Weight Lift Tips for Injuries?

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jbonow1231
jbonow1231 Posts: 75 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm hoping some of you wonderful folks might be able to give me some tips. :D

Thus far, I've lost 20 lbs by calorie counting and sticking to 1500 calories or less, doing some more walking, and my Dr has me on a restricted carb diet to work on some metabolic syndrome type issues (and because diabetes runs so prevalent in my family to wean myself off sugar.)

However - a lot of people here have noted that weight lifting alongside my weight loss will ensure that I don't lose muscle rather than fat. So - I'm thinking about looking into some weight lifting, but with a few caveats:

- I've broken my left arm twice, once at the wrist and once about mid-forearm, which causes a mental block about lifting because of this innate fear about another break.

- I also had a car accident three years ago that's caused some lower back issues (which I'm happy to say is improving with my weight loss/diet change/orthodics)

So - I suppose, here's some questions I ponder:

- Would I be better off using machines rather than free weights? (Because there's more options that won't rely on my wrists)

- If I can't handle very much weight (say, 2.5 lb hand weights) should I do more reps to make up for the lower weight? Will that help?

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  • Retropyro
    Retropyro Posts: 2
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    Lower weight, higher rep count - 10 to 12 reps in 3 to 4 sets. Don't do any lifts over your head even on a machine with lower back problems unless you speak to your doctor first.

    Machines will help control your motion but free weights get better results. Just start with light weights.
  • Shawshankcan
    Shawshankcan Posts: 900 Member
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    You are not going to break your wrist lifting weights. Machines don't really give you more options to protect the wrist, to work the same body parts, you would be doing the same motion than with free weights.

    If you find your back is bothering you, you can find options to protect it. Many gyms have chest supported rows to work your back, this would replace a standard barbell row.

    Legs, you will be limited. A leg press can put a lot of pressure on your lower back. This happens as you lower the weight, your lower back has a tendency to round. First and foremost, regardless of what I saw, if your back is in PAIN, not just sore, stop what you are doing, and find an alternative.

    Edit: And don't worry about the weight that is being used in comparison to someone else. My max weight is someone else's warmup. What you want to do is put what YOU have into it.

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