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Thread: keep hurting my back

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
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    Israel
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    23

    Default keep hurting my back

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
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    Here we go agin, PLEASE HELP ME:

    45 years old 90 Kg 185 c"m (200 pounds 6 ft)
    about a year ago I asked you this :
    I have been training for years now with very modest results (RM5 - squat 90Kg, DL 120Kg press 50Kg, bench 70 Kg).
    I have only started SS about 2 years ago, up until then I have been doing a variety of strength training mainly using barbells.

    the main limiting factor has been repeating injuries. A few years ago I got to a point I could not run 3 steps, only walk due to pain in my Inner thigh, solved that one with 6 month of physiotherapy, and managed to add 20Kg to my RM5. Then hit another wall, my lower back. Every so often I start a DL set, sometime even during warmup, position my self using the 5 steps, lift one or more sets with nothing interesting to report, and then out of nowhere BOOM a sharp pain shuts down my back. it is followed by a few days of lower back pain, a bit of swelling there to.
    This last time happened after coming back from a lockdown, I dropped all the sets to 40% of my RM5, worked up nicely for 2 weeds with no problems and today I squatted and during worm up i did have a bit of pain in my lower back but nothing I could not live with. did a worm up set of DL (60KG) went on to a work set of 70Kg, and on the 5th lift - BOOM

    I have never ever been any good at sports. always in the bottom 10% and the barbell is the only sport I actually enjoy and I don't want to give it up.

    WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING WRONG?????
    To which you replied -
    You are not doing the program. You haven't even tried to do the program. Get the book, do the program.

    Got the book - doing the program - 3 times a week squatting every time 5x3, press/bench 5x3 , DL 1x5 adding 2.5 k"g every time, started low, so I was able to keep DL every time for. a while, recently started doing it every other workout, trying to clean on the other times.

    As I wrote I started low, with 50 Kg on the squat and worked my way up to 5X3 with 82.5kg, today I tried to go up to 85 and again - boom there goes my back again.
    asking again - please WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING WRONG?????

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    North Texas
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    Default

    Are you doing situps and back accessory work?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Location
    Israel
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    Are you doing situps and back accessory work?
    Thank you for responding:
    No situps.
    At first when the time between sets was very short I did do planks (30 sec x 3 sets) or dumbbell rows on a bench for sets of 12.
    Also I did do 4 sets of chinups (5 reps each) twice a week.

    Perhaps I should also mention, I am not using a belt at this point. As I understand, the use of the belt only comes in on heavier weights, should I be using one?

  4. #4
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    Jul 2007
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    North Texas
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    Default

    The use of the belt comes with a tweaky back. See my article.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
    Location
    Gatineau, QC
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    Default

    Hello Ariel,

    I am new to using a belt and, while not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, here is what I have experienced.

    Being 5' tall, my lifts are not heavy by any standards. I started using a belt once I hit a BW squat and deadlift (115 lbs).

    Some people contend that a belt is a "crutch" and that it prevents you from building strength in that area. This has not been my experience at all. To me, the belt is mostly a feedback device.

    I never wear my belt during warm-up sets.

    Squat. I wear the belt when attempting to lift a weight I have never squatted before. Otherwise, I wear the belt:

    - when my low back feels tight;
    - when my mental focus is not optimal; or
    - during my last work set or two, when I feel that my form may deteriorate due to fatigue.

    There are a lot of things to think about during the squat and I find that, with the belt, I get clues that I would not notice otherwise.


    Press. I always wear the belt during my work sets. I have a tweaky thoracic spine and it is very sensitive to overextension. The feedback I receive from the belt helps me perceive and control my back extension.


    Deadlift. I only wear the belt when my warm-up sets suggest I should (feeling tightness in my low back). This has been happening a lot less over the past weeks, while I have continued to set lifetime PRs. This suggests that the belt has not prevented me from developing strength in that area.

    The Belt and the Deadlift | Mark Rippetoe

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    442

    Default

    My experience, fwiw. I never wore a belt, ever. I've pulled over 500 without one which isn't a great feat for some people but it's a good lift for me. My back was always bullet proof...until it wasn't. It wasn't any one thing or any one lift, just years and years of beating the crap out of it with lifting and manual labor I guess. In fact, I believe it was having a strong back that kept it healthy for so long. Anyway, since it's no longer bullet proof and is relatively easily tweaked, I wear a belt for every set above 135 so basically every set but the first one on deads. Sometimes I even put a belt on for that. I don't really care what anyone thinks I should do, they aren't me and don't know what I am or am not experiencing or what my issues may be. I do what I have to.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Posts
    370

    Default

    "Got the book - doing the program ..."
    If your doing the problem then why are you doing planks and dumbbell rows between sets? By blue book says to rest between sets. It looks like you are trying to do the programs your own way and not the way the book says to do it.

    If you are having repeated injuries the I would look at the form. The low bar squat done correctly is the best thing anyone can do for their back. So if your getting injured then likely your form is not following the optimal movement. Get a trainer to check it out.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Location
    Israel
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    I was doing the planks not between the sets, only after if time permits. as the weight got heavier and the rests got longer I removed them.
    I agree that the low bar squat is very very VERY good for the back, I took all the training I could find to make my form as good as possible. I do however struggle to go very low, it is only when I am wormed up that I am even able to drop beneath parallel (only slightly bellow).

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    North Texas
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    Default

    Video?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Location
    Israel
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    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    videos taken today
    Squat only 75 kg, 89% of my target according to the plan, however this is my first lift after I caught my back earlier this week so I am taking it easy
    Deadlift 100 Kg since I have not pulled for over a week I repeated the lift of my last DL workout


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