TMU Mondays - Training your legs through back pain

Training your legs can be hard, especially when you have back pain, but the pain doesn’t have to be a hindrance to training your legs unless your physio or doctor has advised you full rest to recover. Sure, you may not be able to train heavy back squats or heavy deadlifts, but there are a bunch of options through which you can train your legs through minimal involvement of your lower back. I’m listing those options by movement pattern in this post so that anyone looking to continue training their legs can continue to do so.

Squat pattern exercises:

a. Dumbbell Bulgarian split squats

b. Goblet squats

c. Leg press (completely eliminates spine/back involvement)

d. Kettlebell front squats

Lunge pattern exercises:

Forward, reverse, side, curtsey lunges with dumbbells or kettlebells

Hinge pattern exercises:

Dumbbell single leg or staggered stance Romanian deadlifts

Accessory exercises:

Knee extensions, hamstring curls (seated or lying down), step-ups, seated calf raises

Most of these exercises will involve keeping your spine straight but will not load it directly as in the back squat where the weight is resting on your spine. So, that should keep spinal involvement to a minimum and help you train holistically despite setbacks. Having said that, these exercises are options to implement in your training routine provided your physio/doctor has given the go-ahead to train your legs with minimal back involvement.