Lower Back Pain

[34109411]

i’m still pretty young but i would not say that i am strong. i’m now using a drysuit and steel tank plus a lot of weight, and man its heavy! in the future i would like to go to doubles, but i think i would mess up my back if i did that right now. does anyone have some exercises they recommend to strengthen their lower back or back in general to help prevent injuries from diving? i want to be physically fit for diving and looking at the big picture to still be diving without problems as i get older.

well the less you carry you tank the better it will be. i put my tank near the entry point most of the time i gear up in the water. I even carry the tank in a small folding cart to the dive site.

Core training, strength training don't use weights.

 

[grantmac]

I completely disagree about weights. Learn to squat and squat heavy, nothing else will extend your ability to perform longer.
If I could give my younger self one piece of health advice it would be to train with weights.

 

[Kahuna.]

wrongly done squat will make it worst. Do all kind of strength and core training. Don't use weights.
(but yes squat are done if you know how to perform them).

My suggestion would be to do them right.

 

[Kahuna.]

I completely disagree about weights. Learn to squat and squat heavy, nothing else will extend your ability to perform longer.
If I could give my younger self one piece of health advice it would be to train with weights.

Spot on. Train to lift heavy weights on your back by lifting heavy weights on your back. Learn the technique, start off light with progressive overload. Look at the Starting Strength program.

If Corki can do it, so can you.

Strength Training for Older Adults | Grant Broggi

I have learned quite a bit during my last ten years of barbell coaching. I first began by coaching young Marines, mostly men aged 18-22 before beginning to coach the public out of my garage, and then ultimately two gyms...yet, out of all the people I have coached, I have found that coaching my...

startingstrength.com

 

[34109411]

most at

My suggestion would be to do them right.

most at the gym will still do it wrong thinking they do it right !

 

[Kahuna.]

most at

most at the gym will still do it wrong thinking they do it right !

Sounds like scuba diving.

 

[34109411]

i was going to state the same. Squat is a good exercise if done under supervision. For someone having already back pain it might make it worst. i am 6. foot 2 220 pound. I learned over the years what's good and what's not for my back.

One thing for sure i never experienced any back pain while scuba diving . It s the most relaxing thing for me. Hopefully i will dip in in two weeks or so water is too cold right now at 50 F.

Be safe

 

[uncfnp]

FWIW, I attended a conference many years ago and one of the speakers was a well known sports medicine physician in New York, Dr Jordan Metzl. He strongly advocates plank exercises for back/core strength. Basically it is just the yoga plank position (in correct form) held for 1 minute, rest and repeat for a total of three. Plank can be on hands or elbows or move between. Simple.

And while correctly done squats can help strengthen core it is even better for leg muscles (as one could imagine) and by strengthening the leg it can help reduce chronic knee pain.

 

[Kahuna.]

The McGill big 3 is another set of core exercises (which includes a plankish exercise) which is a great supplement to strength training.

 

[KiLLAH-WHALE]

I did some core exercises yesterday and man I'm sore today! Never thought diving would be the impetus for me getting stronger. I also started running last month to help with diving, and the general goal of being (more) healthy has been so I can keep diving later in life and be better prepared physically if an emergency occurs. I guess when you're hooked you're hooked.