
Programmer? Back Pain? Try archery - irrlichthn
http://www.irrlicht3d.org/pivot/entry.php?id=1366
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TheCapn
If you get out of shape don't be surprised when your body starts feeling like
shit. Workouts can be hard for some people because its hard to quantify goals
for what should be an essential part of your lifestyle. If you take a sport
like archery to make exercise fun then it becomes a lot easier. But as others
have said it is important to talk to a professional if you are having severe
issues as a result of your current lifestyle.

My recommendations:

\- Pick up heavy things, then put them back down. Repeat with good form.

\- Get a good chair and a good bed. If you're going to spend your life in one
or another might as well make it worthwhile

\- Pay attention to your body. If something is uncomfortable it needs to get
fixed. If you bend your neck to hold a phone for long conversations don't be
surprised when your upper back hurts. If you have a large wallet you put in
your back pocket while sitting don't be surprised when your lower back hurts.

~~~
networked
Picking up heavy things should be done with caution. Even good form isn't
enough if you haven't done it in a while or suffer from (hidden) conditions
that could make it problematic. Start by picking up things that are not heavy
and make sure your back can take it before moving on to heavier things.

~~~
TheCapn
Completely agree. The details and disclaimers you could go through with safe
lifting could fill an entire page but to keep it simple I didn't go into
detail. I think we all understand the risks of taking on any change of
lifestyle

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raganwald
I used Olympic-style lifting (Snatch, C+J and related exercises) for years to
improve my other sports. I will take the contrarian argument on lifting to fix
back pain. I think they're excellent when performed properly as everyone is
saying here, but that's a heavy qualification. _Especially_ if you start with
back pain.

If you have access to a proper coach or club, great, go for it. But if that's
the case, you already know it's a good exercise and where to find the proper
coaching that is absolutely essential to getting results and avoiding injury.

Whereas, if the idea of lifting is relatively new to you and you're figuring
it out from reading Hacker News, you need to be very careful before taking it
up. Most gyms have personal trainers that don't know 'squat' about proper
lifting form and less about dealing with pain.

If you think the software industry is bad for snake-oil, it's only because you
haven't been exposed to the world of gyms, personal trainers, and supplements.
I wouldn't recommend anything _except_ a University program or gym devoted to
actual competition in the Olympic disciplines (not powerlifting or body
building of any kind).

Okay, enough ranting. My positive recommendation is rock climbing,
specifically bouldering. Find a gym in your city. It's a fun, positive
environment, it has plenty of attractive and engaging people of every gender
and orientation (there's a _fabulous_ gay climbing club in Toronto). Your core
is going to get strong in a hurry.

And if you fall in love with the sport, it will take you around the world. See
you in Thailand some time.

:-)

~~~
scarecrowbob
Here here for rock climbing. I just started up again and am fortunate to linve
only about 15mi away from some really good rock.

Just to add-- if you find climbing gyms uninspiring (I used to find them
pretty cool, but nowadays not so much), there is a lot to be said for finding
local areas where there is at least some scrambling to be had... simply being
out of doors, moving through trails/up slopes has done me a world of good,
even if I end up rope-soloing 5.7 or scrambling up some 4th class ramp instead
of powering up a V2 like I might have done when I was younger.

And indeed it does take people around the world. See you at Enchanted Rock in
TX sometime :D

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marknutter
Or, you know, you could get physical therapy. I had chronic back pain as a
result of my job as a programmer and the only way I was able to fix it was to
go to a good physical therapist and _actually follow through on the physical
therapy_. My pain was a result of a number of muscle imbalances and posture
issues and it took a few months of every-day work to fix the problem.

I suspect that the OP has a specific muscle imbalance that archery just
happened to target well. But it's unlikely that this broad recommendation is
going to work for everyone with back pain as the causes are myriad.

~~~
rbellio
I agree that some folks might need physical therapy for their backs and don't
want to diminish that point you're making.

When I see someone who lives a sedentary lifestyle complain about joint pain
or muscular pain I really hope that they try to incorporate some sort of
fitness plan into their life and not just look into a medical expenditures.

Just to re-iterate, if you're feeling some sort of debilitating pain, by all
means go see a doctor. Just don't dismiss the importance of fitness in your
life.

~~~
lttlrck
"Just don't dismiss the importance of fitness in your life."

That's exactly what you'll be told at physical therapy. not only that they'll
tell you exactly what kind of exercise you need to do, and for back pain it
doesn't necessarily involve treadmills or weights.

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sdfjkl
I have a set of weights in my home office. Whenever I lose concentration or
need a break (or feel a bit twitchy), I do a few weightlifting exercises
(usually no more than 20 reps at a time, but several times a day). This has
helped me a great deal in becoming fitter and instead of being a tedious chore
at the end of the day, exercising is now a welcome break that clears my head.

However, long before I started doing that, I discovered the best way to stop
myself from suffering back pains and RSI: Drinking tea. This works
exceptionally well because it means getting up and walking around every 30-60
minutes to get a fresh cup, which is all it took to interrupt whatever cramped
position my back and arms were in (the tea itself doesn't matter, although I
recently switched to a decaffeinated type).

As additional benefit, during either type of break I often have new ideas
about the work I'm doing.

