A three-day program from a personal trainer to strengthen the muscles
that protect a spine with degenerative disc disease. Every exercise is
explained with stick figures, and the whole plan works as a gym app on
your phone.
📅 July 2026⏱ 10 min read🩺 Health
What This Plan Is Trying to Accomplish
This first program builds a stable base around the spine. Each session
teaches the core to stay braced while the hips and shoulders do the work,
and it strengthens the glutes and upper back that take load off the
lower back.
The loads are deliberately light to moderate. Nearly every lift uses a
slow three-second lowering phase to build control rather than chase
heavy numbers. None of the exercises compresses the spine under a heavy
bar or bends it repeatedly under load.
The week is split into three days. Day 1 is a full-body
cable session that finishes with planks. Day 2 pairs
glute activation with leg strength. Day 3 builds the
upper back and shoulders for posture and ends with an anti-rotation core
press.
📖 How to Read the Plan
Tempo is four digits: seconds lowering, pause at the
bottom, seconds lifting, pause at the top. So 3010 means three seconds
down, no pause, one second up, no pause. 1A / 1B marks a superset. Do one set of 1A, then one
set of 1B, then rest and repeat until all sets are done. 12/side means twelve reps on each side.
MAX means hold as long as you can with good form.
Weight is listed as your trainer wrote it.
⚠️ Listen to Your Back
This plan was written for me by my trainer, so follow the cues you
were given in person over anything written here. Stop any exercise
that causes sharp pain, or pain, numbness or tingling that travels into
a leg, and check with your trainer or physiotherapist before
continuing.
📱 Gym Mode
On a phone this page opens as a gym app. It shows one exercise at a
time with its stick figure, sets, reps, tempo, rest and weight, and it
tracks your sets. It also runs the rest and hold timers, beeping when
they finish, and keeps the screen awake. Swipe or use the arrows to
move between exercises. Add the page to your home screen for one-tap
access.