Concerned that pain is getting in the way of my workouts. Help?

jh169327 · July 2015

I've recently decided that I want to get in shape - I am overweight but I'm not obese. I am however extremely unfit having never really lead an active lifestyle (I also have a desk job which doesn't help things).

Following on from that, when I am following workout videos I'm finding that the two main issues I have are my wrists and my lower back.

With my wrists the issue is mainly (what i've found so far) with pushups - I cannot do more than 3-5 pushups without my wrists being in a lot of pain. I'm curious as to whether this is just a beginner thing and I should work through it and gradually get some strength in them or whether it's something I should be concerned about?

The second issue is with my lower back. I have a very small re-occurring cyst in my lower back which makes crunching/situps quite awkward/painful as it's sort of on my tailbone or around that area. I usually try to use a pillow but to be honest I feel like it just ruins the exercise and is probably giving me bad form. In addition, I have a hard wood floor so it's not even cushioned by any carpet/fabric. I have debated getting maybe a yoga mat so that I'm not compromising my form however these don't seem as if they are thick enough to cushion the pain?

Any advice on the above would be a great help, I am just starting to really get into a brilliant fitness regime and I'm not quite sure what is the best thing to do!

Thanks!

IsaackGMOON · July 2015

Rest. Have the cyst treated. Get a yoga mat or similar.

tomatoey · July 2015

1 - get the cyst treated
2 - pushups are a loaded exercise, I've read that the weight challenge is 60% of your bodyweight in the full (proper) pushup position. maybe it's too much for your wrists. do you have wrist pain at other times? have them looked at, maybe. otherwise, i mean if it's actually painful, google "pushup progression" and start with pushups off a wall, then a bench, etc. those will involve less of your weight on your wrists for now.

slaite1 · July 2015

I'm normal weight and sometimes my wrists hurt doing push-ups. I got those little handle-bar things to grip and that helped. I've been doing some exercises to strengthen my forearms and grip in hopes that it helps-but I've never quite gotten rid of the pain.

In your case it may also be the extra weight. Maybe you can try an alternate exercise for now if the bars do not help. I would be hesitant to push through with joint pain.

I would never do crunches or any laying down exercise on a hard wood floor! Ouch! Maybe an exercise mat (the thick ones-you can find them at Walmart) and a yoga mat on top of that for stability. Because of the cyst, again maybe you can do an alternate exercise? Maybe some leg lifts or a forearm plank will be more comfortable for you.

jh169327 · July 2015

IsaackGMOON wrote: »

Rest. Have the cyst treated. Get a yoga mat or similar.

tomatoey wrote: »

1 - get the cyst treated
2 - pushups are a loaded exercise, I've read that the weight challenge is 60% of your bodyweight in the full (proper) pushup position. maybe it's too much for your wrists. do you have wrist pain at other times? have them looked at, maybe. otherwise, i mean if it's actually painful, google "pushup progression" and start with pushups off a wall, then a bench, etc. those will involve less of your weight on your wrists for now.

I have been to a doctor about the cyst and he basically told be that as it's not constantly inflamed and doesn't stop me from doing day-to-day things (admittedly when I went to see the doctor about this I was not working out) then there was nothing he could do for me. Now that it is affecting my dya-to-day life I think I may go back to be re-evaluated. Thank you for the advice! The tip about push up progression helped, I am currently reading up on what can cause the wrist pain.

Thank you!

jh169327 · July 2015

slaite1 wrote: »

I'm normal weight and sometimes my wrists hurt doing push-ups. I got those little handle-bar things to grip and that helped. I've been doing some exercises to strengthen my forearms and grip in hopes that it helps-but I've never quite gotten rid of the pain.

In your case it may also be the extra weight. Maybe you can try an alternate exercise for now if the bars do not help. I would be hesitant to push through with joint pain.

I would never do crunches or any laying down exercise on a hard wood floor! Ouch! Maybe an exercise mat (the thick ones-you can find them at Walmart) and a yoga mat on top of that for stability. Because of the cyst, again maybe you can do an alternate exercise? Maybe some leg lifts or a forearm plank will be more comfortable for you.

Thank you, I will have to shop around and see where I can buy these! It seems easier to be doing it that way, with a bar.

I'm not sure if it makes oo much of a difference but when I have been doing push ups I haven't been doing a full version, my knees have been on the floor, which you can imagine with a hard wood floor this also gets painful on my knees too! Unfortunately I live with my parents and my bedroom is the only room with enough space to actually work out in so I'm kinda stuck with the hard floor situation - I will definitely look into buying a thicker exercise mat than just a yoga mat.

Thank you for your advice!

tomatoey · July 2015

jh169327 wrote: »

IsaackGMOON wrote: »

Rest. Have the cyst treated. Get a yoga mat or similar.

tomatoey wrote: »

1 - get the cyst treated
2 - pushups are a loaded exercise, I've read that the weight challenge is 60% of your bodyweight in the full (proper) pushup position. maybe it's too much for your wrists. do you have wrist pain at other times? have them looked at, maybe. otherwise, i mean if it's actually painful, google "pushup progression" and start with pushups off a wall, then a bench, etc. those will involve less of your weight on your wrists for now.

I have been to a doctor about the cyst and he basically told be that as it's not constantly inflamed and doesn't stop me from doing day-to-day things (admittedly when I went to see the doctor about this I was not working out) then there was nothing he could do for me. Now that it is affecting my dya-to-day life I think I may go back to be re-evaluated. Thank you for the advice! The tip about push up progression helped, I am currently reading up on what can cause the wrist pain.

Thank you!

no problem

good luck. i hope you find a speedy resolution for the cyst issue

blb85 · July 2015

I have the wrist pain issue as well. Grabbing some weights and using those while doing push-ups help!

Also, for your lower back, maybe stay away from doing a lot of crunches/sit-ups until your abs/lower back are strong enough to support you. I have been having a similar issue with my lower back, and have learned that I need to develop more core muscles to help support my body so my lower back doesn't take so much pressure/weight and gives me pain. Concentrate on doing more squats, hip thrusts, pelvic tilts, lunges, planks, and abdominal work that doesn't incorporate crunching or rounding of your back.

TheLittleGingerDoesWeightLoss · July 2015

Does the pain decrease if you take some of the load off? Rather than doing a proper push up with knees off the ground, does the pain decrease with knees on the ground?

ediewharton · July 2015

If you really have a physical problem with any specific exercise then look into alternatives.
Defintely get an exercise matt.
Sometimes it takes time to build up strength, etc. to do as many reps as the instructor is doing. I ask myself if I am being lazy or can I really not do it? Do as many reps as you can. You will get stronger if you just keep at it (but not by hurting yourself).

Concerned that pain is getting in the way of my workouts. Help?

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