Front squats for beginners

[exter]

Do you think it is a good idea to do front squats instead of back squats in SS (I am doing the wichita falls program so I don't deadlift too often) in case of back problems ?
If so , would you do them for 3x5 as well ?

[Mark Rippetoe]

No, I don't. And I wouldn't do them for 5s if I did.

[exter]

Then , what do you recommend for a person with an injured back who still wants to get stronger ?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I would need to know the specifics of the injury, which you have not provided. But generally I recommend squats and deadlifts. How do you have a post count of 86 without having read enough of this board to know this already?

[exter]

After a set of deads @ about 80% I felt a sharp pain in my mid back (If i recall correctly , I had this set checked by some members and told it was good) .
It was very painful to stand or sit the next day. I don't remember much about it but it used to hurt when I extended my neck. When I did I felt like i was pulling my spine apart. I think flexing my back did hurt as well.
I laid off for a week until it went away , took some weight off on squats and skipped deadlifts. As I neared my previous max , that pain started again especially in the morning , then I injured my hip (wide stance and probably one leg wider than another).
When I think of it , I've never been able to squat heavy for more than three weeks , so I thought I may give front squats a go (which solved my knee problems by the way).

[Mark Rippetoe]

Height/weight/age/lifts/how long training?

[exter]

5'8"/167lbs with a lot of fat/16 years old

My lifts are just estimations , I have probably gotten stronger since the last time I back squatted.

Back Squat : 200 lbs
Front Squat : 154 lbs
Deadlift : 230 lbs
Bench press : 140 lbs
Press : 110 lbs

First I did 3 months of BB shit on a very low calorie diet.
Then I found out about SS which I have been doing for about 6 months (with some mistakes , like poor form squats and deadlifts at the beginning and started too heavy on the bench press)