i am wondering if anyone could suggest a good substitute for 1-leg back extensions in the OVT. I find that this exercise puts too much strain on my lower back. (i have had chronic lower back problems for the past 5+ years)
Thanks
Why do them 1-legged? What’s wrong with the standard Back Extension?
But to strengthen your lower back: deadlifts and goodmornings.
[quote]Wreckless wrote:
Why do them 1-legged? What’s wrong with the standard Back Extension?
But to strengthen your lower back: deadlifts and goodmornings.[/quote]
If the guy has chronic back problems, then deads and GMs are more likely to fuck it up than back extensions.
The one legged variety is meant to hit the hamstrings more. If back extensions are messing your back up, I would have a serious talk to a rehab guru.
What massif said.
Rekless is right, but if you have back problems then you need to fix the issue.
Do you do any ab training?
thanks for the replies…
in the OVT program, the superset including the 1-leg back extensions is follwed by a superset of deads (sumo, romanian) i have never had any problems with deads, or good mornings when it comes to my lower back. either my form is off, (possibly using my lower back muscles more)or that particular exercise just tweeks something the wrong way
[quote]Sxio wrote:
What massif said.
Rekless is right, but if you have back problems then you need to fix the issue.
Do you do any ab training? [/quote]
i have been visiting a chiropractor. they did a muscle scan about 3 months ago. colors on the chart read…no color: very good, green: good, yellow: so-so, and red: bad. every area in my lower back was in black. it has since gottenmuch better, mostly all in the yellow area. and i havent had any problems with my back in any other exercise in this time.
as far as ab training, i do 2-3 workouts per week. (1 following my leg workout) a mix of bodyweight and added weight exercises
[quote]HULKSTAR wrote:
thanks for the replies…
in the OVT program, the superset including the 1-leg back extensions is follwed by a superset of deads (sumo, romanian) i have never had any problems with deads, or good mornings when it comes to my lower back. either my form is off, (possibly using my lower back muscles more)or that particular exercise just tweeks something the wrong way[/quote]
More info - that’s good.
What are you like with normal back extensions? A couple of things could be happenning:
-
You are hyper-extending your spine at the top of your extension? If you are, stop it;
-
Your butt and hamstrings might be weak, thereby making your lower back do all the work throughout the movement. As an example, when doing back extensions, I can make them either a hamstring / butt exercise, or a lower back exercise. Think of them as a SLDL but lying down. If you can’t haul yourself up with your hammies, you have serious weakness;
-
Are mixing up strain with a pump? I get a hell of a pump in my lower back after back extensions, something that I don’t get from other low back exercises. Sometimes it hurts for a short while until the pump subsides, or:
-
You are just a mutant
Have a chat with Dr. Ryan - I believe low backs are his specialty. Also run it past Cressey and Robertson.
[quote]Massif wrote:
HULKSTAR wrote:
thanks for the replies…
in the OVT program, the superset including the 1-leg back extensions is follwed by a superset of deads (sumo, romanian) i have never had any problems with deads, or good mornings when it comes to my lower back. either my form is off, (possibly using my lower back muscles more)or that particular exercise just tweeks something the wrong way
More info - that’s good.
What are you like with normal back extensions? A couple of things could be happenning:
-
You are hyper-extending your spine at the top of your extension? If you are, stop it;
-
Your butt and hamstrings might be weak, thereby making your lower back do all the work throughout the movement. As an example, when doing back extensions, I can make them either a hamstring / butt exercise, or a lower back exercise. Think of them as a SLDL but lying down. If you can’t haul yourself up with your hammies, you have serious weakness;
-
Are mixing up strain with a pump? I get a hell of a pump in my lower back after back extensions, something that I don’t get from other low back exercises. Sometimes it hurts for a short while until the pump subsides, or:
-
You are just a mutant
Have a chat with Dr. Ryan - I believe low backs are his specialty. Also run it past Cressey and Robertson.[/quote]
after the workout last night, I think it may be a mix of #1 and #3. i believe i am/was going to far above parallel, which i will stop doing. also, i agree that it might be a lower back pump. its a weird feeling (to say the least)
so, rather than substitue an exercise, i will concentrate more on the range of the movement (not going too far above parallel), and sack-up when the “pump” hits.
thanks for the info, much appreciated
-Todd
If your muscles are burning, then it is also possible that your hams are very tght which causes your lower back to tighten up. One way to remedy this would be to static stretch your hams before your workout.
[quote]geoffsherman wrote:
If your muscles are burning, then it is also possible that your hams are very tght which causes your lower back to tighten up. One way to remedy this would be to static stretch your hams before your workout. [/quote]
Good suggest. I would recommend also stretching between sets and after.
Front hip stretching as well, it can take a lot of pressure off your back.
[quote]HULKSTAR wrote:
i have been visiting a chiropractor. they did a muscle scan about 3 months ago. colors on the chart read…no color: very good, green: good, yellow: so-so, and red: bad. every area in my lower back was in black. it has since gottenmuch better, mostly all in the yellow area. and i havent had any problems with my back in any other exercise in this time.
[/quote]
Do you have any more info on the muscle scan? I’m curious since I never heard of it and it sounds interesting. I’m just wondering what it’s scanning for. Torn, or inflamed muscles?
Anyway, I also had lower back problems with those 1 legged back extensions, and also a little bit with 2 legged back extensions. The weird thing for me was that once I did rom. deads, or regular deads right after the extensions, the tight, burning sensation went away.
I have no idea why, but every week, my lower back would be tight and burning (more so with higher reps) and every week, the heavier deads made it go away, and it went away faster than the times when back ext. were the last exercise I did.
[quote]SWR-1222D wrote:
Do you have any more info on the muscle scan? I’m curious since I never heard of it and it sounds interesting. I’m just wondering what it’s scanning for. Torn, or inflamed muscles?
.[/quote]
the scan measured muscle tightness. im not 100% sure exactly how it works, but it involves sending a small current through the muscle, and based on how well the current flows, or the time it takes, is how it measures the tightness…i think.
i have also noticed, while doing other exercises, that whatever feeling i was having in back, it would go away if i “pushed through it” and went into the next exercise.
its just that the back extensions gave me a different feeling than i have felt before, so i was very hesitant to proceed into the next exercise for fear of a re-aggrivating/injuring my back again.
thanks again
Todd
I’m curious about why with the back extensions you should’t be going beyond paralell? I go as far as I can while maintaning contact with my hips to the pads. I’m just really curious as to why this is a bad idea? To be honest about it, it feels good like a really deep stretch at the top.
[quote]Raimisch wrote:
I’m curious about why with the back extensions you should’t be going beyond paralell? I go as far as I can while maintaning contact with my hips to the pads. I’m just really curious as to why this is a bad idea? To be honest about it, it feels good like a really deep stretch at the top.[/quote]
im saying its a bad idea for me given my history of lower back problems. i find that when i go beyond parallel i tend to use my lower back muscles instead of hams, which causes the strain. (something i need to work on)