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Thread: My Buddy Tweaked His Back Squatting For The First Time

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    Albuquerque, NM
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    Default My Buddy Tweaked His Back Squatting For The First Time

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    Hello Rip (hopefully I'm not abusing my asking/posting privileges by asking you how to help train my friends/family all the time...),

    I have a friend who, yesterday, while learning the squat, tweaked his back on the last rep of the last set of 5. I had him do the "Superman" drill to help set his back in extension prior to the last set of 5. He squatted 65x5x3.

    He has lymphoma and lupus, so I've been starting him off with very light weight.

    He's not blaming me for his back tweak, as he said that he gets them all the time. In his own words: "Don't worry. I don't blame you. This has always been a problem. My only worry is that I will keep letting it stop me. As long as I am back in the gym to try again I will be ok. I have always used this as an excuse to not get in shape because this always happens."

    He's 6', 230lbs, and super willing to get better. But now he's somewhat apprehensive towards squats.

    Again, have you experienced something similar to this and how did you solve this? I am truly grateful for your help on the board and you don't get nearly enough recognition for all you do for free.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    North Texas
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    53,559

    Default

    Once again, is he doing situps or back extensions?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    Albuquerque, NM
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    Default

    No sir, he's not. He hadn't done really anything prior to this except maybe go hiking, or on a jog once in a while

  4. #4
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    North Texas
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    If the guy has a history of back tweaks, they may well stop by the time you get his deadlift to 225. Hurry.

  5. #5
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    Jun 2020
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    Albuquerque, NM
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    Understood. Thank you Mark.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2020
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    499

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Isaac Medina View Post
    Hello Rip (hopefully I'm not abusing my asking/posting privileges by asking you how to help train my friends/family all the time...),

    I have a friend who, yesterday, while learning the squat, tweaked his back on the last rep of the last set of 5. I had him do the "Superman" drill to help set his back in extension prior to the last set of 5. He squatted 65x5x3.

    He has lymphoma and lupus, so I've been starting him off with very light weight.

    He's not blaming me for his back tweak, as he said that he gets them all the time. In his own words: "Don't worry. I don't blame you. This has always been a problem. My only worry is that I will keep letting it stop me. As long as I am back in the gym to try again I will be ok. I have always used this as an excuse to not get in shape because this always happens."

    He's 6', 230lbs, and super willing to get better. But now he's somewhat apprehensive towards squats.

    Again, have you experienced something similar to this and how did you solve this? I am truly grateful for your help on the board and you don't get nearly enough recognition for all you do for free.
    The only thing that stops my back tweaking is regular squats and deadlifts. But initially it's a hard thing to train through when you're worried about it.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2013
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    19

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    I've got back issues too. Here are my two cents:
    1. Lots of people get loose in their upper back, lower back, and abs as a squat set progresses. This is usually more an issue of focus than fatigue, at least for me. Your friend should know this now so it doesn't become a problem later.
    2. Strong abs are also important for low back health. It may be prudent to introduce some kind of isometric ab work at some point. You don't need a ton of this.
    3. Sitting all day, especially without regular changes in posture, is a great way to exacerbate back issues.
    4. Rip is right about the effect of significantly improved deadlift strength on the low back issues of novices. You didn't mention if he can tolerate deadlifting. If the basic deadlift is a problem, then modify it into some form that he can tolerate, using the smallest possible deviation from the basic version.

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