Can I be successful with heavy lifting?

SherryRH

I have been reading a lot of posts/topics about eating more (which I have started doing) and heavy lifting as a way to build muscle and lose inches.

I want to do more research and see if this will work for me. I have 2 issues that I am not sure will hinder my progress so I am looking for some help.

#1. I am newly diagnosed as diabetic so eating a lot of carbs will be difficult for me since I have to watch my blood sugar levels and different things need to be watched. I can do high protein. I need to make an appointment with a dietician to help me with my diet. I find if I eat more than 30 grams of carbs per meal, my blood sugar tends to get high.

#2. I also have 2 herinated discs in my lower back. I was told by a top ortho doctor that I would need a 2 level fusion. I didn't believe him and found an alternative method to deal with my pain. It has been a very long road (1.5 years) but I am just now able to get back to the gym and work out with weight and other stuff with no surgery! I am not allowed to do squats or deadlifts because of my back (at least with heavy weights).

So my question is - can this type of program work for me if I modify it and not lift hundreds of pounds of weight?

dlwyatt82

I'm no expert, but I imagine the back problems would need to be resolved before you could consider it. Squats and deadlifts are two of the best strength exercises you can do, and being told they're out of the picture really changes things.

SherryRH

I have been doing squats with a 15lb body bar. Nothing major but it is more for form for now. I was thinking about increasing it to a 20lb bar but not going crazy. To me that is a heavy weight. :laugh: