Advice on recovering from bulging disc surgery

[JLascek]

Hey Coach,

A good friend of mine who is in his 30's will be having surgery to remove a bulging disc in his lower back. He has been sedentary for at least a year prior. Do you have any experience with someone recovering from this type of surgery? Any advice on when to start barbell training?

It would seem like the progression should be something along the lines of:
PT --> Basic Calisthenics w/ PT --> Barbell Training

Thoughts?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Seems like a reasonable progression, although a guy without a history of barbell training is going to be very reluctant to do it after back surgery. But maybe not. There are occasional examples of people who come to effective methods of training through rehab, but it's an uphill swim against the Forces of Conventional Wisdom that one always encounters in surgery and rehab.