same online resources about strength-training as you.

Without question, weight training has been the best outlet from my professional + social life. for decompressing and preserving my body's well-being, specifically with regards to posture and mental focus over 8+ hour workdays.

Many conservative training cycles later and I'm squatting/deadlifting over 200kg.

Like you, the only sad part about it is how hard it can be to persuade some men and women to take part in the sport. Some people have major hangups about their body image, injuries and discipline.

I really wish I was exposed to strength training during my school years. It's sad I only came across it randomly while doing Crossfit in my mid twenties.

I have the complete opposite experience. I messed up my lower back doing t-bars after a long break from the gym (very stupid I know) and haven't been able to workout much at all for almost a year now. I'd definitely suggest consulting with a personal trainer before seriously considering weight training. It's getting better now and I slowly start training my back again, but holy crap it's been very painful 6 months.

I've seen a handful of friends injure themselves weightlifting over the years, and almost every incident stemmed from poor form and/or too much weight.

I don't know if I'd recommend a personal trainer for anyone seriously considering it, trainers aren't cheap and most people aren't likely to stick with weight training. If we're talking weightlifting as a sport, yes you should definitely be working with experts whether trainers or fellow weightlifters.

I'd recommend anyone new to study up on form when you start working out, and maybe ask a trainer at the gym you go to to give you a quick form check.

Proper form and reasonable weight are important. I've had a few injuries due to those as well.

That's not the exact opposite experience, that's just stupid. You have to work up to the weight. If I walk into the gym and try lifting my PR while cold, I will almost certainly fuck up my back. That's why coaches make so much emphasis on warm up, gradual weight progression, and leaving your ego out of it. And of course you have to know where your limits are. I'm never going to be a pro, so I set my training limit for deadlifts at 2.5x my body weight and for squats at 2x for 1 rep. I do go beyond that every now and then, but only when I'm feeling up to it. With proper nutrition and training those are realistic goals for an able bodied male to achieve over the course of 1.5-2 years starting from the untrained state.

> That's not the exact opposite experience, that's just stupid.

Please don't be rude in comments here.

For somebody who is new to weightlifting and not terribly frail, it is almost impossible to get injured if you just start with an empty bar and then progressively add 5lbs each session.

Go really slowly as a complete beginner. Your muscles are getting stronger much faster than your tendons, inviting injury.

5 lbs each session quickly gets you to a pretty heavy weight, and you may not have proper form—I did this and I got to a point where if I continued the same way I would have almost certainly messed up my back doing deadlifts. I'd temper this advice with the warning that once it starts feeling pretty heavy (and long before that as well!), you should definitely get advice on your form, be it from a trainer or friends.

Couldn't agree more with your advice, but I'll just point out: once you hit weights where you can injure yourself, you're by definition no longer new to weightlifting. Plus you've already reaped most of the health benefits that being stronger bestow. Beyond that, you're no longer lifting for health.

I cannot agree more based on evidence of myself and my wife who do weight training. Now only if losing weight was as simple as gaining strength...it only takes discipline multiplied by weeks and months!

Losing weight is honestly just about developing good habits and being aware of what you eat. Over the past year I've lost 65 lbs calorie counting on an IIFYM-style diet, while lifting. Once the routine is established and you have a go-to set of foods you can hit, it becomes pretty easy.

The big thing for me was not having off-limits foods. If I want pizza, I'll have pizza, but I log it and adjust my intake for the rest of the day to get those macros balanced. This kills the "I want it because I can't have it" temptations and has the effect of pushing me towards more naturally-healthy foods, because I can have 2 gigantic chicken breast instead of a piece of pizza, and I know which one is going to satisfy me more.

Yep, this is exactly my story. My posture is also much better. Weight training really had a massive positive impact on my life.

Me too. Another vote for "Starting Strength" being a life changer.

