Is lower back stiffness/soreness EVER normal after deadlifting heavy??

[Cobus Boudewijn]

Or is lower back soreness ALWAYS an indication of bad form???

Over the last 5 months I've gotten my deadlift up from 50kg to 140kg for a 5-rep max... I have worked tirelessly on my form, the 5-point setup, watching videos, getting feedback, and I feel I've gotten pretty good at the lift...

So, I almost never get soreness or stiffness following a max deadlift session. Last week I pulled 137.5kg x 5... no problem. However, yesterday I pulled 140kg x 5, a milestone achievement for me, and today my lower back is super stiff...

I didn't notice any pain during the lift, altho it did feel extra heavy... the soreness doesn't inhibit walking or twisting. I wouldn't say my issue today is painful, but it does limit my range of motion to bend forward and gives a dull ache when do so and touch my toes... my glutes hips hamstrings quads are all sore too lol

Is this normal after a very heavy max? Or did I likely pull with incorrect technique and strain my back? Everything felt ok during the lift, which is weird to me. Maybe my back is just weak now after the stress and needs to recover? Should I lift tomorrow or take a few days off? It's hard to gauge these things

I've strained my lower back before, this feels less like a painful injury more like tightness..

[Cobus Boudewijn]

My Lower Back Is Tight After Deadlifts | LIVESTRONG.COM

Just found an article about this topic... is this type of analysis legit or BS??

"Distinguishing between the two types of lower back tightness after a deadlift workout can be difficult. If the area is tight and you feel a "jolting" or sharp pain when you move, you most likely injured your back. In this case, consult with your doctor for rehabilitation and avoid the deadlift until medically cleared. If your lower back is tight and you feel a dull pain or soreness running to the left and right of your spine, then the tightness is most likely from muscle breakdown. This type of tightness should subside within two to three days. Avoid deadlifts until soreness in the lower back is gone."

[Stefan Theimer]

That quoted stuff sounds like total BS to me.

You didn't injure your back. Tweaks happen from time to time. Try not to think about it, keep moving as much as possible, treat with NSAIDs as needed. The worst thing you could do is lay around, worry a lot, think about the pain, and take time off "to heal."

I actually had a sharp pain present itself in a deadlift set a month or two ago. I set the bar down, walked around a bit, deloaded to something a lot easier, and did some easy sets with perfect form to loosen up and try to get the volume in. Things were completely fine just 2-3 days later.

[neilc1]

without a video we're all guessing,

you pulled a pr and are a little sore,
give it a couple days,
do what you need to do,
and add 5 more pounds in 5 days.

[neilc1]

do what you need to do = normal daily activities and scheduled trainings

[Cobus Boudewijn]

without a video we're all guessing,

you pulled a pr and are a little sore,
give it a couple days,
do what you need to do,
and add 5 more pounds in 5 days.

believe me i wish i had videos of my workouts... halfway thru building a home gym for that purpose lol

ya, i think it was a minor tweak, since it's still sore a few days later...

skipping my third training day of the week today and gonna hit it on monday and reset with -10% on squats & deadlifts, work my way back up

[Nockian]

My limited experience-sore lower back is the result of 'good morning' the shit out of the back because of bad squat technique. Either hips shooting back, or failing to set and maintain the chest angle in the first half of the squat. Essentially, it's effectively a DL on top of all the real DL.

[KangaJoo]

I used to tweak my back all the time when I started out and I still get a stiff muscles in my lower back the day after I do a bunch of pulling volume. The tweaks never affected anything and neither did the stiffness. Like all muscle stiffness I've had it just goes away during the warmups. I'd just see how it feels and if you're not confident you can go heavy just get some light volume in or something. I don't think you need to skip anything.

[Cobus Boudewijn]

Sorry for beating this thread to death & thanks for all the feedback.

So I am a bit concerned with my follow-up performance today.. Last week I squatted 130kg for 5x3, pulled 140kg for 1x5, benched 75kg for 5x5...

I last trained Wed, I took off til today, Mon... today, after 5 days of rest, 115kg for 3x5 felt very heavy, and I couldn't even get a fifth rep on a 75kg bench... my low back is no longer stiff but it did feel a bit weak throughout...

I guess this is just very disappointing after a solid couple months of progress and I'm looking for guidance... I've slowly worked up to these numbers and now to be devoid of my strength is just... infuriating lol.

For example, Jun 1 I benched 71kg for 3x8, Jun 5 75kg for 5x5, Jun 72.5kg for 3x8, yet on Jun 11 I can't even do 5 reps @ 75kg... what?!?!?!

Where do I go from here? Thanks

[Cobus Boudewijn]

115kg for 3x5 felt very heavy

115kg Squat today