Show Notes
"Never squat or deadlift again with a herniated disc" sounds sensible — right up until you realise you'll break that advice before you've left the building. If you've got a herniated disc (a slipped disc, disc bulge or prolapsed disc) at L4/L5 or L5/S1 and you've been told to stop lifting for good, this session is for you. The advice lands because it sounds plausible: nearly everyone injured their back doing some kind of lifting — whether that was four plates on the bar or bending to pick a sock off the floor. So abstaining feels like the safe choice. It isn't, and this session explains why, along with how to build back to loading your spine safely. 🎓 Join the Back In Shape Program: https://backinshapeprogram.com We explain the three problems with blanket "don't lift" advice: strength is protective, so you lose what little you have; your life quietly shrinks as you do less, get weaker and flare up again; and the biggest loss is the belief that you're fragile for good. Then the point that should settle it — you will break the advice within minutes of being given it, while it's being watched. We cover why the deadlift usually isn't a day-one exercise, how the hip hinge becomes your deadlift over time, why load comes before range of motion, the milestones worth aiming at, and why a microdiscectomy is a clear-up operation, not a repair. Along the way: pelvic tucks and why they teach the wrong habit, scoliosis as the lay of the land, and why stretches strengthen nothing.
🔑 Key Topics Covered 🎯 Why the advice sounds so convincing: almost everyone hurt their back lifting something — from a 220-kilo bar to a sock off the floor. So "never lift again" feels logical. But it makes you fearful of the one thing that rebuilds you, and your world shrinks a little more with every flare-up. 🪑 You'll break the advice before you leave the room: sitting down in the chair pushes the load through your injured segment well above standing, and getting up with a rounded back spikes it further. Nobody stops you. If the advice were meant literally, they'd have you lying down for the consultation. 🏋️ How the hip hinge becomes your deadlift: you probably can't deadlift on day one — you need the hip mobility to reach the floor with a neutral spine. So you build load on the hip hinge first, keep the depth fixed, and the range opens on its own. Eventually the bar reaches the floor, and that's a deadlift. 📊 The markers worth aiming at: 20% and 45% of body weight on the bar represent what sitting already puts through your spine. Longer term, around 100% of body weight for men and 75% for women, for ten reps, aggravation-free — and then you look at your hip mobility.
Chapters 00:00 Is it safe to squat and deadlift with a herniated disc? 01:00 Why the advice sounds plausible 04:00 Fear, lost strength and a shrinking life 07:00 You can't rebuild your spine lying on the floor 08:00 Why the deadlift isn't a day-one exercise 10:00 How your hip hinge becomes a deadlift 12:00 The advice you'll break before you leave the room 16:00 Load first, range of motion later 20:00 What's actually bearing the load (and why it heals slowly) 22:00 Grip: why double underhand slows you down usefully 23:00 Surgery booked? Do the rehab first, then reopen the conversation 26:00 Tracking progress, and how the phases really work 30:00 Start now — rehab is the safest thing you do all day 34:00 The milestones: 20%, 45% and the long-term targets 37:00 Scoliosis, asymmetry and the lay of the land 44:00 A microdiscectomy is a clear-up operation, not a repair 47:00 When a knee or ankle injury becomes a back injury 51:00 Stretches don't strengthen — and pelvic tucks teach the wrong habit 1:00:00 Squat depth, forward lean, and why not to stand on plates
#HerniatedDisc #Deadlift #BackInShape #Squat #SlippedDisc #DiscBulge #BackPainRelief #SpinalRehab
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