Calisthenics only?

[Rockfella]

Hi,
I am recovering from an injured lower back, it is much better now. I do mild streches, some drills and hang on a bar (spine decompression?) for lower back 3-4 times a week and want to start working out again using only calisthenics at home (till my back is fully recovered). I don't think i can program my own push-up/pull-up program hence this thread...
Any inputs are most welcome.


Tia.

[Regin Smidur]

This one seems to work for some people: http://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum...4f4e753dde357d

There's also: http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/2010/3...ngth-training/

[kinski]

how strong are you roughly? bodyweight strength training is great but I wouldn't recommend blindly following the killroy template right off the bat, because for some people working on "planche" isometrics is really a waste of time.
Steven low's book "Overcoming Gravity" is a great place to start. Calisthenics are great for the upper body, but most non-elitist gymnastics snobs would agree that squats and deads are a better way to build leg strength than pistol squats. That being said, spending time on pistol squats while your back is injured is a good idea. They sound lame, but in my opinion they are fairly hard to do, and working on them improved my balance and ankle flexibility. You could also include sprinting and jumping into your program. For upper body, I like to do wtd chins and wtd dips primarily, as well as inverted rows (from a front lever tuck) and one arm pushups. Hanging leg lifts are great as well. For "skill" work I stick to hand stands, l-sit walking, and elbow levers. Its pretty fun and a good change of pace from SS and 5/3/1 type programming.

[veryhrm]

What kind of "back injury" do you have ? Waiting until your back "is fully recovered" is probably a bad idea as has been discussed many times in many threads on the subject on the board.

(i'm not a doctor or coach and this isn't advice to do anything)

[Rockfella]

These looks too extreme. I just want to do a bit of bodyweight training while i'm off SS. Something like bodyweight squats>push-ups>Inverted rows >one day rest>squats>push-ups>pulls/chins??? (till i feel my back gets better). Thanks for replying

This one seems to work for some people: http://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum...4f4e753dde357d

There's also: http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/2010/3...ngth-training/

Not at all, i've done a bit of SS in the past but have not trained since the last six months. I know free weights rule by miles, just that i don't want to be inactive more due to back pain hence thinking of BW exercises to start off.

how strong are you roughly? bodyweight strength training is great but I wouldn't recommend blindly following the killroy template right off the bat, because for some people working on "planche" isometrics is really a waste of time. Steven low's book "Overcoming Gravity" is a great place to start. Calisthenics are great for the upper body, but most non-elitist gymnastics snobs would agree that squats and deads are a better way to build leg strength than pistol squats. That being said, spending time on pistol squats while your back is injured is a good idea. They sound lame, but in my opinion they are fairly hard to do, and working on them improved my balance and ankle flexibility. You could also include sprinting and jumping into your program. For upper body, I like to do wtd chins and wtd dips primarily, as well as inverted rows (from a front lever tuck) and one arm pushups. Hanging leg lifts are great as well. For "skill" work I stick to hand stands, l-sit walking, and elbow levers. Its pretty fun and a good change of pace from SS and 5/3/1 type programming.

I injured it an year ago deadlifting, and my back hurt at the same place last month on while i was keeping an empty beer mug on a side table! Been to doc, he gave some meds and exercises which i've been doing. I don't know when my "back will recover" guess i need to do extensive low back exercises/stretching/hyper-extensions and will try n hit the gym after a month or so... ??

What kind of "back injury" do you have ? Waiting until your back "is fully recovered" is probably a bad idea as has been discussed many times in many threads on the subject on the board.

(i'm not a doctor or coach and this isn't advice to do anything)

[kinski]

I would not say free weights rule "by miles"- that is a dogma that is perpetuated on these forums and by Rip. The program you suggested could work, but eventually you'd get to a point where you're repping in the 100's for pushups and squats. I would really suggest looking into the more advanced bodyweight training options. You can reach astounding levels of strength and athleticism through bodyweight stuff if you do some research and get started on the right progressions. A good starting routine for strength could be very similar to the one you've proposed:
Pistol Squats>One arm Pushups>Weighted Chins>Hanging leg raises. Then you could work on hand balancing if you wanna be able to do cool shit at parties.
Another day could be Sprints>Handstand Pushups (start against a wall with partial range of motion, progress to do them free standing)>inverted rows (or front lever progressions/tuck front lever rows)
Finally you could go with Jumps>Wtd. Dips>L Pullups etc.etc.
You could do quite well with the upper body lifts I mentioned, and they would mostly preclude you from getting unnecessarily fat. However, the leg stuff is pretty suboptimal compared to squats and deadlifts.

[Rockfella]

I can barely do 7 push-ups and 3 pullups as if now so I think I can do this BW program for 2-3 months till I’m able to crank out 30 pushups in one set OR do 12 pulls?
Squats i can start with 5 sets of 5, then keep on increasing 1 rep in each set EVERYTIME i squat, till it reaches 15, then will start increasing sets and finally reach 10 sets 15 reps??? then i have to do some hyperextensions for lowback strength (which is hurt at this time)
What say?

