Need some help: Exercise

[CrystalKitten]

So, I went to see the doctor about my back pain today. Turns out it is muscle related, which is good. She.. pretty much told me that I HAVE to do what I've been trying to work in time to do all along, and that is work out, and get in better shape. In particular, I need to MAJORLY work on abdominal and back strength.

Now, as of right now.. I can't afford a gym membership (she wanted me to do physio/chiropractor.. and even though it is partially covered by my tuition health plan... it would still be either that, or food/rent...). I do however have some freeweights at home (2 5lb weights, and then 2 which are adjustable, with the addable disks). I was wondering if anyone knows of any good exercise for building up abdominal/back strength (preferably with links to videos of the exercise being done, or at least step-by-step diagrams so I can make sure I'm doing them right, and not screwing up my back worse).

But yeah.. pretty much I was told that if I'm having this many problems this young, I need to seriously stay in shape, or I'm going to be seriously screwed later in life... So.. soon as my back is feeling better (I was given a prescription to get me to that point) I'm going to try and start working a regular workout routine like I've wanted. I'll just give it a higher priority now that I know just how important it is... and that it's NOT just cause I wanna be able to wear my clothes again <.<

But yes.. anyone have any exercise suggestions?

[GormanGhaste]

What is your current activity level? One of the simplest and most inexpensive remedies for back problems is walking. It's the kind of mild activity that you can start right away (as long as you don't push yourself too much too soon).

[CrystalKitten]

Right now, unfortunately not very high. LOTS of school work... I'm hoping to get into a nice regimen once my back is up, and then keep it up all through the break so that when classes start up again I'll have a set routine and can work everything else around it...

Walking would be good, but I was told pretty much that I have to build up a LOT of core strength in order to help prevent issues with my back long term. She suggested pilates.. so I might see if I can find a free workout video type thing... I was just wondering if anyone who's been through something similar had any other suggestions as well.

The other issue with walking.. is that I'm looking to do something that I can do constantly without finding an excuse that I can use to get out of it. It'll be snowing here soon, and the sidewalks being icy/dangeous/unplowed would be the perfect excuse to get out of doing it.. and if I started now.. those excuses would pop up just as I start getting into a regular habit

[Samskeyti]

Pilates exercises, and yoga, are great for core strength, and you can adjust them to your needs.

[Kalhoun]

I recommend any low-impact aerobic type thing. I get back problems and the bursitis in my hips flares up if I go too long without exercise. So I bought one of those plastic stair steps and I do 15-20 min a day (I set the microwave timer) while watching tv. It's amazing what a difference it makes. You wouldn't think just stepping up and down repeatedly would help out your back, but I guess your whole body does get involved, much like with walking. It's just become part of my routine, so I don't really have to force myself to do it - I just make sure to not sit down in front of the computer before doing it, or else I'll get distracted and forget. I do sometimes have my routine interrupted, like if I have company for an extended period of time or if I'm sick, but then feeling the soreness coming back is enough motivation to start back up again.

Yoga can also do wonders for backs I hear. Taking a class could be fun.

[GormanGhaste]

Pilates and yoga would both be good. Something as simple as dancing more to music would be good as well. Shaking it definitely uses the core muscles!

[CrystalKitten]

Yeah, I'm hoping for free alternatives. They do have some classes like that on campus, but if I could afford to pay something, I would go to physio for at least a few sessions and see what kind of stuff they might have me do there.

I'll definitely go and look into seeing if I can find some yoga/pilates videos though. I don't have a steps thing... but I could set my laptop up at the top of the stairs that lead upstairs outside my room and watch an episode of something while stepping there... Or listening to music...

Thanks for the suggestions all! If anyone has others, feel free to suggest them. The more variety I can have, the less likely I am to get "bored" of the routine, or the better to find something that works specifically for me.

Haha, yeah... once my back is better I plan to do a lot more Dance Central... Maybe even kinect adventures.. As I said though.. variety in my case is a good thing, as I might, for example, not FEEL like clearing space in my room to play kinect.. <.< Having some very very simple "minimal prep" alternatives will help ensure I can use excuses like "it's too cold out" or "I don't have time to clean before I work out", as does having more "fun" stuff like dance central.. "boo, stepping is boring, I don't wanna", heh.

[Miyon]

I suppose squats could be good, they get your entire body, you can use the free weights you have at home. Walking is always good, but it is very tedious. Otherwise, sit-ups and that stuff I would think, since if you want a strong back, you need your abs as well.

