Looking for some help guys. I went to the chiropractor today for a recurring lower back issue. I have some strained tendons or ligaments in my lower back. The pain really comes on when squatting heavy or doing back movements. Just wondering what you guys would recommend as far as my training sessions while trying to heal my lower back.
I have been doing the layer system for awhile and specifically the wave/ladders. I was thinking about sticking with what I am currently doing (Military press, slight incline/decline bench, and squat) but keeping the weight fairly conservative on squats and then doing chin ups for my back.
Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated. Stay Strong!
My wife had that issue. Honestly I would reduce lower body work. I would stick to gulp isolation work to at least maintain the muscle mass in the lower body. And see it as an opportunity to give your upper body a blitz. Even if you can squat without too much pain doesn’t mean that it cannot make the matter worse.
What would you recommend for isolation work for the lower body? I was maybe thinking split squats?[/quote]
Actually split squats might make the issue worse too because most people rotate their hips when doing it. I don’t like to tell you this, but it might be a time for leg extension and leg curls, maybe some leg press… not an advice I ever thought I’d give but better be safe than sorry with back injuries.
What would you recommend for isolation work for the lower body? I was maybe thinking split squats?[/quote]
Actually split squats might make the issue worse too because most people rotate their hips when doing it. I don’t like to tell you this, but it might be a time for leg extension and leg curls, maybe some leg press… not an advice I ever thought I’d give but better be safe than sorry with back injuries.[/quote]
I do have to say hearing you say that is quite weird but I do not want my legs to shrink up either. And I am guessing SGHP’s might not be the best idea right now either. But better to do leg ext and leg curls than doing nothing for legs.
[quote]jtbrown0511 wrote:
CT… Are there any exercises that specifically hit the lower back to lead to lower back developments like Dmitry Klokov and Lu Xiaojun?
[/quote]
Maybe doing the olympic lifts, high pulls and deadlifts on a daily basis (sometimes two or three times a day) for 15 years starting when you are 10 years of age like the two guys you mentioned.
Try goblet squats or, hell, even bodyweight squats IF they don’t bother your back. I used to have back problems due to my desk job but no more since I found mobility wod… I suggest you do some drills from there daily. Anyways, I used to squat to max every day ala Broz style and made great progress but my back would slow me down often. I found I could front squat with little pain if the back squat just wasn’t happening.
[quote]mrjasonbbc wrote:
Try goblet squats or, hell, even bodyweight squats IF they don’t bother your back. I used to have back problems due to my desk job but no more since I found mobility wod… I suggest you do some drills from there daily. Anyways, I used to squat to max every day ala Broz style and made great progress but my back would slow me down often. I found I could front squat with little pain if the back squat just wasn’t happening. [/quote]
I do not agree with this… if the squat motion hurts, then I’d stop doing them until the issue is fixed. At light loads you might not feel much, or anything, but that doesn’t mean that the motion itself isn’t making things worse. Plus, why do body weight squats if it’s not going to stimulate growth and strength? Garbage volume… as much as I normally stay away from leg extensions, leg curls and leg presses, in his case they might be the best solution to keep those muscles large and strong while the issue is being addressed.
An injured lower back sucks. I’m recovering from a disc protrusion myself at the moment.
The worst part is that all the good upper back exercises which allow any significant load to be used, such as Rackpulls and SGHPs, are off limits. The thing is, I’m fine with not working my legs that hard for a while, but when I can’t work my upper back that means I can’t afford to do a lot of heavy pressing either. Basically the end result quickly starts to look like no push, no pull, no legs. Of course I’m not letting that stop me though.
I use the following exercises for back, besides chin-up variations:
One-arm dumbbell row, knee on bench
Meadow’s row, knee on bench
Chest-supported cambered bar row
Rope facepull
Rope row from a high pulley sitting on floor, leaning back. For some reason this exercise doesn’t bother my lower back at all.
Also, back exercises lend themselves well to stricter execution and isometric holds, which means it’s somestimes possible to gain a decent training stimulus with a lighter than usual weight.
[quote]jtbrown0511 wrote:
CT… Are there any exercises that specifically hit the lower back to lead to lower back developments like Dmitry Klokov and Lu Xiaojun?
Maybe doing the olympic lifts, high pulls and deadlifts on a daily basis (sometimes two or three times a day) for 15 years starting when you are 10 years of age like the two guys you mentioned.[/quote]
That makes sense. They both have very impressive backs. I noticed that Klokov does a lot of high pulls in his videos on youtube.