~~~
rz2k
If you're drinking a dozen cups of tea per day, then you're probably getting
the benefit of walking around even more often than every 30-60 minutes.

~~~
r00fus
In my case, I bundle the "brew tea" step with a trip to the latrine: 1) get
boiling water and steep tea 2) hit the restroom 3) tea is steeped (only
require 2min for me), 4) Add cold milk/cold water to make drinkable in short
order.

All takes about 10m every hour-ish.

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toasterlovin
Or, you can do air squats and planks while taking Pomodoro breaks, which
directly addresses the physical issues and requires no expenditure of money,
only time and attention.

Air squats: <http://youtu.be/IewlDXTfbjU> Planks:
<http://youtu.be/pSHjTRCQxIw> Pomodoro Technique:
<http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/>

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NathanKP
As much as archery appeals to the Renaissance Festival attending, fantasy game
playing, Lord of the Rings fan boy nerd within me it probably isn't the most
effective thing to do to get rid of back pain, not to mention that archery
isn't a very accessible hobby for most people due to needing somewhere to
shoot.

Yoga, going for a jog or swim, doing pull ups on an exercise bar, or doing
pretty much any exercise which involves getting up from the computer
periodically and doing something with your upper body will help with back
pain, and probably be much easier and more accessible.

Archery definitely does have that fun appeal though.

~~~
leonvonblut
Archery is an accessible hobby, It's just an urban legend that isn't
accessible, you need only five meter to practise effective archery. Then you
can contact an archery association near to you, we are everywhere.

~~~
NathanKP
Interesting. The times I've experimented with serious bows at Renaissance
Festivals gave me a healthy respect for their power. I would be too afraid to
shoot one in my backyard for fear that if I missed the target I could shoot
through my fence or over it and do some damage to the neighbor's house or
maybe injure someone. But maybe the solution is to just use a less powerful
bow for fun.

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kingmanaz
Here's a recipe from my grandfather that fixed my rounded shoulders:

1\. Stand erect.

2\. Place your hands behind your head, overlapping. Your hands should be
resting on the back of the head between the ears.

3\. Move both hands apart so that the tips of your left and right middle
fingers are just touching the bottom of your respective left and right
earlobes. Your chest will expand and your shoulders move back.

4\. Hold the position for a minute or two, though it may be uncomfortable.

5\. Repeat throughout the day.

6\. Incorporate the exercise into day-to-day activities. When walking,
periodically check your position by touching your fingertips to your earlobes,
per the instructions above. After practice you will be able to snap back into
proper posture just by thinking of the exercise rather than physically
touching your ears.

7\. Follow the exercise with a long stint of standing book reading, being
careful to maintain the posture. When your posture fails, set the book aside
and re-do the exercise. At first you will think of the posture rather than the
book. Eventually you will think of the book and not the posture.

This exercise corrected my posture and I have scoliosis. The standing book
reading is what finally internalized the lesson. I stand and read for hours
now without pain or slouching, when I started I would return to a hunch
approximately every five minutes.

It's free, relatively easy, and may steer some away from television and toward
books. I'd give it a shot.

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uberstuber
Being stronger is a good thing.

Weightlifting (with free weights) 3x a week did wonders for my posture.

Archery sounds a bit more fun

~~~
e40
If you live in a city, like I do, then it will be considerably harder to find
a place to do archery. There are clubs, but the nearest for me is a good drive
away.

~~~
russell_h
For what its worth, for those in SF there's an archery range in Golden Gate
Park. Its at the Ocean Beach end, so not the most convenient for most, but
biking to an archery range could be a good way to get a fun workout.

~~~
zenbowman
There's a bunch of clubs close to SF, there's a great one called Bowhunters
Unlimited in Santa Clara. There's a good one in Los Angeles as well - Pasadena
Roving Archers.

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lubujackson
I've found Pilates to be awesome, especially when you are currently in pain,
since it was created as a way to rehab ballet dancers back from injury.

It is easy for a good trainer to direct your focus on strengthening the exact
muscles that get tightened up or weakened by too much sitting. I was skeptical
that it wasn't going to be anything more than stretching but it has made a
massive difference for me, just doing one workout a week.

