Posture

[socratic]

You might want to do some chin-ups to balance your bench-pressing, plus back extensions to balance the crunches. El Macho would have more to say about that.

Unfortunately, I don't really have the equipment to do chins in my shed. I'm considering just putting a ladder against it and doing pull-ups from the eaves, though.

I do Power Yoga (Vinyasa/Ashtanga) and basic (no equipment) Pilates. It took me awhile to find a yoga instructor whose main focus was bettering athletic performance, rather than seeking spiritual unity, but it was totally worth it. Every Pilates class I've attended has included the aforementioned supermans.

Wow, it sounds good. I'll get looking in my area. What's Pilates like? I haven't had any experience in it. Is it just sets of exercises or a form fo cardio or something?

[Raining_Blood]

[quote=socratic] Dumbell Benchpress (3 sets, increasing weight decreasing reps), Dumbell Squat (same), stiff-legged deadlift (same, except I haven't really figured out a good weight for that yet), bycicle crunches (and maybe situps), and now supermans. Anything else that should go in there, you fellas recon?[quote]

What you are doing isnt inherently bad but there are exercises in there that if done with incorrect could create or aggravate exsisting back pain. The bench press done with an excessive arch can put pressure on your back.

Squats are obviously a movement that if done wrong can injure your back. Make sure you keep your back arched throughout the entire movement. This is especially important at the very bottom of the squat.

Stiff-legged deadlifts is the third movement that has a high potential for injury. Again make sure to avoid any rounding of the back during the movement. Thorasic rounding is fine but make sure there is no lumbar rounding. Also be aware that stiff-legged deadlifts target the lower back muscles much more than traditional deadlifts.

[Jack Rusher]

What's Pilates like? I haven't had any experience in it. Is it just sets of exercises or a form fo cardio or something?

There are some Pilates classes for ladies in spandex that feature a heavy cardio component, but that's not the stuff I'd recommend. Proper Pilates is mainly about stretching and strengthening the muscles of the abs, lower back, hips, and so on. The "core" that people are always going on about. There's some overlap with yoga, but there are enough differences to make them both worthwhile.

Good luck, and I hope you feel better soon.

[Jhemsley]

Oh, and now that I think about it, what kinds of Yoga and Pilates did you do, Jackrusher, or what kinds would you recommend? There's a Yoga guy next door who does Ashtanga, I think, so I might check it out.

Ashtanga is a more dynamic form of Yoga - its a little more active and anaerobic intensive than most other forms.

I would lean toward Iyengar Yoga if I were you, it focus more on poses and postures, using props to assist Beginner's fully acheive the benefit of some of the traditional poses their body's simply can't perform. Svaroopa Yoga would be ideal, its similar to Iyengar, but puts more of a premium on spinal strength.

Of the three, Svaroopa is the most uncommon. Iyengar is the most commonly practiced form in America - even if a teacher doesn't focus on it - they've done it. Alot of its success is its very detailed and precise, with a right way and a wrong way of doing poses, and Techer

Keep in mind, there is a lot of overlap between them. So don't sit up at night wondering which is the perfect one.

In your case, I'd want to do Svaroopa first, Iyengar second, and Ashtanga third. But that list is similar to me saying, I want choclate ice cream first, vanilla ice cream second, and strawberry ice cream third. None of them are anything to complain about, and if you have an Ashtanga guy close who says he can help you with your back issues, it makes sense to go to him first.

Definitely keep the spiritual mumbo jumbo stuff to a minimum. You don't want to end up sitting cross legged chanting for an hour to help your back. Some of that will probably be a part of any course, but the magic of Yoga isn't magic. The magic is the effect a regular combination of controlled breathing, sequenced strechting, relaxation, meditation and a peaceful setting has on the body and mind.

[Kintanon]

My chiro had me doing deadlift hangs as a stretch with some light weights, like 5lbers. Something he called a cat stretch where you are on your knees, sitting back so your butt is on your heels, then you lean forward and stretch your arms out as far as you can and arch your back up. Back bridges. And a lower back stretch where you lay on your side and pull your knee up to your chest. With that last one it almost always popped my back as well as an adjustment from him did. So it may have been specific for my issue. I'd recommend finding a good chiro with an athletic background or a sports medicine degree and getting the x-rays and getting checked out. If they are a really good Chiro they will show you the stretches and things you need to do to fix your back. If they are a Quackopractor they will tell you you need to come in 5 days a week for the next 3 years and that your iron count is low so you need to carry a piece of rebar taped to your inner thigh or some ****...

[lurkness]

this is what you need www.solution4pain.com I ve been doing it for 8 months and it works wonders

[socratic]

I'd just like to thank everybody for their help and kind words. If anyone comes up with something else to add later then feel free. I'm off to see my Chiro soon (went tricking with a younger, more athletic friend, and ended up backflipping onto my head) so I'll drill him for some more extra info, I'll put it up here methinks in an edit, you know, in case someone much later searches for 'scoliosis' or something.