Feb/101
First Day Back at the Gym after 6 Months
Today is my first day back at the gym. I took off about 6 months due to pinched nerves in my lumbar spine. I used to be big into heavy weights and building strength. I was younger then and had different goals. I have changed my goals since my injury and just decided to exercise for overall health, stay in shape, and to take care of my back. I eliminated squats, deadlifts, clean and jerks, and the snatch from my routine. I’m trying not to do anything that will compress my spine.
Since this is my first day back, I decided to do a simple light weight full body workout just to get back into the swing of things.
I first started off with 10 minutes on the elliptical. I decided to give up jogging because it’s a high impact exercise. I’m trying to minimize any extra stress to my lower back.
I then did the following exercises:
- Bench Press
- Leg Press Machine
- Shoulder Press
- Bicep Curls
- Tricep Press
- Calf Raises
- Situps
- Bent Over Rows
- Deadlifts (very light weight, slow, feet close)
I did each exercise for 2 sets of 12 reps. I did not go to failure. I’m just trying not to injure myself by jumping back into things too quickly.
After I finished my workout, I laid down on a decline bench and stretched and decompressed my spine.
Well I’ll keep all of you updated on my progress. Thanks for reading.