The importance of your Lower Back for getting Ripped

This posting is going to be one that is more 'Do as I say, and not as I did.' Obviously in order to get six pack abs and to get ripped you need to eat correctly and exercise. BUT when you are exercising you have to make sure that you use the correct form and use a weight that will allow you to perform the exercise with correct form. Otherwise you can strain your lower back or other body parts.

I realize this is a woman's lower back. But would you rather look at this or a man's bottom??

So what did I do? I strained my lower back and most likely put myself out of commission for a week. I broke both of my rules above and while performing Good Mornings in a barbell circuit used too heavy of a weight and must have used horrible form.

I did this Wednesday and my lower back just felt a little tight that night. I than went to try and do my normal workout on Friday and felt a pain after finishing my squats.

My Plan Going Forward:

1. Rest. Since I was entering my last week of TT Hardcore Fat Loss I will take this week off to recover. However, I do not plan to just sit on the couch, so I still plan to keep on working even if it is very moderate. To start, I will be taking my son and dog on long walks each day since walking does not bother my back.

2. Body-Weight Exercises. Once my back starts feeling better (I'm hoping next Wed) than I hope to start doing light body weight exercises. I plan to progressively do more BW exercises until the week of July 6, as I strengthen the back again.

3. The Elliptical. Yes, I know this machine really sucks, but guess what? Its very low impact which will be perfect for my back. Although the intensity will not be the same, I can still do my HIIT on the Elliptical after my BW workouts.

4. Eat Right. I know I've been eating pretty well lately, but my goal for the next week will to have an almost perfect diet since I will not be working out as hard. I know a lot of people would see this as a huge setback and give up and head to Wendy's. Not me. I'm looking at this as a week of rest before heading into the last month of TT Transformation Contest 5. I will most likely do Eat-Stop-Eat twice this week.

Although I know I will most likely not make any progress towards my goal of getting ripped 6 pack abs, I do not want to go backwards either. I think this plan will allow me to accomplish this and start TT Buff Dudes - Hot Chicks workout for the week of July 6th.