My deadlift is abysmal recently down from a max pull of 630 to pulling 500 yesterday that felt hard as hell. Every rep I did yesterday twisted as if the bar was bent (if wasn’t, i checked it out twice). I’ve noticed recently that I have some lower back pains and I’m wondering if this is playing a role. My squat has been increasing, but i’m guessing I can “hide” my lower back squatting? Anyone have any insights?
How often do you pull?
How bad is the back pain?
If your squat is going up, is this due to gaining weight? Changes in leverages may be playing a role
Squat and Dead use similar muscles So if you are crushing one, you may be somewhat wore out for the other this go around. Sometimes It’s hard to excel at both, at the same time. Was this a one time thing If so, chalk it up to a bad day. If the problem persists for several weeks, I’d start looking at your training log for changes. Perhaps you stopped doing something that helped your dead more than you realized, for example.
It is VERY possible that a back issue is hindering your deadlift. The shear force in the lumbar spine is more pronounced in the dead than squat; you can, therefore, often still squat well but not pull well with certain back issues. The first course of action should be a good evaluation by a GOOD provider.
Another thought is to lay off deads for several weeks while focusing on back health then test the waters again. Even if the pain isn’t severe, the muscles can be inhibited (the body innately trying to protect itself) and make you feel “weak” rather than “injured”.
I don’t have any back pain per say…occasional aches and pains. I did go back through my training log and realized the one thing i dropped that I think might be responsible is direct lower back work…when I was in college I did 45 degree back raises constantly…I haven’t done one now for prolly close to a year.
I’m currently nailing light good mornings trying to get direct lower back work in…hoping this helps it…Dr J pretty much nailed my thoughts, i think my body was protecting me from hurting myself, I had zero drive off the floor.
If i see no improvement, I have a few recommendations for chiropractors around me. I’ll get checked out new days off. Thanks for all the thoughts!
Update…direct lower back work helped the deadlift. Assuming it was a lower back tweak/weakness holding me back. Ripped a triple at 550 and a double at 585 last deadlift session, so the strength is coming back. Note to self…keep lower back work prioritizied!
This is good news, I’m in the exact same boat. I stopped my good mornings, Romanian deadlifts, and straight leg dead lifts for about 4 weeks, I’ve gone from pulling sets of 5 at 435 to barely getting a single at 435 and failing at 455 many times, and, it happens right when my lower back really engages. Thanks for your update, it will definitely help me (I hope).