Tips for preventing back pain?

Perhaps not the usual subject matter for this forum, but I figured members who know a lot about working on floors might also know a thing or two about this.

So I enjoy working on tiling my new floor, but the thing I hate is that it leaves me with awful back pain at the end of the day, and for days after. I wear a back brace and knee pads while working, but it's still bad. (And I hit the gym 4 days a week, so I'd like to think I'm not a total whimp!)

One problem with tiling is that it's not easy to "take a break" or work on it an hour or two every day. Thinset gets dry, I gotta work quickly, and there's cleanup every time I work on it.

Any advice from folks who've always been in the same boat? Any advice on other things to wear, posture, or anything would be helpful.

 

Do you do hyperextensions?

 

Yeah I do, about 4 times a week. Helps a little.

 

You need to figure out what the underlying condition is. As an example, my daughter and I both have problems at our bottom vertebra (L5) but the condition she has is made worse with extension while mine is helped that way.