Im not a raw beginner (but you could call me so for the weights I put up lol). My basic lifts form is good, Im working on a little flaw on my deads but even after practicing for months in different ocassions I could never crank the squat.
I feel a compression in my lower back when the bar is on me. A few days ago I tried holding my breath and contracting my guy and it banished. You could say Im answering myself but the thing is an empty barbell has that effect, an unloaded barbell.
It makes me wonder if my form is so crappy or what is it.
I had this problem in the beginning as well. Simply, your muscles are the effectors and your bones are the support. In other words, your muscles move the skeleton which holds everything together. The lower back pain is a result of your lumbar (lower) spine trying to hold more weight that it can easily handle. The breath holding is essentially what you need, though you can also try squeezing your abs , keeping your spine straight (not overarched), and trying to distribute the weight of the bar more evenly, by widening your stance for instance.
Squeezing of the glutes can also re-distribute the weight away from your lumbar spine.
After a few weeks of remembering to do these things during your squats, it will become automatic.
The breath holding-ab, glute contracion combo worked but it worried me that I would need to do it after being able to deadlift about 1.5x BW. I thought my spine would be a lot stronger. However during front squats I didn´t feel that compression but I once felt not a compression but kind of a lower back pain (it was nothing) that I believe could have hurt myself if I carried on with it, this with as little as 90 lbs. So I decided it to perfect my form since it could be the main problem.
Im posting a vid on monday when I get to the gym again. Im taking the weekend off and anyway I can’t really ask the instructor as the guy knows nothing at all (keeps telling me Im doing them ok)