Hi,
I have abit of a problem with my squat, my lower back hurts for about a minute after squatting, like I’d squat, rack the bar and my back will start hurting.
Im not to sure why this happens and i though maybe you guys could help me out,
Heres the video
I squat low bar if that helps.
Thanks in advance!
head up, chest out, try to keep your torso more upright. you’re falling forward a bit and doing a semi good-morning to complete the lift. do actual good mornings to strengthen your lower back.
[quote]matsm21 wrote:
head up, chest out, try to keep your torso more upright. you’re falling forward a bit and doing a semi good-morning to complete the lift. do actual good mornings to strengthen your lower back.[/quote]
exactly right, after you get the squat form right, also work on strengthening your back, it shouldnt hurt with that weight regardless
Thanks for the quick replies.
When i try to keep my torso more upright my knees come abit more forward, is that okay?
do you use your abs?? it will take some weight off your lower back
umm dunno what you mean?
[quote]kaoticz wrote:
umm dunno what you mean? [/quote]
Do you brace your abs when you squat??
-brace your abs
-maintain a neutral/arched spine always
-look up
considered some spinal de-compression every now and then such as:
hanging on a pull up bar between sets
consider occasionly sleeping with a pillow under your knees to help decompress your spine
sounds silly but it helped me a lot when my back was fucked.
Tighten your mid section when you squat, it helps you to stop falling forward.
Alright, ill try that, squatting again on tuesday, will use the tips and post back if the problem is fixed/same, thanks heaps!
I don’t see the problem w/ the good morning. Usually that happens when the hips rise faster than the shoulders. It looked to me like your hips and shoulders rised at the same rate. I did see some of the good morning problem in the last couple reps of your first form check video.
If you’re squatting low bar, there is going to be some forward lean so the bar is right over your feet and balanced, so you don’t fall forward or backward. The back angle was fine and the bar was right where it should be.
Its hard to tell due to video quality and the plates, but it looked like you kept your chest up and maintained a good arch.
I didn’t see anything glaringly wrong with the squat, and I would also second making sure you take a deep bellyful of air before every rep, trying some spinal decompression, and maybe work on hamstring flexibility.
Don?t know if this will help but I recently reset my weight and corrected my form as I too was having low back pain though it felt more like strain on the tendons/ligaments than the muscle. Im not sure exactly how to describe it but it was so bad that it would end my work out day!
Anyway, I found that I was just dropping into my squat instead of controlling it and I was not locking out at the top of my rep (legs locked but slight lean forward- good morning style isometric hold)
I started focusing on controlling my rate of decent by thinking about starting the movement by sitting back instead of dropping down ? starting with the hips instead of the knees. I also began bracing my abs as stated above and have not had any issues with pain or discomfort.
I too am a low back bar and was using more of a power squat type of stance than the shoulder width though I have narrowed my stance now too.
Not being able to squat was the most frustrating thing I can think of so I hope this helps in some way and I hope it made sense.
This is unrelated to form. You are using a homemade squat rack, correct?
Why do you squat with your back to the wall and the supports angled in front of your body?
From the video, it appears that if you failed on a set, the support rails would drag you and the barbell forward to the floor.
If you squatted facing the opposite direction, then on failure or accident you could ditch the weight behind you and the supports would keep it clear of your body.
Maybe I missed something. If I didn’t miss something, then I would highly recommend doing an about-face you will be much much safer that way.
Regarding form:
I disagree with the comments about GMing out of the hole. For a tall guy doing low bar squats the forward lean it not excessive.
From the video it looks like you may be rounding your lower back. Due to the grainy image and the baggy shirt, I’m not 100% certain on this. If you are rounding the low back on the squat this would explain you back pain issue.
I see one other small problem with the way you’re squatting. You’re performing the eccentric too quickly on the way down. Go down more slowly and with more control, then come up from the bottom with more force.
You’re letting gravity do too much of the work and almost just letting your knees goes on the way down. Also, it is hard to see the form of your back exactly because the video quality is relatively low and your shirt is masking your torso so it’s hard to comment on that.
The one thing I will say is to keep a neutral spine as best you can. Growing up, I was always taught incorrectly to keep a strong arch and when your spine is arched and under load, you’re putting your vertebrae at high risk of herniating.
@theuofh
What’s spinal decompression?
For hamstring flexibility how should i do about it, 2-3 times a day like 30sec static stretches?
@mc sp3
I Have safety supports incase of a failed rep, you can’t see because of the bad quality of the video. They are pretty much the same as the hooks i used to rack the bar.
So if im rounding my back what should i do to fix that?
While fixing it should i do like 2inch above parallel box squats so my back doesnt hurt?
Im currently doing VJB Novice weights for improvements on the vertical jump, calls for 4x8 squats in the current phase im doing, should i replace them or will that screw too much with the program?
@Da Vinci
I’ll try controlling the eccentric portion abit more!
Thanks guys for all the responses, and sorry for so many questions lol! As you can see i don’t know to much about this form stuff, and fixing pain etc. lol!