Healthy Spirit Club E-Module #12
LOWER BACK INJURY AND STRENGTH TRAINING
It's true! The most frequent cause of Americans missing work is lower back injury accounting for more than 300,000,000 doctor visits each year. Most of these injuries are preventable and are caused by improper lifting, weak muscles, and neglect of flexibility exercises.
Why does lower back pain (LBP) occur?
All of the muscles of the lower back work together to stabilize, flex, extend, and twist your spine. If you over exert or stretch one of those muscles too far, pain usually follows. When lifting an object from an area lower than your waist, it is important to bend at the knees (squat), keep the patella (knee cap) behind the plane of the toes, and breathe out (exhale) as you stand. Sitting on the job most of the day and leading a sedentary lifestyle also contribute to low back pain and injury.
Can LBP be avoided?
There are activities you can do to help prevent lower back injury. After your cardiovascular workout, stretch the hamstrings and lower back muscles. In addition, abdominal and low back strengthening exercises should be a part of your exercise routine. The abdominal muscles support the lower back muscles and create better posture which can decrease your chance of LBP. However, some types of LBP result from vertebral disk injury. This type of pain may require physical therapy or even surgery and may not be related to the stabilizing muscles.
Although there are many myths in circulation about resistance training, otherwise called weight training, individuals can obtain many benefits through proper education and guidance.Why should I resistance train?
After age 25, the average person will lose 1.5 pounds of muscle mass every year for the rest of his or her life. A seventy year-old man has lost over half of his muscle mass during his lifetime without regular resistance training. To counteract this, consistent weight training should be incorporated into your exercise program. Research has proven that muscular gains of 10% or more can be obtained after a 10-week resistance training program.
When I lift weights, am I burning fat? What about calories?
Fat is burned mainly through cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise at an elevated heart rate after a minimum of 20 minutes. Resistance training does not burn the same amount of fat but it will raise your RESTING METABOLISM (minimum calories needed by the body to sustain daily activities) by increasing your lean body mass, or muscle weight. Since muscle burns more calories at rest than fat, your daily caloric expenditure will increase. This means that you are burning a higher number of calories throughout the day, even on days you do not exercise.
Is spot reduction possible?
Spot reduction implies that fat can be burned from specific areas of the body through weight lifting (e.g. stomach, triceps). Weight training will not burn large amounts of fat but it will tone and strengthen underlying muscle.
As a woman, will I gain large amounts of muscle and become bulky?
Women do not produce the same amount of necessary hormones, primarily testosterone, as men to produce large quantities of muscle. However, women can incur the same benefits from resistance training such as increased resting metabolism, greater strength, muscle definition, and a decreased risk for osteoporosis.