Hi,
My dad has had back problems for about 12 years after lifting something heavy and feeling a sharp pain in his lower back. Years later the pain can come back if he moves the wrong way and he’ll be bedridden for a few days. I don’t know the exact details of his condition, but imaging has shown that one of the lumbar discs is severely degenerated and his spine is even crooked because of it. As far as I understand, the pain comes from a nerve being pinched in between the vertebrae or something akin to that. I know that he would like to start going to the gym for general health and for his back, but I think he’s a bit worried about his back and I know there are exercises he simply can’t do because they are too painful. Reverse-hyper is the worst (although normal hyper extensions actually seem to work great), and squats don’t feel good either. I’m wondering what types of exercises he should focus on to avoid making his back problems worse and perhaps even bettering them. I really do want him to train, because his overall health is not the best either (he is very obese with hypertension) and I know that if he gets into the habit of training, the other beneficial stuff usually follows right along for him without much effort. What kind of program would be suited for this individual?