Heya T-freques, I started GVT2K today (Ah, the sweet, sweet feeling of not being able to walk…) Anyways, I haven’t done Squats in a while as I’ve been Deadlifting and I don’t have a rack, making it difficult for me to go heavy. While I am nearly sure that I have excellent squat form, my lower back was killing me following the squats. It feels fine now (bout an hour later). Any tips? Thanks. Lata.
“MB Eric: The Monkey on Methoxy since this morning.”
-Eric
Assuming that your upper body (lumbar thoracic spine) were upright (perpendicular to the floor) and there was no pressure put on your lumbo-sacral joint, then it could be the pain is caused by the overall compression of your spine due to having a load on your shoulders.
Try using a Manta Ray. The first time I used one, I wondered how I “did without” for so long. They redistribute the weight in a more ergonomic fashion, and help me to maintain strict form. Since I’m not worried about the pain of a bar digging into my neck, I can focus on the lift. It’s much safer (for me). By the way, a little lower back soreness that goes away that quickly isn’t something I would worry too much about. It will probably disappear as you ease back into squats. Good luck.
I have the same problem from a herniated disk I got while deadlifting a couple of years ago. I love squatting, but it hurts my back regardless of form and leaves me limping around for the next couple of days. After much trial and error I’ve found that when I do them on a smith machine with my feet a little forward it saves my back. I know some of you are groaning at the smith machine squats, but if I go heavy for sets of 20 I find my legs grow just as well as with regular squats, and I can walk the next day. Hope this helps
Thanks fellow T-freques, you guys kick ass. Lata.
"MB Eric: Crunchin' up the competition like corn flakes since 1451."
-Eric
Your low back may be weak do some good mornings for a while and reduce squat weight.
MB, just a note of caution. I’d been squatting in the upper 200’s, just above parallel, when I switched to GVT training earlier this year. With the accent on a slow, controlled descent, I managed to pull my lower back – really pulled it, to the point of near immobility for the next few days. And I was only squatting about 175! I read someone else on the forum had a similar experience with GVT. So, my simian friend, you are not alone. At that tempo, with strict control, there might not be any such thing as “light weight.” GVT removes the resilient “bounce back” factor at the bottom of a squat. I suspect the back has to adjust to these “new rules,” even when our form is solid.