Overextended lower back

[yorick]

Just re-watched Rip's video about lower back control.

Can somebody refresh my memory: How would you coach somebody to not overextend their back if they are prone to doing that?

Is there a point where the muscle is tight, and then the person just keeps pushing the pelvic tilt too far?

This is just a general question; I'm not coaching anybody.

I know the answer is probably simple, but my brain is foggy and I don't have my book in front of me.

[melody]

I don't know how you coach people not to do this, but for me it took getting a belt so that I have something to push against. Now I know where to put my pelvis sans belt but it took a while to catch on to it. I believe hyper extension is covered in SSBBT3 at little bit, my copy is two rooms away and I'm too lazy to go look.

[JT in MD]

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[Hollis]

Stand up with your chest up, Valsalva to tighten entire trunk. Where your back ends up is pretty much where it should be. I don't tell people to arch or extend their back because mostly you get what JT in MD describes.

[D.W.]

Usually "tighten the abs" works pretty good, since an overextended lumbar spine is usually the result of relaxed abs and contracted spinal erectors.
I have lordosis and this "cue" usually works when i get under the bar for squatting.

[mikeyfresh]

I have some form of loss of lumbar lordosis (my back lacks some curvature) and used the video which helped immensely. If it's the same one you're talking then it's:

1. Have them lay down on their belly. Have them elevate only their feet, this should activate the lumbar.
2. Mimic that activation when in deadlift set-up. Use a cue similar to "groin to the floor".

[yorick]

Thanks for the info, everybody.

I guess what I'm more curious about: Is recognizing overextension in a trainee a fairly subjective observation? I know in the Starting Strength DVD Rip said something to one of the females that she might have been a little overextended, but apparently it didn't cause too many problems with the lift.

And, how do you consciously get somebody to quit doing it? The lower back control video seems to give two different cues on proper extension, what mikey said about laying down on the belly and elevating the feet, and a separate cue to tilt the pelvis. Those two cues don't give me the exact same erector activation - the laying on the belly seems to be closer to what I actually do and the tilting of the pelvis taking me to what I would consider overextension territory.

[MattJ.D.]

the two techniques for developing the awareness of the lumbar erectors are used so they know how to contract the muscles. Some people will actively try to extend their lumbar by raising their butt up like a women or girl wearing a dress would and overextend it causing facet joint injuries, when in reality all they have to do is squeeze their trunk and everything stays flat. They want a flat back not a rounded back(flexed) or a curved back(over extended) a flat back (extended)