I have a light injury on my L5 that will most likely be a lifelong condition (retrolesthesis grade 1) though it could always worsen. Generally, if you are careful it won’t. Basically, my doctor told me you have to listen to your body and respond to your pain levels. If something is causing pain, do not continue.
He essentially told me, technically you can deadlift/squat but it’s not advised to go to a heavy level or where it will cause pain. Though, he pretty much recommended away from traditional deadlifts. It’s like…you can, even with good form, but there is always that chance… (though this may be heavily mitigated with very high rep light weight).
Here is where I am at a loss. Say for squats, would it be better to be doing 30 rep+ squats (to prevent a heavy load on my spine) or would it be better to be going hard on leg press and other supplemental lifts?
Same for deadlifts…perhaps I can do a different type of deadlift, like trap bar as a poster mentioned below, but is it worth it to still pursue that as a main lift if I have to use very light weight (30 reps+) each time? If not, what supplemental back exercises can I do in place?
Thanks for reading so far, I’m really not asking for medical advice but how to adapt my training. I own the 3 main 5/3/1 books including Forever but I felt this was a specific enough question it warranted it’s own thread.
Thanks for the input. I suppose I was also looking for the best substitutes for deadlifts (I know there is no true sub) but like the best supplemental back exercises I can do if someone can’t do deads.
Hey man I made a heavy edit to my post and hopefully that will give more insight into the situation. I’m not sure about trap bar deads I guess I would just literally have to try and see how my body responded.
I have dysplastic anterolisthesis so I can relate. Here are some adjustments to my training that have worked for me:
-Hex bar DL (I do not do high reps to ensure that my form stays solid… cluster sets are your friend)
-Box squats (just below parallel) with a safety squat bar
-Goblet squats
-Seal rows instead of bent-over rows
-T-bar rows if my back is feeling up to it
-Religiously work on hip and thoracic spine mobility
-Power cleans are, sadly, not good for me (too much sudden compressive force for my spine)
-Increase hamstring strength (I recently bought a GHR and it has helped)
-Increase core strength (I really like dragon flags and ab wheel rollouts, but you need to make damn sure that your lower back does not fall into extension)
-Pullups are very good at decompressing the spine… I do them daily
I refused to abandon deadlifts and squats… there are always workarounds.
Trap bar dead’s, trap bar dead’s from blocks, reverse band trap bar dead’s, mid block pulls, high block pulls, (ie rack pulls) sumo rack pulls (sumo tends to take a little less back)
There’s a few examples I can personally think of that would decrease tension on your back. This doesn’t mean load them up heavy but you seem to have that down.
Being blessed with the most fragile of glass backs I do the following: hip-belt squats in place of standard back- and front squats. Best move I made.
Trap bar: never liked it. Marginally better than conventional but sumo seemed easier. Inverted rows another option. Chins/pull-ups are a must. I read somewhere that to get the benefit of the stretch from a dead hang you need significant weight but my lower back always feels great after them, even when using bodyweight.
My back problems are nothing like yours. But options are many. Good luck.
This doesn’t make any sense. Use light/medium weight, lower reps/set to cut back on fatigue and aim for perfect reps. Honestly, I’d steer you to Krypteia and just squat twice/week OR use an A/B style training (squat one day, bench the next day, etc.) You can use the bench day to do perfect DB SLDL/RDL and keep you in the game.
I’d agree about barbell hip-belt squats. One of my friends tried them this way and didn’t realise the problems with balancing the bar. As he came up the barbell slipped off-centre, plates at one end fell off causing the barbell to fly up and knock out two of his front teeth; albeit, it did improve his looks.
However, use a loading pin or the belt’s lifting strap and you have an incredible exercise. Ensure you hold onto something–this makes the exercise look like the Zane Leg Blaster. My legs grow from anything, but this one exercise has been a godsend for someone like me with a messed-up back.
Substitute DL with weighted Chin-Ups perhaps? Totally different, I know, but still a pulling motion where you can go heavy on and don’t hurt the spine with
