Source
r/GYM•
rabobar

What am I doing wrong with my lower back?

General Advice

43 years old, 6'2", 200lbs. I did some pushups and stuff earlier in life, but only started the gym thing a few years ago. Wish I'd done so sooner! In my 20s and 30s i had a few back injuries due to doing stupid things with awkward heavy objects.

I'm very proud of my progress, using mostly machines, with free weights for the odd exercise. Where I'm getting caught up is my lower back not keeping up with gains elsewhere. An example is that i could leg press 2x my body weight. My legs were fine, but I'd lose weeks after my back spasmed. Thinking that i was deficient there, i focused on it using a back extension machine, getting up to my body weight in extra resistance, and the same thing happening.

Ive always had tight hamstrings and wondered if that was affecting my back, too, so I've started to stretch every night before bed, holding the pose for 90 seconds. I feel the stretch and it feels good.

So i started back extension work again, with a careful lower weight. As i move u the weight again, i feel the same thing happening, so before I hurt myself again, any advice on what I'm doing wrong? I work out my entire body and try to balance everything out. Aside from having to look out for my shoulders, this is my only area of concern

Posted May 3, 2022, 11:07 AM UTC

316
Illerios1•

Im 30 and fucked up my lower back in my early 20s ego lifting deadlifts. I was afraid to deadlift ever again and since then I frequently suffered from lower back pains through out my days.

Strangely enough what seems to be helping now is doing deadlifts again. But with "form over weight" mentality. I started with an empty bar again, swallowed my ego and gradually, very gradually have been moving up in weights. And I dont go anywhere near my old PR-s now and follow a program that that dictates me to do 3x10 deadlifts. I do it with 75kg currently (have been at it for 3 months), which is probably a laughing stock here, but the idea for me is not to lift as much weight as possible but to strengthen my lower back so It wont hurt.

The days where my lower back hurts have decreased drastically doing this. It used to hurt almost every day but now its like an odd day here and there, once a week when I sleep in a weird position. And even when it hurts in the morning the pain goes away after deadlifts!

2
rabobarOP•

I've been using machines precisely because ive feared doing something really wrong with a deadlift, but at this point not worried about how little weight i might start at.

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[deleted]•

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Illerios1•

If you have some spare cash you could take a few sessions from a private coach in your gym (if it has some), to show you how to deadlift, if youre interested in deadlifting. Then focus on the form over weight. Most injuries happen with too much weight that compromises the from. And doing light-moderate weight for more reps like I do with strict form shouldnt injure you :).

But yea, I started really slowly, I DL x2 a week. On first week I started with an empty bar, did just 3x10 with an empty bar while focusing on the form (use mirrors). Next I added 2x5kg plates again 3x10. Then again 2x5kg plates and so on until I reached 60kg total and then I stayed there for like a month, just to get my back used to it and then slowly added again but this time by 2x2.5kg plates.

It felt ridiculously light at first but getting the form down was the best thing that I did for my self. Before my injury I just went all in on weight and did not give shit about my form....

1
rabobarOP•

I can't afford a trainer, but i have a friend who has been lifting free weights for 20 years that i hope to bring to my gym for a session. He's shorter, but has never had any injuries, so he might be able to tell me how my form is. I've watched enough videos to be very cautious about dead lifts and squats.

1
generalh104•

Mobility and stability can also be an issue. For example if your glutes are weak and stiff, it can put your low back in unstable/compromised positions where it has to do more work than it should be doing.

For leg press a telltale sign is if your butt starts to come off of the seat, it means that you don't have the proper hip mobility to reach that depth. Your body is very smart, so it compensates by flexing at the back- in real life situations this is great for bending over to pick something up off the floor, but when you are supporting 400 pounds using your legs it puts the load that should be on your glutes partially onto your low back

I had this issue with my back as well until I found out that the seat can be adjusted on my gym's leg press, leaning it all the way back gave my hips more room to flex and fixed my issue. Using a wider 'stance' similar to my squatting width helped me too.

And from what I've heard, tight hamstrings can have a negative impact on the low back for some people. But I have tight hamstrings and I haven't had this issue, so I'm not sure what would help on that side

2
rabobarOP•

I don't remember my butt moving, and being tall I'm used to adjusting seats, but I can't exactly remember what I did while using the leg press.

For glutes, I'm able to max out the abductor and adductor machines at 85kg and 20 reps a set, though writing this I'm realizing more and more that I should do squats. Are there any other recommended exercises?

1
generalh104•

Overall incorporating more free weights can help your body stay in natural movement paths. Squats definitely help.

If you can do it without pain, I would say to start incorporating LIGHT deadlift and variations like Romanian and deficit pulls if you have the mobility for it. Movements like these that work the low back isometrically are great for building strength, stability, and reinforcing good posture even outside of the gym.

Think about it like this: You want your back to be strongest in the position you want it to stay in, so isometrics are the best way to reinforce keeping a neutral spine.

I also LOVE deadlifts much more than the average person so maybe take what I say with a grain of salt...

And wow, that is some impressive butt strength.

1
rabobarOP•

My legs have somehow ended up like tree trunks. 120kg standing toe raise. 95kg for leg ext, 60kg leg curl, 10rep max each. If only the rest would follow, lol.

Today is a leg day, but since I did back extensions yesterday, I'll wait a few days before I try any deadlift. I'd really like to, as shoulder shrugs are the only true free weight bar bell exercise I do, and I totally get the point about natural paths. My gym has some padded mats which I've only seen used for absorbing shock and noise when people drop/throw weights, but perhaps they can also be used for deficits as I haven'T noticed anything else for that purpose.

How light would you recommend to start? I do 80kg lat pull and 110kg shoulder shrug, whether that translates into just the bar, or putting a plate or 2 onto the bar.

1
generalh104•

However much you can do without pain, I don't know exactly how much those would translate to deadlifts. Maybe just start at 135 and increase the weight by 20-40 pounds every session, or more if you're comfortable with it

I use 35 pound plates instead of 45s for deficit deadlifts, you could do that if your gym has those. It's a lot easier than trying to stack up stuff to the same height every time

Edit: Just realized you use kilos, all of the numbers I put here are in pounds

1
StillWill15possibly illiterate, definitely single, and absolutely a dork •

Back extensions is a movement that does not naturally exist. Adding weight to a back extension will not only injure your back, it will also ruin your shoulders. Because your shoulder blades will unnaturally work to keep your spine under tension to brace it. In a worse way than you could get injured doing crunches or sit ups.

The appropriate exercise for what you are trying to accomplish is the rowing machine. The one with the string and the weight stack that you sit on and pull towards your body.

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[deleted]•

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1
Han_So_oh•

Do you know how to brace your core with intra-abdominal pressure? Especially throughout all 360 degrees of the core?

1
rabobarOP•

nope, but i've now started to read up on it!

1
Han_So_oh•

To put simply, any time you're going to load up the spine. You should take a deep breath and hold it, then clamp down on it with all your core muscles, to increase intra-abdominal pressure. That pressure is going to help support the weight.

For anyone who hasn't done it before. There might not be enough mind muscle connection to sufficiently contract the obliques and QL.

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rabobarOP•

oh, i think I'm doing that already as I've been an event technician for a couple decades and have had to get very awkwardly sized and weighted objects into trucks, up ladders, etc. Failing to prepare before lifting cable cases, rigging steel, speakers, amps, lights, etc means getting hurt and I did enough of that! I def do that for shoulder shrugs

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