lower back pains when doing squats and deads

[rudygee2]

Ok, so I've been having these lower back pains when I do deads and squats. I used to be able to do them fine, but then I was forced to stop lifting for a while, and when I came back, I think I might have tried to go to heavy and hurt my back. But this pain ONLY comes when Im doing either squats or deads, or if I create a really sharp arch in my back (not like when Im bending over, like the top of the arch is towards my belly and my lower back is the "inside" of the arch). I went to a physical therapist, and he told me that I should do running to warm up (usually I just do 3 lighter sets for each big lift), stretch, and do more ab work to stabilize the core (Ive been neglecting ab work lately). I also think that when I went heavy with my bench, I created a really sharp arch and he said this is really bad, so I'll stop doing that.

But that last part lead me to the question, when you do squats and deads, I thought you were supposed to make a tight arch with your back in order to not hurt it. If its horrible to do when you do bench, should you be doing it when you do squats/deads? Like right now, if I arch my back and bend over, there is alittle pain, but if I bend over really badly (like having my belly be the "inside" of the arch) then there is no pain. Im alittle confused now as to what the proper technique is. Any advice? Thanks.

 

[spesmilitis]

dam, i've been doing arches too. Can someone clear this up for my leg workout in 4 hours, lol. I've been told having the arch from the belly side is bad, and that straight spin is the best. I would do the arch you used to do just to make sure that my back would never arch that way.

I've been having lower back problems too, but this is mostly have really tense muscles.

What really helps me was stretching my hamstrings. My favorite stretch is grip a 45 lb barbell and go into the touch toes strech, and just let the barbell pull me down. Make sure to keep your back straight, no arches, as if you were doing a straight-legged straight back deadlift.

 

[Docs]

Pulled muscle, I do it by moving heavy stuff around sometimes.

 

[mrRuckus]

You're either doing those lifts improperly... or not realizing you're rounding your back... or you just need some good core work like hyperextensions and ab stuff.

A few months ago i dropped my deadlift weight about 25 lbs and concentrated even more on my lower back form and then eventually blasted through where i was having trouble keeping an arched back and i'm 40 lbs heavier than what had been giving me trouble to begin with and they're easier than they were even at the lower weight. This is the same time i actually started doing ab work and hypers. I don't have any back trouble at all now.

Part of body stabilization is actually sticking your gut out doing those lifts too. Something to do with air pressure and all that helps to stabilize the spine.

With bench you're supposed to have an arch but make sure your butt doesn't come off the bench. I don't think it should be a severe arch. Feet flat on the ground too.

 

[rudygee2]

Spesmilitis - Yeah, see I did the same thing...I arched hard with my belly being the outside of the curve to make sure I didnt arch the other way. As for the hamstring stretch, thanks for the tip. I'll probably stay with just stretching on the floor for awhile, Im really unflexible, haha.

Docs - How long does it take to recover from a pulled muscle? I first noticed lower back pains about 3 months ago, and I havent really done any really strenuous lower back exerciese since then. But even after that 3 month break, I just tried squating with the bar only, and it still felt weird. What do you do when you pull your muscle...what helps it?

MrRuckus - Its possible Im doing the exercise wrong, but when I went my heaviest, nothign bad happened. It was after I took a month long break and tried going at it again that it hurt. So I figure if I was doing it wrong, it would have been hurt long before I had my break right? Im definitely gonna do more hypers and ab work, because I think that might be the problem. I hope so at least.

So when you say "stick out your gut", does that mean the same thing Im saying about arching with your belly as the outside of the curve? Right now, it only seems to hurt when I do it that way, but Im pretty sure I used to do that before my break too. So Im confused. I think for bench, Im just gonna switch to DBs cause I've always liked those more, and for some reason they dont put any strain on my back at all.

 

[Docs]

Docs - How long does it take to recover from a pulled muscle? I first noticed lower back pains about 3 months ago, and I havent really done any really strenuous lower back exerciese since then. But even after that 3 month break, I just tried squating with the bar only, and it still felt weird. What do you do when you pull your muscle...what helps it?

I guess it's a different situation, because I did it while working, and it wasn't a bad bad pull, I just took it slow, and careful, and I slept and it was fine by morning. I've had it though where for days I couldn't do anything because I screwed it that bad, and that just takes rest and not straining it too much.


Ohh, and for squats, I find it best to not influence your back forwards or backwards...rather keep it relatively straight.