Training Keeps Getting Derailed, Advice Please

[bucket .]

Long time lurker. I've read, listened and watched almost everything Mark has said regarding "back problems" and training. That being said...

44 years old. 5'10". 220lbs.

Was a real athlete 20 years ago, but am now severely under trained. At 33 years old, I started having lower back pain. After an MRI, I was diagnosed with DDD (I know). I was told to weigh as little as possible, stop weight training, stop running, jumping, etc. I took most of their advice & bought a Bow Flex machine. Anyhow, after finding Mark through James Yeager and absorbing tons of his content over the years, I decided to start the NLP last year, as I kept hearing that most people's back pain goes away when their back gets strong.

I bought the SS and Barbell Prescription books in October & in January I decided to start. I bought the app as well. My idea was to start super light, to allow my body to get used to training again, get the form down and get my big muscles trained up along with the ones I haven't used in years. I started at 65 press, 80 squat, 105 bench & 95 dead. Made good progress for 6 weeks, but tweaked my back, took 10 days off, de-loaded some and started again. It was around here I got signed up with Wittmer Rejuvenation.

I got up to 105 press, 175 squat, 150 bench and 190 dead. Never came close to failing a rep on anything but the press. My problem is that at these higher weight levels, my lower spine started to hurt all the time. I could not recover in that area. I tried a 2 day per week split of squats / bench and press / deads. No real help. I was worried I was making my back problem worse, so I stopped. This was in May. After 3 weeks, the pain went away. When I attempted to start lifting again, the pain came back. I took the entire summer off and have been relatively pain free. Last week, I started over, light again. No pain so far, but I am worried the pattern will repeat.

Is this something I should simply try and train through? Is there an alternative program I should follow? Anything I might be missing? Thanks in advance.

Note: I did video myself doing the lifts and am fairly sure my form is solid. I was getting 175 to 225 grams of protein daily. I have a 3" leather belt & Nobull weight training shoes. I was resting 3 minutes in between work sets. In May '21 I partially tore my ECRB elbow tendon. Because of that I have a very difficult time with the low bar squat. I bought & use a MARRS bar for squats.

[Cole Gorton]

it takes your body/mind some time to get used to the effects of training. you may be getting some proprioceptive feedback that you interpret as pain, when it may just be your body reacting to a new stimulus. it takes more than a few months to get strong and to make the structural changes that positvely impact your pain threshold. i would contiinue to work through it and try to get strong. there is nothing inherently dangerous about lifting if you are doing the movements with somewhat correct form, bc they are natural movements we are designed to make. i would think that after a while you will get more used to the perception of pain and not let it bother you as much. i have been training for 7 years and still get low back tweaks. the difference now is that i dont freak out about it or take time off and baby it. i usually modify slightly if there is acute pain, then try to get right back into it. good luck

[Maybach]

Is this something I should simply try and train through?

Yes. This is the main thrust of the advice here. Don't deload, don't take ten(!) days off.

An "injury" should only be allowed to affect your training if it actually causes you to be unable to complete the reps. And then, only because it is *actually affecting your ability to complete the reps.* If it is blindingly painful every time you complete a rep, then take a little weight off. Do not EVER skip training days in an effort to "let an injury recover." Make adjustments as needed, but getting the muscles moving is the best thing you can do for the injury.

A back tweak is not an injury. A twinge in the lower back is also not an injury. If these things do not go away or get worse after a month of training, see a doctor. But you have seen for yourself what happens when you "take time off": it comes right back.

[Jason Donaldson]

To piggyback on what Maybach says, how does your back feel while you're training? In general, if you feel better the more warmed up you get, it's an injury to train through.

Your numbers are pretty low - as you said, you started very light. You're right, back trouble goes away when you get the back strong, and you're not there yet...but the good news is that you can be.

If your training is having your low back in pain all the time, then two things come to mind:

First, get to a session with a good coach, attend a camp/seminar, and/or post form checks on the board here. Form tweaks can prevent back tweaks. Setting the back wrong (e.g. hyperextending instead of holding in natural extension) can absolutely contribute to what you're experiencing, and it's simple to fix.

Second, make sure you're getting sufficient nutrition to support your training. 220 isn't bad, but at 5'10", you would probably benefit to gain. Make eating protein your second job - not 175-225 g / day, but a minimum of 225, no matter what. Get that solid, and if it doesn't help, incrementally raise it and see what happens. As you get older, your body is less efficient at making use of it for recovery, so you need more than you used to.

On that same note, you're not doing something silly like low carb or keto or some such, are you? For some people, low carbs seems to contribute to back tweaks and other such maladies.

Something I ran across early in my training, when I was agonizing over still being in pain despite continually getting stronger, was someone saying, "Look, you're going to hurt. Would you rather hurt and be weak, or hurt and be strong?" That's when it clicked for me to stay the course, and it definitely paid off.

The benefit now, after putting in the time is that I'm strong AND I just don't have the same degree or types of pain anymore. You obtain the secondary things by pursuing the primary ones.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Post a squat video.

[bucket .]

Thanks for the replies. I'll get a video posted.

[bucket .]

https://youtu.be/YjsQCifOAH8?si=3se-3_rHclh5VPk5

[bucket .]

[bucket .]

To further elaborate on my "back tweaks", what happens is my lower back & hip muscles lock up in an effort to keep me from hurting myself and I can barely stand erect. The worst time (summer of 2022) I was in my desk chair in a leg over the other knee position, I turned and leaned to grab something and I felt a huge shock in my spine. I had to fall out of the chair on to the ground and I could not stand up. I had to slide off the bed and crawl to the toilet. It took a full week and a steroid pack to be able to walk. The "minor" ones are usually 3-4 days of hobbling around in pain, followed by 4-5 more days before I feel normal and would be confident to do anything physical.

[Mark Rippetoe]

This is the standard no-hip-drive high-bar squat performed with "special equipment." Lots os things wrong with this, as has been discussed here 10,000 times. But if you tweaked your back that badly with a simple movement, you need an MRI just to know why.