I weight trained for a good 5 years. I then had a scaphoid wrist fracture and can't put much stress on wrists. Be careful, if you overdo it like me, then you may have to go years without lifting at all. I can't even do a pushup now.

Also doesn't help that Healthcare in US is so ridiculously expensive that a single mistake will cost you months of salary.

A variant of starting strength is "StrongLifts 5x5", which comes with a great app (regardless of platform). My morning back pain has evaporated. The only thing I'd say is to supplement basic strength training with a calisthenics (core) exercise & pull-ups after, say, a year-or-so. Personally, I don't think the basic strength training don't focus on functional strength enough, in the long run. I still stay away from things like CrossFit — I just know too many people who've hurt themselves doing that stuff, as they're really not strong enough to do these more advanced systems.

I have sciatica and life long issues with my back. It has come to a head that if I don't lift weights for a week my pain comes back. But like you I did the Starting Strength method and can deadlift 320lb without pain.

I had back injuries from weightlifting decades ago and found the only way to eliminate the pain is to "get back on that horse" and start lifting again.

I recently went to extremely low reps with the heaviest weight I can lift. My strength is now increasing rapidly, and it's far easier/shorter than slogging along with 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps each. Only downside: I need more rest. I _never_ hold my breath and go to great lengths to ensure my breathing is steady as I do every lift.

Before I tried this I did the best I could to ensure there were no tendon weaknesses and that my joints were in good condition.

Suggest ab exercises to her as well. It could be that her ab muscles aren't strong enough so her back is taking on more load than it should. Works the same with basically any front/rear muscle pairs (pecs & lats, biceps & triceps, etc.)

Have her try to stick with exercises that are more upright ab exercises. Roman chair is a better choice than sit-ups.

Also, gluteal exercises that don't put too much weight on the back help as well such as leg extensions pushing back with that foot strap on your foot work well.

> Roman chair is a better choice than sit-ups.

Anything is better than situps, since situps don't actually work the abs and are murder on the back.

The best ab exercise that I have found is a heavy ass deadlift. Barbell squats are good too. They actually train _core strength_ rather than just abs, which is what you need. The advice is: start with compound barbell exercises like squat and deadlifts, then incorporate others as needed. Don't ignore cardio.

Agreed but substitute swimming or elliptical for jogging/running as the lower impact will be easier on the back and accomplish the same thing.

Deadlifts and squats, properly performed (and in many instances, performed improperly) are not hard on the back. If you start with an empty bar and add a little weight each time, they will make every part of your back stronger and more resilient to the vagaries of life as a physical being.

I had minor back pain and also pickup strength training including doing "starting strength". The biggest difference though was reading "Becoming a supple leopard" and focusing on getting mobility and flexibility back to my lower body. Getting your pelvis back into a neutral position will do wonders for your back but that requires focusing on short hamstrings and hip flexors that comes with sitting all day.

It doesn't do anything for endurance though. I watched my weightlifter friend struggle to carry a 40 lb pack during a hike with 3,000 ft elevation gain. He looked like he was just dying the whole way, while his biceps bulged through his shirt. He got to camp about 45 minutes after I did, and I was at my comfortable, light breathing pace.

Not sure why you were down voted, I remember a weight lifter who were at the top of their field in an interview saying he was so out of shape he couldn't play with his kids.

Weight training is great, in moderation, like anything else.

That's because he didn't train his endurance, not because strength training lowered his endurance.

You can train both and improve in both to a non-trivial level.

Of course. For endurance I got into the habit of doing daily HIIT cardio. Instead of "Netflix and chill" it's Netflix and cardio for me. Pro tip to those who would like to get into the habit: pick a tv show and only watch it while you're on your stationary bike.

Endurance is a different adaptation that strength. Somebody who is merely strong will only be modestly more "in shape" than somebody who does zero exercise. Expecting strong people to be adapted for endurance is like expecting marathon runners to deadlift 400lbs.

Strong people can get in shape, though. Take a look at crossfit athletes.

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