The squat and the lower back

[Dastardly]

Thanks for the advice. For some reason I've never been able to figure out how to do good mornings. They always hurt my lower back. Maybe if I learn how to do them properly, it'll help the squat massively.

The most important thing about good mornings is to do them light, a full sized barbell may be too much. Do them with a broomstick to get a feel, then perhaps a light fixed barbell. Starr taught that you should not try to keep your back flat during the movement. Flat back good mornings are a very different exercise, and brutal on the hamstrings.

[ColoWayno]

Flat back good mornings are a very different exercise, and brutal on the hamstrings.

Yep... started these too heavy and too many reps and was in pain for a week. I've never tried the "not flat" style though ... I imagine like you said they should be very light to avoid injury.

[mohiz]

Right now my back hurts even when doing the squatting motion without any weight. It's not a terrible pain - I could definitely push through it, which I've stupidly been doing for a week thus far - but it makes me unsure as to how to proceed rehabbing it. The Bill Starr rehab only works on muscle belly tears, and I'm afraid that I'm going to aggravate the back even if I only squat light and with proper form. The back is probably inflamed or something, and that is causing the pain. So should I wait 'till it's completely painless without weight or should I go ahead and squat light now?

[Dastardly]

I would personally leave the squats and just do very light (like a broomstick) good mornings at high reps. Followed by hanging spinal decompressions.

I have used this method whenever I have tweaked my spine of strained muscles in the back, worked incredibly well for me.

[mohiz]

I went ahead to squat with the bar for 3x25 sets and reps after warming up with some good mornings. Back felt great, no pain at all. I focused on hard back extension all the time and my lower back was pretty pumped. I didn't hit full depth because I'm unable to do it without rounding my back unless there's some weight on the bar. NOTE! Now that I'm cooled down from the workout my back is a little achy again.

Am I right in thinking that the squatting movement should be initiated by pushing the hips backwards while keeping the back in extension? I found that I often tend to sort of just bend my back forwards instead. I also noticed that for instance when I'm pressing I feel stronger if I focus on keeping the back as extended as I can. Is this ok?

I'm going to proceed doing the Starr rehab? Thanks.