Advice for back ache having wife

[Sherm Churlish]

Hello,

My wife hates going to the gym and has the usual lower back soreness as a result. I'm trying to figure out the least amount of training she could do to mitigate this.

I'm thinking something like squats or deadlifts once a week, with load and reps somewhere between the SS LP and the Starr injury protocol. I don't think I could get her to do squats with the bar because of the pain involved with getting used to it. So maybe DLs once a week?

Thanks in advance.

[Eric Schexnayder]

Probably not what you want to hear, but from a brief experience I had, don't try to coach your wife or do any kind of programming or anything for her. Your wife is an adult too, and I assume she can read, so if she's interested enough give her your copy of the book and let her learn on her own (or help her find a coach / the many resources on this website). You can't force it on her anymore than you can force it on a random member of society. We all want the best for our spouses, friends, and families, but at the end of the day you can only control yourself. And when someone says "Well, I'll do it if you teach me, but I only want to do this one part" then they are not taking on the ownership, accountability, or responsibility required for a long term thing like strength training.

Regarding your actual question though, if she's not willing to learn the squat then you're not left with much. You can see if she'll front squat or high bar squat, but those are not in then novice program for a reason. Oddly enough, The Press is actually the thing that makes my back feel the best; one day it was stiff from squats and after pressing it felt brand new. Between that and The Deadlift she can get in a simple full body workout. Frankly though if The Squat bar position discomfort is too much for her to handle I can't imagine she'll enjoy The Deadlift start position much either.

[AndrewLewis]

DON'T COACH YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER OR RELATIVES! DON'T DO IT!

You'll need to characterize the pain better for anyone to give advice:
How bad is the soreness? (No pain, slight annoyance but doesn't affect daily life, mild annoyance and slows down parts of daily life, debilitating pain)

Is it sharp or dull?

What makes it worse?

What makes it better?

Is it constant or intermittent?

[Sherm Churlish]

Thanks for the responses.

I try not to give advice, and definitely wouldn't coach her. I was going to forward some articles from here, based on this feedback, but I was already on the fence about putting my two cents in, so I'll probably just leave her alone.

I'm guessing it's medium pain, makes her grumpy. Dull, with a little radiating pain down back of one leg. She does the lifting program and cardio machine the gym trainer suggested, which stops it for two-three days. Not going makes it worse.

She's going to be thrilled that the main advice is for me to STFU! Hehehe.

[AndrewLewis]

Depending on the machine, it might make it worse.

IT band syndrome is frequently associated with rowing, bicycling, and squats. And the style of pain you describe definitely fits IT band syndrome's symptoms.

[Sherm Churlish]

Depending on the machine, it might make it worse.

IT band syndrome is frequently associated with rowing, bicycling, and squats. And the style of pain you describe definitely fits IT band syndrome's symptoms.

Huh!
Most of the people (including myself) who get something like that, have been fairly sedentary. I thought that it would have been the connective tissue tightening from inactivity. She usually reports relief after doing an elliptical or something like that.

[Sherm Churlish]

And thanks, I'll look up IT band syndrome.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

My wife hates going to the gym and has the usual lower back soreness as a result. I'm trying to figure out the least amount of training she could do to mitigate this.

I am probably thick, but this makes little sense. She has back soreness because she hates going to the gym? If that's the case (and that's what you wrote), then the best solution would be for your wife to stop doing something she hates.

If instead she hates doing specific exercises (a more plausible scenario), I would suggest to let her do what she likes. with time, she might even start to like going to the gym, and that would open up all sort of other possibilities.

IPB

[Sherm Churlish]

Going to the gym gets rid of the aches pretty quickly, but she doesn't like going.

Yup, I'm going to leave her alone to figure it out.

[samking7185]

Going to the gym gets rid of the aches pretty quickly, but she doesn't like going.

Yup, I'm going to leave her alone to figure it out.

For what it's worth, NOT going to the gym has always made my back soreness worse