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Advice on repeated deadlift back injuries
I just tweaked my back yet again deadlifting 2 days ago and I feel like I should give them up. The truly discouraging part is that it happened on my 3rd warmup set with 185 when 3 days previously I had deadlifted 3x5x265 and a week before had done 1x5x310. I had a full rest day the day before, I do no other strength movements (I only deadlift), and I only deadlift 2x per week (heavy/light). I intermittently video my heavy sets and my form looks decent to me. I don't want to give up deadlifts but at this point it's starting to feel hopeless. My first back injury with deadlifts was 5 years ago at 400 and I've never gotten close to that since (325ish is 5-year PR) while injuring my back another 3 times. I currently lift beltless but I've injured myself with a belt as well. Should I give up deadlifts? Should I try switching to Sumo?
Background: I'm 45, 6'3", 225lbs. I started SS about 6 years ago. Got up to 400 DL, 315 squat, 140 press, 200ish bench before I hurt my back. I then hurt my back again a year or so later squatting. I hurt my shoulder benching, so I eventually gave that up. I switched to front squats because I couldn't fix my butt wink, but I gave those up eventually as well because I couldn't get my form right at heavier weights. I hurt my back again deadlifting 2 other times over the years, always below 315. I eventually gave up (temporarily) press as well due to shoulder aggravation. Deadlift was always my favorite lift by far so that's why I've been reluctant to give it up.
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Have you had any bloodwork done? Deadlift form may need tweaking but with the array of injuries you are reporting, seems to me to be recovery related. I couldn’t do bodyweight workouts when my testosterone levels rivaled my wife’s!
Just a thought. Assuming diet and sleep are dialed in
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Sleep and diet are good. Blood work is good too and my last tests were about a month ago.
Here is a form video: YouTube
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I don’t exactly know what they are asking for in bloodwork, I’m assuming testosterone, but I have to ask, are the blood results good to your doctor or good to you? Meaning do you know what the numbers are and how they line up with what is recommended?Originally Posted by gisborne
I spent my early and mid 20s feeling like absolute dog shit with every symptom of hypothyroidism, but only one doctor would go past the “oh you feel like shit because you drink a lot of beer on the weekend” and test my thyroid hormones said they were fine. After having a goiter I went to another endocrinologist who was cash only and turns out I was very hypothyroid, and she pulled up my old tests that revealed I was back then too. She put on the hormones, we dialed them in, and it changed my life.
Long story short, make sure the numbers are good and double check. Sounds like you've had a tough hand thus far, and I respect the fact that you’re still training.
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Did you get the actual numbers to evaluate yourself? My 270 and 289 total T at age 35 tests were "good" to a GP. Went to an Endocrinologist with their own lab for running bloodwork and got 170. THEY seemed to think I had a testosterone problem, even though the GP didn't.
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Exactly. I’m 46. Been there and done that. It’s ALWAYS a matter of recovery imo when you detail several different injuries in a relatively short amount of time. When recovery is the issue, it’s either sleep, diet, getting greedy on progression, and/or hormone related in my experience.
From the bloodwork standpoint, A general practitioner is gonna glance over the bloodwork for H or L values. If they don’t see it, you’re good. Even though...you may NOT be good. He’s 45, prime territory age wise for low T levels. As long as he did the due diligence and is satisfied then good for him.
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If you really deadlifted THREE sets of 5 at 265, three days earlier, that's too much stress.The truly discouraging part is that it happened on my 3rd warmup set with 185 when 3 days previously I had deadlifted 3x5x265
Your story sounds similar to mine. I'm 49, 6'0", and 260, so a bit older, a bit shorter, and much fatter than you. I've hurt my back squatting and deadlifting, mostly deadlifting, and have sometimes given up benching because of my shoulders. I've done SS off and on for about 5 years, and resumed lifting in early March. Currently doing (high bar) squats, deadlifts, presses, and close-grip bench presses with good results, but staying mindful of form and recovery.
I watched your deadlift video, and it looked good to me, but I'm not a SS coach. You took the slack out of your body and the bar before liftoff, and your back looked nice and rigid throughout the pull.
Your location says Anchorage, AK, which has nearly full days of sunlight right now. Are you really getting enough sleep?
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The 3 sets of 5 at 265 is 85% of my 1 set current max (315). Deadlift is the only lift I do at the moment and I do it just twice a week (once 1x5xmax, once 3x5x85%). I know that the SS novice program has deadlifts once a week but that's on top of squatting 3x a week so I assumed (perhaps incorrectly?) that a "light" deadlift day would be ok.
Sunlight is a bit of an issue but I regularly go to bed by 10pm and get up at 6am.
Thanks for your feedback on my form video. My back is feeling better so I'm trying again today (1 week from my tweak).
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If I am reading this correctly, your programming is:
1 day per week top set of 5 DL
1 day per week ~85% of top 3X5 DL?
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