Beginner workout program, with ongoing lower back rehab?

[nixium]

I'm working with a physical therapist and a chiro for issues relating to my spine and lower back. It's going on pretty well, but right now I've been asked to avoid heavy squats/deadlifts. As a beginner to weight lifting, almost all the exercise routines out there are squat centric (SL 5x5, starting strength etc) so was wondering what else I could do?

At this point, my top workout goals are (based on a discussion with my physio)
1. Flexibility
2. Core strength
3. Fat loss without becoming skinny fat

How do I figure out a workout that meets these three goals? I want to get my BF% and reduce my waistline away from a pear shape, but if I just did cardio or planks I'd end up looking skinny fat. Anyone got any references?

The other things is that my upper body is fine - I don't have any lower back pain doing bench presses, inverted rows, etc. Am I supposed to hold down the weight on those exercises till my back gets better? That can get pretty boring ...

 

[PrinceValiant]

Hi unfortunately you should not lift a significant lot more on eg bench pressing as you can manage to lift due to your bad back. I have a friend that worked out only his chest (he was young and stupid) what caused him significant back problems.
You can go on training your chest but take it a little easy.

As to your training programm i would take a nice mixture of cardio exercises and musculation with reps >12. That means 20-30 minutes spinning, 30-50 minutes workout.

Exercises start with hard exercises like bench pressing to kettleball rawing. I wouldn't split muscle groups yet. The last 10 minutes of your training should be focusing on building core strength: planking and friends.

Hope that helps! Cheers

 

[Manach]

As I don't have back pain (and I do have low post counts), these are just thoughts I have from other workouts and studies.

Single body part movements may help you with some of your goals while keeping a reduced load on your back. Lunges and the like don't require you to start with barbells and heavy weight, and still can increase strength.

Things like sprinting or other high-intensity interval training (HIIT) that may not need load seem like they may be things that could get you to your goals.

Once you are given the ok and feel comfortable doing squats or deads, you could consider the Trap Bar Deadlift. It lets you do some heavier leg work with some reduced stress on the back.

 

[Pantlegz]

I'm absolutely not saying disregard your physicians advice but both SL and SS start with 0lbs on the bar and very slowly add weight which might help with the recovery. I had an 11mm herniation of my L5-S1 last summer and I kept squatting but cut deadlifts because they were uncomfortable for me, but I'm fully recovered and continued to squat fairly heavy. Again, talk to your doctor and listen to your body, if you decide to squat/deadlift. I would also very strongly suggest getting a coach, or personal trainer if there aren't strength coaches in your area, to help with the movements to prevent further injury. If compound movements are out of the question, yoga is pretty awesome for flexibility just be sure to stay within the limits of your back. Or more isolated or single joint movements with free weights. And 80% of fat loss is in the kitchen, to drop weight eat less or more healthy or both.