Charlie and Others,
What do you recommend to keep my fitness level up and speed? The doctor said I need 10 weeks of rest, being pain free. I am allowed to lift, but not load the spine, bike, and elliptical. Also, is there anything else you would recommend?
Michael
I have spondylolysis, which is a defect at L3 where I got a stress fracture that can’t heal. In high school it flared up and took me out of football for the year. Keep your abs up! My dude had a stress fracture this year and when he came back he got a sports hernia cuz his core muscles were weak. Find a way to get good cardio (exercise bike, arm bike) in and stretch well afterwards to keep up your flexibility.
Use isolation exercises to keep your legs up as well as you can (leg extension/curl, leg press if you have the right kind available that won’t put any stress on your back). Get creative in the pool and with physioballs and med balls (PT had me doing physioball wall squats, maybe start working up to some med ball split squats and lunges as you start to feel better). Try to make a substitute for everything in your program except plyos I guess. I’m no expert just sharin my experience with the situation. Came back and broke 11 that year so just be patient and smart and you’ll be fine when you get back into a full workout.
Thanks I appreciate your advice.