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Comment by jcadam | Hacker News Reader

Wow, I'd never heard of rhabdomyolysis. I always thought the worst overtraining could do to you is force you to take an extended (weeks/months) break.

I'm pushing 40 now, and one thing I've learned is to recognize when my body is telling me "you need to back off now." I don't recover the way I used to (I can't lift 4 days a week anymore, for example, and squats and deadlifts are right out due to back problems), so I need to be careful not to overdo it. Because then I'll hurt myself and have to take a few weeks off -- and worse, I'll be hobbling in to work for a week or more like an old, broken man, and all the millennials will laugh at me :)

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Can I ask what your back problems are and how they started? Were they from doing the squats and deadlifts themselves or other injuries? I see plenty of people past their 40s still doing squats and deadlifts so it's not like there is a general age limit it seems.

For the last five or so years, I've had more or less constant pain/stiffness in my lower back, which is definitely aggravated by lifts like squats or DLs. Heck, running too often aggravates it. At work, I have a sit/stand desk, and I have to alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day, because doing too much of one or the other starts to hurt.

It seemed to come on gradually. What initially caused it I don't know... I played football in high school, I've lifted weights since I was a teenager (only cutting out squats/DLs when they became too... risky), I was in the Army for a bit, who knows... should probably get a doctor to look at it.

My father started having problems with his lower back around the same age (30s), so maybe there's a genetic/hereditary issue. Though at least he still manages to do squats in his 60s. I wonder if having a longer spine (I'm about 5 inches taller than him) would make my issues worse?

Do you stand on anti-fatigue mats?

Yes, they do help.

As I mentioned in the other post, I'm not trying to scare any one with the rhabdo situation. It's rare. But I think the idea of "know thy limits" is not as common as it should be in our exercise culture. Sounds like you're on the same page.

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