RDLs and what not

[Blurple]

32 y/o male
218 lbs of white dynamite 5'10
eat well (a lot anyway), sleep well, no major life stress
ER nurse work days
Actual training for about 8-9 years before that just bro stuff

Recent 1RMs:

Squat 460
Bench 420
DL 550
Press 245

Anyway, my questions are regarding bb rows and rdls. I feel that they have added to my total but they have given me issues as of late.

1.) When I do bb rows from the floor my back feels very weak and fatigued and I am unable to complete the sets productively with any appreciable weight due to an inability to hold my back in extension. It doesn't necessarily hurt but feels weak and uncomfortable.

2.) when I do RDLs i have no pain during the actual exercise and it feels as if I could do RDLs all day, however the next day I have minor discomfort in the r lower back in the area of the si joint and significant pain in the r posterior-lateral hip about 1/3 of the way up the rom when I am squatting. It only hurts during that top 3rd of the squat on the way up. The R-posterior hip pain is bad enough to make me timid when squatting for several days until it lets up. I have trained through these issues for the past several days just not very productively ie; less weight and less volume. Should I use light weights on these exercises or scrap them altogether?

I have no symptoms when squatting heavy, rack pulling, or deadlifting from the floor. I appreciate your thoughts to anyone inclined to answer my question, which seems more trivial now that I have written it down.

[Michael Wolf]

I have no symptoms when squatting heavy, rack pulling, or deadlifting from the floor. I appreciate your thoughts to anyone inclined to answer my question, which seems more trivial now that I have written it down.

I'm a little confused as, in the previous paragraph, you said one of your main issues is when squatting. And also - you can't hold your back in extension for BB Rows that are presumably around 300 lbs, but you can deadlift 550 with a flat back? Something isn't right here. Clarify for me.

[Blurple]

Sorry, that wasn't very clear.

To clarify, regarding RDLs, one week or so after performing them I have pain when squatting. RDLs are the only movement that create the symptoms I mentioned before initially, other movements just suffer a s a result of the initial minor injury. The symptoms alleviate spontaneously after a week or so but they cost me both intensity and volume in the rest of my lower body training when present. Should I do them really light or scrap them altogether? Hopefully that is a little clearer.

I have been doing rows for years but have never been a strong rower. Maybe it's a technique issue. Recently it has become exceedingly uncomfortable in the low back mid-set and I have far more back fatigue than I have in the past which limits the intensity on the set. I think I'm going to switch to chest supported or db rows for awhile. As I write this it has dawned on me that these issues are probably related to an underlying nagging injury that just rears its head occasionally when aggravated. Sorry for the rambling. I guess my only question is if I should keep rdls light or get rid of them. Thanks for answering my question. I really appreciate it.

[Tom Campitelli]

If they are hurting you, the easiest and possibly correct answer is to drop them. If they truly serve a meaningful purpose in your program, then you may need to get some coaching to clean up form problems and/or figure out if you have a programming issue (too much volume or weight). I would bet you could live a full and complete life without RDLs and might like light deadlifts better, provided you need extra volume.