Strength training can support a healthy spine, but lifting loads that are too heavy, progressing too quickly or using poor technique can increase the risk of injury. When that happens, it often means time away from training, which can feel like a setback.
Looking after your back isn’t only about what happens during a workout. The smaller, everyday decisions around how you train and recover also matter, from how much you move between sessions to practical considerations such as wearing stable footwear. It is why many lifters look for the best cross training shoes for weight training, alongside paying closer attention to technique and recovery.
To get expert insight, we spoke to spinal surgeon and back health expert Anthony Ghosh, Director of The Spine MDT. “People might assume their spinal health is determined entirely by what happens in the gym,” he says. “But what you do in the other 23 hours of the day matters just as much.”
1. Maintain regular, low-level movement throughout the day
It’s easy to feel like your training is over once your workout ends. But as Ghosh points out: “Prolonged sitting reduces blood flow to the spine and surrounding tissues, which can make the spine less tolerant to load when you do train.”
Small movements throughout the day can make a real difference. “Rather than aiming for ‘perfect posture’, which isn’t always realistic, I advise people to vary their positions throughout the day. This way, you’re preventing the spine from becoming stiff and deconditioned between your training sessions,” he says.
He also recommends building simple habits to keep the spine active between workouts, such as standing and moving for a few minutes each hour or aiming to hit a good number of steps throughout the day. If you use one of the best sport watches, you can often set it to alert you when you’ve been sitting still for too long, reminding you to get up and move.
2. Prioritise recovery and sleep
Training hard only works if your body has time to recover. As Ghosh explains, “Spinal tissues, including muscles, ligaments and the outer lining of the discs, adapt and strengthen during the time between gym sessions, not in the workouts themselves.” When recovery is missed, “the tissues that protect the spine become fatigued and are then more prone to small tears or strains.”
Sleep is a key part of that process. “Poor sleep reduces tissue repair and alters pain perception, meaning minor strains are more likely to develop into persistent back pain,” he says, which is why “adequate sleep and planned rest days” are essential for anyone who strength trains regularly.
For most people training three to four times a week, allowing rest days between heavier sessions and aiming for consistent, good-quality sleep can go a long way in reducing the risk of back injury.
3. Build general strength and load tolerance outside of your workouts
Back injuries don’t always come from lifting heavy. According to Ghosh, “One of the most common reasons people injure their back in the gym is that their spine isn’t exposed to enough varied load in day-to-day life.” If the only time your back experiences significant load is during a heavy lift, “the risk of injury is much higher.”
That’s where everyday movement comes in. “Research consistently shows us that general muscular strength is closely linked to long-term spinal resilience,” he says. This doesn’t need to mean extra workouts, either. “This can easily be incorporated into your day-to-day with habits such as performing short daily hangs from a pull-up bar, or including light bodyweight movements like glute bridges or step-ups on rest days.”
Even small, practical actions add up. “Even carrying shopping bags evenly on both sides helps,” Ghosh notes. “These small things work to maintain a baseline strength that makes your spine robust enough to tolerate load in the gym.”
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