Q: I’m a guy in his mid-thirties who loves to train heavy. Problem is I did some major damage to my lower back as a result of a skiing accident last Fall. How can I modify my mass building workouts to put less stress on this weak link?

A: There are four areas that you need to give attention to in order to prevent your already fragile back situation from worsening. Let’s take them one at a time:

(1) Choose exercises that reduce the risk of lower back injury. That means taking out heavy squats and replacing them with heavy leg presses, swapping bent-over and t-bar rows for seated machine rows (use the machines that have a chest pad), and cutting out heavy shrugs and dead-lifts. Do as many of your exercises as you can seated to improve back stability. Ideally, you should sit on a shoulder press seat that has a good back support.

(2) Always perform your movements in a lower back friendly way. Keep your lower back arched and your stomach pulled in during movements. Do not, however, contract your abs during the movement as this will indirectly lead to slight low back rounding. Never bounce the weight or allow momentum to do the lifting for you – rather perform both positive and negative parts of the movement in a slow, controlled manner.

(3) Use your weight belt properly. Most trainers who use belts tend to rely on them too much. Doing so will leave you with weak core muscles in the abdominal and spinal erector areas. By all means use a belt but do so only on maximum or near maximum lifts and when taking a set to failure.

(4) Strengthen your lower back and abdominal muscles. Start doing hyperextensions, using just your body-weight as resistance. Do these twice per week, performing three sets of 12-15 reps per session. You should also be working to strengthen your abs and obliques as these work synergistically with the muscles of the lower back.

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