It loosened up as my upperback and lats got pumped up. Pretty much nothing I did in that session used my lowerback at all. Fortunately this isn’t a herniated disc flare-up, just some general tightness from sleeping on my stomach. Didn’t even notice my lower back during the session, but I’m glad I nixed the cable rows, since I go pretty heavy on them and just sitting in that position puts a good amount of force on my lumbar.
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Yeah cable rows can do a number on the low back especially if you are pulling from a low start point. When I’m healthy I’m the back area I love them but also feel they can cause problems if I’m not in allignment.
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Gotta say, once I started doing them with a neutral spine, my lats started really responding. I used to do them with the slight arch and it was all upperback. Now I may even lean slightly forward during them.
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Yeah I do mine seated and pull from the lowest point on the cable machine with a v handle attachment. I pretty much to a two part motion. Lean all the way forward, then sit up with a neutral spine for the lower back, finally the row to the sternum. Great pump for sure.
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Leg day
I don’t know what happened @Frank_C maybe you’re the devil on my shoulder telling me to deadlift? Went in today and just decided to deadlift, and not only deadlift, but do it with a super close stance. I usually do semi sumo. I’ve done some conventional, but I’ve never done it with a close stance, despite being super hamstring dominant. Just felt right somehow.
225x5
275x5
315x5
225x20
As I said, I don’t know why I did that. Just wanted to try. The 315x5 was pretty easy. Think I’ll stick around with that for a while til it feels light, then add a quarter.
Leg Press
400 2x8
Leg Curls
90 2x10
Leg Extensions
210 1x8
170 1x20
Adductor machine
95 2x15
Seated calves
2 plates 2x15
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You’re one of the only dudes where I see sets like this. Gotta love to see which gives out first lungs or legs lol.
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This is solid! Careful, you might feel tempted to pull four plates… And then five…
For what it’s worth, I hurt myself pretty good deadlifting in 2014. I sprained my SI joint and the right half of my pelvis shifted up and forward. I bulged a disc and it eventually swelled up enough to pinch a nerve. My shin went numb and my medial quad quit working (couldn’t even flex it).
I think it took about three months for that to run its course. The swelling of the disc subsided and everything came back. I quit deadlifting for a couple years but I’m smarter and stronger now. Deadlifts are my lift. You know how everyone naturally excels at something? Deads are mine. And I hope to do them forever.
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Lol. Long way off, but it was fun. And really, I was surprised at how strong I felt with a closed stance. I think it has to do with the question I asked earlier, which is why are the sumo deadlifters squatting with close stance, and @markko answered the obvious, which is that sumo uses more quads. I always squatted with a pretty wide stance until my adductors and hips gave out, but I was definitely a hamstring dominant squatter, so my deadlift is very close to an SLDL, lol. I thought my height would necessitate sumo, so I always did sumo, but it really hurt everything and I think I forced it for too long. When I say 315 flew up, I mean it flew up - I probably had 405 today, and that’s without deadlifting for what feels like a year, and never deadlifting with a close stance ever. But I’m not going to push it too much. Slow and steady, stick with 315 for a while and make it feel light, move on to 335 or whatever, do the same.
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It sounds like you’re like me. I feel good with a close stance. My hips are higher than most but it works for me. I think you find your strongest position on a near max effort lift. The position your body is in right as the weight breaks the floor is your strongest position.
I think a good technique should still be learned but it should adjust to the person.
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I suddenly don’t feel so bad about taking a year to figure out my deadlift. You guys have been lifting way longer than I have and there’s always something new to learn.
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Just out of interest, how close was your foot position to where it would be if you were going to jump?
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Had to get up for this, it was close. Instinctively I went to a fairly close stance to jump, I’d say it was slightly closer for the deadlift, with toes pointed slightly outwards.
Lol, the day I say I’m done learning about lifting is the day you all should laugh me the fuck out of this forum. I’d lose all my exp and go straight back to noob on that assumption alone. I’ve gotten by fine without deadlifting, but it was always frustrating to have to work around it. I’m hoping I can make some strength gains in the weak parts of my back by lifting with a style that apparently suits my body a bit more.
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This reminds me a little of the way that CT recommended doing them. He does a four-part move of initial pull/row to sternum, lean back with lats tight, lean forward with lats tight, then controlled eccentric.
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straight up, this is almost how I do them. 0 arch in the spine, upper back even slightly rounded forward. I don’t lean forward this far on heavy ones, but on my 50% dropsets they’re like this, and it torches the lats in an insane way.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwxA2nqD-OX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
I don’t remember if @kd13 posted this video or just part of Dante’s IG but that, combined with PC’s recommendation to not have any arch or lean-back in the row really solidified my lat MMC, which is another thing that took me this long to properly achieve @whang, I’ve learned so much stuff, and am also learning that so much stuff that I previously learned or thought was bullshit. And tomorrow I may find that something else I believe 100% now is bullshit too. You of all people probably get that too whang, since your field is ALWAYS changing and it requires a good, open-minded attitude as a doctor to keep up with the times and admit when previous practices were incorrect.
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I feel like I finally had this moment on Friday.
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The more I know, the more I am aware I don’t know shit
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I know there are camps that say deadlift is a poor choice / doesn’t build your back, but I found Justin Harris’s answer here interesting. It’s at 5:15
Interesting rows btw! Thanks for posting that!
And yes, totally agreed!
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It’s similar to the debate about increasing muscle mass to increase strength or increasing strength to increase muscle mass.
Does a big deadlift build a big back or does a thick back help with a big deadlift?
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This is so weird, I used to watch videos with Justin Harris in them and haven’t seen or heard about him in literally years, and just had a random thought about some old squat video of his a couple days ago. He was listening. Or you were. Either way I’m creeped out now.