back problem while doing abs

[Dannyboy]

ok can someone help me out here...... I want to start working my abs more, it's not that I mind doing a little work but I have this back condition see.....whenever I go into the rep range in which I feel them burn my back kills me and I have to stop, making it very hard for me to effectively train my abs.
btw, the exercises I do are; various crunches and various rotating and kicking moves. by the way I'm limited to exercises I can do on the floor or standing, I don't have a pull-up bar or whatever. so someone....? much appreciated!

 

[sysopt]

If you have a disc problem I dont know what to tell you. Maybe you should get a medicine ball.

 

[Dannyboy]

well I don't know EXACTLY what it is, see...I had this car accident 10 years ago, but I guess that doesn't help much, huh.....damn this sucks.

 

[MuSuLPhReAk]

Try doing quarter cruches...hold for a sec or two on top. Avoid full sit ups and roman chair situps as they put a lot of stress on the lower back. Try the medicine ball too. If the pain is still there you may have a serious problem. Go get it checked out.

 

[Dannyboy]

thnx for the advice. i did get it checked out, but i was told there was nothing I could do about it. tough shit eh. oh well.

 

[b fold the truth]

Louie Simmons says that if you are doing sit-ups and your back hurts...you have a weak back and you need to strengthen it.

B True

 

[Dannyboy]

I knew someone was gonna say that but I CAN'T strengthen my lower back due to the complications that come with training it. well 'can't' is not the right word, it's just that it's very hard.

 

[b fold the truth]

Please explain man..please explain in detail. I was told when I weighed 152 that I couldn't gain weight and that I would always be skinny..if not die soon. 7 years later I weighed 305...I CAN do it.

B True

 

[MuSuLPhReAk]

If u need to strengthen your lower back try hyperextensions, deadlifts, and seated rows. Start off very light and I mean very light since it may hurt u. Do this for awhile and if still no improvement then go get it checked from someone else. A specialist maybe. Remember not all doctors are the same. Some just don't give a F#$k. Try finding a good sports medicine doctor to help u.

 

[Dannyboy]

thnx again fellas! much appreciated. I've thought about deadlifts but it's just too much. so those're practically out. I DO do seated rowing, and I must say those are the best for me. but i guess i should get it checked again, since I can't provide you with enough information. it is a spinal condition (I think) I just dont know what its called.

 

[Skeeter1]

are you doing anything to strengthen your lower back ?

 

[Dannyboy]

like I said, I do seated rows. for upper back I used to do bent over rows (yates) and one armed rows but those put too much strain on my lower back.

 

[calvesodeath]

With a back problem you may not be able to do deadlifts but you should be able to do some sort of lwer back extensions to strenthen your back.

 

[TheProject]

I've also got a really weak lower back, and I was told to do hyperextensions every other day to help strengthen. I started out doing 3 sets of 5, and I'm up to 3 sets of 15 after 2 months. However, I had someone there correcting my form the first time I did 'em so I didn't make things worse.

Crunches still kill me after the first set of 25, and I occasionally have to stop during my second set, or it gets hard to breathe. I personally like to do crunches with my back resting on an aerobics ball. I can usally get more out before I have to stop, if I have to stop at all.

The roman chair doesn't hurt my back, but I'm still not strong enough to bring my legs all the way up.

 

[TheProject]

Forgot about deadlifts: didn't even attempt them at first, largely because I couldn't arch my back going into it.

I'm just now getting to the point where I can do 'em, and I've got someone watching me to make sure I keep my form.

 

[spatts]

If you think about the anatomy in that area of the body, it makes sense that working your abs would strain your back if it's weak. Those muscles support one another. Most of the people I see going around complaining about lower back pain actually have weak abs. Their poor backs are carrying those suckers around all day. Why does a pregnant woman's lower back ache? It's holding up everything in front of it; and I've seen some pregnant looking guys! LOL.

Project has strengthened his back unbelieveably in the last two months. Was previously physically incapable of arching his back...didn't know how to contract the muscles he couldn't feel to do it. We were finally able to do deadlifts for the first time last week, because he now understands the difference between arched, hunched, and flat. So wouldn't you know it, he's crankin out the crunches.

WTG, Project!