Day 4 of Primal Blueprint Challenge -- Why is my back killing me?? page

[denisedb]

Doing pretty well on this so far, following the daily fitness routines, but I cannot stand up by 5:30 pm. Granted, I'm a mom of two rambunctious little boys, and I'm still not sleeping through the night with them yet, and I've got an extra 30 pounds on my small frame I'm trying to lose. But still - should I be in this much pain? Been doing 2 sets of pull ups/push ups/planks/squats on those days, usually mild walking hiking on cardio days. Help?

[Louisa655]

Denisedb: Welcome to the forum. Goodness, you are a busy, busy mom who has begun an important undertaking. Just reading all this info, assimilating it in your mind, and then putting it into action takes a great deal of motivation and energy. I'm exhausted nightly by 9 pm and I'm not running after two adorable little people.

My question to you is: How sore is your back and where is it sore? Have you had a sore back before or is this new for you? You can anticipate normal, muscle soreness and fatigue and stiffness if you haven't exercised routinely in the past. Is the pain a dull ache or searing?

How are you making out with the food programme? Good for you for undertaking this programme at such a busy time in your life. With less weight, you will have more energy to run around with the wee ones....and eventually keep up to them as they become teens :-)

[PureFunctionalFitness]

Doing pretty well on this so far, following the daily fitness routines, but I cannot stand up by 5:30 pm. Granted, I'm a mom of two rambunctious little boys, and I'm still not sleeping through the night with them yet, and I've got an extra 30 pounds on my small frame I'm trying to lose. But still - should I be in this much pain? Been doing 2 sets of pull ups/push ups/planks/squats on those days, usually mild walking hiking on cardio days. Help?

How hard are you finding the pushups and planks? Are you over extending your lumbar spine in those positions? If the pushups are hard and you can't keep your back in a neutral position you should consider regressing the exercise to a pushup with knees in the floor, or even wall pushups.

For the plank, a flat back (neutral spine) is really important too. If you can't manange that, bum slightly in the air is better than sway on the lumbar spine. For both exercises pull the belly button towards the spine to activate the TVA and keep the core stable. You can also regress the plank to knees rather than toes.

If this is not the issue, please ignore, but those two exercises can be a nightmare for the lower back if you don't do them right.

[denisedb]

Hi Louisa,

Thanks for the encouragement. I have been fit before, very fit even, but the last seven years it has certainly been up and down. I have had this pain before but given that I've got a massive case of mommy brain and therefore have a hard time remembering things, I can't remember when...it is a sharp pain, searing, lower back running straight across. Could I be doing some of the exercises incorrectly?

[denisedb]

Thanks for this - I am doing both of these on my knees but will pay closer attention tomorrow that I'm doing them properly.

[sbhikes]

I do a fitness class twice a week where we do similar exercises--planks, squats, all that. I'm sore EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! I swear sometimes it seems like I spend 4 out of 7 days in pain. Sometimes it's not much. Like the last couple days it was just my hamstrings. Last week they really did the abs and I swear I couldn't roll over in bed from Tuesday until Sunday. I've been doing these classes for about 9 months now. I am getting better at it, but sheesh, there are always ways to up the intensity and try to do better at them, so I'm always hurting.

[PureFunctionalFitness]

Thanks for this - I am doing both of these on my knees but will pay closer attention tomorrow that I'm doing them properly.

Cool, as mentioned, you can always regress the pushup to wall pushups, or hands on a bench. Plank can be regressed to Stage 1 Plank - lying flat on the ground, head resting on arms, pull belly button to spine as if you had a hot coal on ground just below your navel. This exercise alone will activate the deep TVA muscles. Maintaining it for 3-4 sets of 30 secs or more is no mean feat :-)