Build Strength Fearlessly After A Spinal Fusion With This Full-Body Workout
Building strength after any spinal surgery is very intimidating. But, as unique as your spinal fusion may be, there is still a simple process you can take to planning and executing your workouts that will build strength and keep the spine safe at the same time.
Let me know If you can relate to this:
You go to the gym, workout and while you’re there, you spend most of your time focusing on how your body feels the entire time.
You become so hyper-focused that 30 minutes in, you start getting scared, so you call it a day and leave. 24 hours later, you feel sore and begin to worry whether you did too much or maybe even caused damage to your surgery site.
This leads to more fear and less time in the gym because you don’t think your body is ready to keep working out.
You don’t know what to do or where to go to get help, so you just quit.
If that’s you, I want you to watch today’s workout and take it to the gym or even do it right at home.
It’s fusion friendly and will give you some great pointers for making your future workout safe and pain-free.
Before you try this workout, be sure to download this free guide I made just for fusion warriors.
Can You Workout After A Spinal Fusion?
The first step with exercising after a spinal fusion is ensuring you are cleared to exercise.
If you have been cleared to exercise, you can start strength training.
Where you go from here is critical.
You have to pick exercises that do not cause unnecessary stress on the fusion site or force unnecessary stress on the discs above and below the surgery site. If you don’t know what that kind of workout should look like, I suggest allowing me to make the workouts for you.
When getting back into working out after a spinal fusion, the priority is to have a heavy core training focus. I have an excellent video sharing 10 of my favorite fusion-friendly core exercises.
Should I Exercise If I Am In Pain After My Spinal Fusion?
Your game plan back into the gym needs to be well thought out.
Suppose you are experiencing pain with movement, exercise, and activities after you have been cleared to exercise and are free of any significant setbacks.
In that case, you may need to spend a little more time on your relief strategy BEFORE jumping into the gym.
This is where the right coaching can make or break the future of your life post-fusion.
I work with post-fusion warriors using my Hybrid Strength & Relief Method to confidently get them out of chronic pain and back into the gym.
If you want help getting to the bottom of your unpredictable flare-ups and rebuilding confidence in your body after your surgery, you can apply for my 12-Week Strength & Pain Relief Accelerator Program.
What Is The Best Workout Style For Spinal Fusions?
When creating the best workout structure for you post-fusion, you must consider a few things.
I will start with a simple strength-based design if you are just released from your doctor to exercise. The split I would follow is
PUSH
PULL
LOWER.
I would also add in a few full-body workout splits as well.
Nothing too crazy or heavy, just getting acclimated back into the gym and being under load.
Once you have built confidence in your body and are exercising pain-free, I would experiment with adding in more workouts around what your favorite style is.
I work with people who prefer bodybuilding style, Crossfit or HIIT.
The more intense workout styles need time to work back into and should be pushed off until you are confident in your movement patterns in the gym and can get through workouts without pain.
What Exercises Can I Do After A Spinal Fusion Surgery
A great place to start is with the fusion-friendly workout I share with you today. I’ll break down the exercises below!
Bench Supported Bench Over Row
This is one of my favorites.
Using the bench helps control the lower back load and allows you to still focus on bracing the core and building the mind-body connection needed to support the spine while exercising.
Elevated Heel Goblet Squat.
The elevated heel makes this exercise. By having the heels elevated, you will notice that your lower back is in more of an upright position when doing the exercise.
This is even more important when you have the load out front the way you will with this goblet squat.
Be sure to keep the weight close to your body, lats engaged, and core is on.
Skateboard Hamstring Curl
This is a great way to train the hamstrings safely after a spinal fusion.
The skateboard wheels remove the friction you may experience when trying to do socks on a hard floor or furniture movers across your gym floor with similar exercises.
This helps you focus on contracting the muscles you’re targeting (hamstrings) while relaxing the muscles in the low back, so you don’t spend the time over contracting them.
Small Elevated Bench Press
Bench pressing after a spinal fusion isn’t too complicated. First, you must find the feet and hip position and bench pad that best fits your needs.
You may have to adjust your feet, pelvis, and back position due to the hardware you have in your body, but it’s not uncommon to find something that works for the post-fusion warrior.
What makes this exercise, is the slight elevation I have under the head of my bench. I have two rubber plates stacked up to give me a slight advantage in targeting the chest and not the shoulders.