I would not say free weights rule "by miles"- that is a dogma that is perpetuated on these forums and by Rip. The program you suggested could work, but eventually you'd get to a point where you're repping in the 100's for pushups and squats. I would really suggest looking into the more advanced bodyweight training options. You can reach astounding levels of strength and athleticism through bodyweight stuff if you do some research and get started on the right progressions. A good starting routine for strength could be very similar to the one you've proposed:
Pistol Squats>One arm Pushups>Weighted Chins>Hanging leg raises. Then you could work on hand balancing if you wanna be able to do cool shit at parties.
Another day could be Sprints>Handstand Pushups (start against a wall with partial range of motion, progress to do them free standing)>inverted rows (or front lever progressions/tuck front lever rows)
Finally you could go with Jumps>Wtd. Dips>L Pullups etc.etc.
You could do quite well with the upper body lifts I mentioned, and they would mostly preclude you from getting unnecessarily fat. However, the leg stuff is pretty suboptimal compared to squats and deadlifts.

[veryhrm]

...
I injured it an year ago deadlifting, and my back hurt at the same place last month on while i was keeping an empty beer mug on a side table! Been to doc, he gave some meds and exercises which i've been doing. I don't know when my "back will recover" guess i need to do extensive low back exercises/stretching/hyper-extensions and will try n hit the gym after a month or so... ??

What was the diagnosis from your doc? The only "meds" i'm aware of for back pain are pain killers and muscle relaxants so stuff to treat the symptoms not any underlying problem.

If he prescribed some exercises that suggests he doesn't think anything is actually seriously broken.

Therefore you should have been back in the gym the next day doing something like the Starr rehab protocol which, though specified for muscle belly issues, seems to work pretty darned well for the random back-pain spasm/injuries of unknown provenance that seem to afflict half the people here from time to time (which is actually probably not much more than the general population).

I like to do it w/ squats and RDLs. That's how you go from crawling around on the floor one day to being back to your worksets in a month or 2 (or 3). If you lay off the injury beyond the first couple of days it doesn't heal right and just becomes a recurring issue.

read this:
http://startingstrength.com/resource...t=10986&page=1

then read this:
http://startingstrength.com/resource...3352#post43352


(like i said before, i'm not a doctor or coach and this isn't advice to do anything. )

edit: also it is traditional to reply BELOW the quote. In an email top-posting is ok and normal, on a forum it's just weird.

[Rockfella]

What was the diagnosis from your doc? The only "meds" i'm aware of for back pain are pain killers and muscle relaxants so stuff to treat the symptoms not any underlying problem.

If he prescribed some exercises that suggests he doesn't think anything is actually seriously broken.

Therefore you should have been back in the gym the next day doing something like the Starr rehab protocol which, though specified for muscle belly issues, seems to work pretty darned well for the random back-pain spasm/injuries of unknown provenance that seem to afflict half the people here from time to time (which is actually probably not much more than the general population).

I like to do it w/ squats and RDLs. That's how you go from crawling around on the floor one day to being back to your worksets in a month or 2 (or 3). If you lay off the injury beyond the first couple of days it doesn't heal right and just becomes a recurring issue.

read this:
http://startingstrength.com/resource...t=10986&page=1

then read this:
http://startingstrength.com/resource...3352#post43352


(like i said before, i'm not a doctor or coach and this isn't advice to do anything. )

edit: also it is traditional to reply BELOW the quote. In an email top-posting is ok and normal, on a forum it's just weird.

You are correct, doc made me do some mild exercises and concluded there was nothing seriously wrong. Gave painkillers and nerve relaxants. I could barely walk for 2-3 days.. It was that bad! That is why I am really concerned this time. Maybe it is an underlying problem that surfaced after an YEAR? This happened on July 5th 2012 (second time) while keeping an empty beer mug on a table!! Well I did stretch my back (prolly way too hard) and massaged it a day or two before and I think it triggered something after getting up early morning prior to that day.
Read somewhere :
12. Disc hydration status affects spine function.
When you go to bed — and stay there for hours and hours — your spine has no compressive loading because of the horizontal position. As a result, the discs "hydrate" overnight, and expand as a result. Expanded discs create a stiffer spine — and one that is less effective in buttressing shear stress.
I've known of people who have herniated discs picking up pencils or just tying their shoes — and the one thing that seems to be consistent with all of them is that it happens first thing in the morning. First-thing is just not a good time of day to flex the lumbar spine. You need to give the discs time to "dehydrate."
The good news is that most of this reduction in disc hydration status occurs in the first hour that we're awake (we actually lose a little bit of our height over the course of the day). It's one reason why I'm not a huge fan of training first thing in the morning.
However, I know that's the only time of day a lot of you can train, so I usually suggest the following:
1. Wake up a few minutes earlier, and make sure you're standing.
2. Take a hot shower to get your body temperature up (and give you a little kick in the pants).
3. Plan to avoid flexion at all costs in your training sessions — including flexion exercises without axial loading.
4. Do a thorough warm-up (shameless plug #2: crafty of me, huh?).

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...er_back_savers

[Rockfella]

"I like to do it w/ squats and RDLs. That's how you go from crawling around on the floor one day to being back to your worksets in a month or 2 (or 3). If you lay off the injury beyond the first couple of days it doesn't heal right and just becomes a recurring issue." Really ... ????? The pain scared me so much i thought i should just lay off!!! Thanks for this info! I'll keep this in mind.