[Worba]

Haha, yeah... once my back is better I plan to do a lot more Dance Central... Maybe even kinect adventures.. As I said though.. variety in my case is a good thing, as I might, for example, not FEEL like clearing space in my room to play kinect.. <.< Having some very very simple "minimal prep" alternatives will help ensure I can use excuses like "it's too cold out" or "I don't have time to clean before I work out", as does having more "fun" stuff like dance central.. "boo, stepping is boring, I don't wanna", heh.

W00T someone else plays Dance Central /fistbump

What's your favorite song?

But yeah as you said... definitely let your back recover before you get back into that.

[CrystalKitten]

I haven't played in a while, but I definitely like the challenging ones. Galang is pretty fun routine. I also enjoy... I can't remember which it's called, but it's the reggae one. And, of course, Just Dance That routine is awesome. Of course.. I always skip right to hard... Don't wanna get "stuck" on the easy routines and not be able to expand on it later, heh.

[RHMakonea]

I do yoga and wii Zumba. Search around online for some free work out videos they really help, heck just dancing for an hour to some favorite music is a good way to get some exercise

[Worba]

I haven't played in a while, but I definitely like the challenging ones. Galang is pretty fun routine. I also enjoy... I can't remember which it's called, but it's the reggae one. And, of course, Just Dance That routine is awesome. Of course.. I always skip right to hard... Don't wanna get "stuck" on the easy routines and not be able to expand on it later, heh.

King of the Dance Hall!

One of my favorites too - I'm up to medium so far. I always start on easy and work my way up (safest route for a white guy)

[CrystalKitten]

King of the Dance Hall!

One of my favorites too - I'm up to medium so far. I always start on easy and work my way up (safest route for a white guy)

Haha, well, I can't dance either... But then, I don't really care what I look like when I play, heh. Especially since if I'm doing new songs I'm generally alone (can't imagine how I looked doing Just Dance the first time.. believe it or not I actually took a decent sized gouge out of my head trying to get through it...), or if I'm doing some in a group, i pick songs I know... Like when they had games room set up during o-week... And people who'd never played before were doing like.. the first lady gaga song on easy/medium and stumbling.. and then I get on and do like.. It was one of the harder ones.. Maneater or something on hard <.< (that's another of my favouritres, heh)

[Worba]

lol yup that's Pokerface - I finally stopped doing that one. Too easy even on hard mode, and it got stuck in my head. Ofc it *is* the first one on the difficulty list, so it served its purpose...

[CrystalKitten]

Haha, I'll actually use poker face as a mid-workout break. Or as a cooldown by doing it as the last song. Works pretty well for that purpose. It's a bit too slow for a warm up though. Prefer Evacuate the Dance floor for that, heh.

[Worba]

Evacuate the Dance Floor is wonderfully tacky - I do it once in a while although not too often as its calory count is pretty low (I avg 12-13 cals on that one whereas I can get 20-23 on songs like C'mon N' Ride, Jungle Boogie, etc).

Granted that's easy mode, whereas I do the others on hard mode, so that may not be a fair comparison...

[CrystalKitten]

I've found soldier boy to be one of the highest calorie burners, heh. At least according to their counter. I use Evacuate the dance floor as a warm up, so the calorie count isn't all that important (I don't even know how accurate the calorie counter on there is, heh)

[Worba]

That was one of my faves... till I looked up the lyrics. XD

Wish I hadn't done that...

[Karin]

It is quite fun to discover your own small exercises and stretches.

I understand from your first post you can't afford to go to gyms. However, I'd definitely recommend going to Curves because I've done it for a couple years and it is good. Even if my weight has stayed the same for a while, I've gotten some good muscles out of it.

[CrystalKitten]

it's not that I'd rather spend the money on other things, or that things would be tight if I got the gym membership (if I did, it would be the campus one, as it's only $50 for both semesters). It's a matter that I'm ALREADY not going to be able to pay rent for January... I'm probably going to have to take a cash advance on my credit card again.. which is also too high to pay off before I get my next student loan (and so when I do.. I'll probably be short next semester too). If I could afford ANYTHING, I would go to the physio that the doctor wanted me to do.

It's also not general weightloss I'm looking for. I have plenty of things I can do for that.. I mean.. I could just force myself to go look for deer in the park across the road 3 or 4 times a week and that would help a LOT for that (there's some really rough trails), or force myself back into better eating habits, and find ways to sleep better (stress + anxiety + depression + lack of sleep are all how I've gone above my norm anyways).

I'm specifically looking for additional things which will help strengthen the muscles in my back and abdomen, as that's what I need to make my back less likely to crap out again this bad. Not saying curves wouldn't help with that, but your reply seems to be focused mostly on weightloss, which isn't my big goal, even if I could pull the money together.