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kyllo
Lumbar pain is endemic among desk-ridden males who do not get sufficient
exercise. Proper posture is incredibly important for protecting the lumbar
spine, and men with weak, lengthened muscles (erector spinae and various
others) tend to have trouble even extending the lumbar spine properly at all,
and pain results from the lumbar spine being in constant flexion. I say "men"
because women generally do not experience this problem.

Any exercise that builds strength in the glutes, hamstrings, and lumbar
muscles that stabilize the spine, can be highly beneficial for relieving
lumbar pain.

My favorite exercise for this is deep barbell squats with a straight spine and
weight on the heels, as described in Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Start
with just the bar or no weight at all and increase the load very gradually,
focusing on proper form at all times.

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dougk16
And if you want to be really hardcore, you can make your own primitive bow
too. Nothing like nailing a bulls-eye with a bow you crafted yourself from
scratch. Here's a link to one of the first ones I made:
[http://dougk16.deviantart.com/art/Primitive-
Bow-I-122617866?...](http://dougk16.deviantart.com/art/Primitive-
Bow-I-122617866?q=gallery%3Adougk16%2F10771429&qo=1)

Also, I'd recommend hay bales instead of the material referenced in the post.
You can stack a bunch of hay bales together to make a bigger target, which
will allow you to get further away, and they're the easiest material on the
arrows themselves that I've found. They also don't degrade and leave any
chunks behind on the ground. I get mine at a local nursery.

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Cymen
If you do have back pain, consider starting an exercise regimen slowly. If you
have not been getting any exercise, the muscles that hold your spine in
alignment are weak. If you put excessive stress on your back with weak
muscles, you have a good chance of herniating a disk. A herniated disk is
extremely painful and potentially expensive in terms of time, money and long
term pain.

I would recommend starting slowly. Something like Pilates once a week for 2-5
months, then ramp up to twice a week. If you experience pain, back off.
Consider adding in bicycling at some point. The road/touring bike position
will require you to exercise the same muscles that have weakened.

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bromang
I would be very sceptical about using weight training, and squatting and
deadlifting in particular, as remedies for back pain. These exercises can bad
for you if you have pre-existing issues, EVEN if performed with proper form.
Exercise is obviously useful, but I see no clear reason why putting your body
under serious loads is a good idea. Most serious amateur powerlifters and
bodybuilders, for example, end up suffering from back/knee/shoulder issues at
some point. Posture and mobility deficiencies can be improved in other ways,
but this normally requires more thought than hitting the free weights.

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palidanx
This thing has been amazing for my back post workout.

[http://www.amazon.com/RumbleRoller-RR316-Full-
Size-31x6-Blue...](http://www.amazon.com/RumbleRoller-RR316-Full-
Size-31x6-Blue/dp/B0042JFAUK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365608039&sr=8-1&keywords=rumble+roller)

~~~
cpeterso
The Rumbleroller looks medieval! :)

A similar tool I swear by is the "MA Roller". It's a wooden roller that gives
a _very_ deep massage for your back and neck.

<http://amzn.com/dp/B000KK0AHS>

<http://www.themaroller.com/howtouse.html>

~~~
palidanx
hmm.. I just might pick this up.

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kickingvegas
As one who learned the hard way with my back seizing up years ago due to
slouching and breaking every rule of ergonomics I offer this:

* If you're going to sit, sit upright.

* Raise your monitor so that it is eye-level. Slouching down to look at your notebook will inevitably hurt you one day.

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zenbowman
Archery is a fun sport, in Pasadena where I used to live, it was a favorite
among engineers from NASA JPL. One of the guys brought in a high speed camera
to analyze the motion of his arrows and adjust his bow accordingly. Very geek-
friendly sport.

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snowwrestler
Any fun hobby that involves full-body exercise will probably help improve back
pain, by strengthening the core muscles that support the back, while at the
same time relieving mental stress that causes people to hunch up or sit
tightly.

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InAnEmergency
Archery can also mess up your back and shoulders if you do it wrong and/or the
draw weight is too much for you. It's also an asymmetric activity, since you
use your right and left sides differently.

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emillerm
Isn't archery kind of a one sided workout for your back? I imagine if you're a
right-handed you'd only be effectively working out the right side of your
back.

It does sound more fun than doing dumbbell rows.

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andrewflnr
I love archery for stress relief, too. The concentration to aim and fire
properly, the satisfaction when you nail the target... it feels great.
Shooting things in general, really.

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NDizzle
Archery? Bay Area? Man. I'm going to look at the local google maps aerial
shots and note houses with dog runs and avoid walking by 'em now.

Thanks! Carry on.

~~~
gokulk
There is a pretty good archery range here. Its free to practice and they also
offer free lessons periodically though its booked in advance and always full.
Its near Woodside. You can find it on yelp

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digitalWestie
Might also bring the benefit of looking at things far away too...

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afterburner
Depending on the type of back pain, walking regularly also helps.

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loceng
Yoga's good too.

