mervin

I was doing straight leg dead lifts and got a serious pain in my lower back. I could'nt stand up for about 5 minutes. I was on my third set, rep 7 with 220 pounds. When i started coming up, that's when it happened. I have experienced simalir pain before. Am I using too much weight? Would a belt help avoid this problem? I do not use a belt, because I do not have one, but I always practice 100% form and do not go heavier if it hinders proper form. Any input would be great.

Mudge

Actually you are not supposed to keep a straight leg, although I break the rules and do them that way. Its a STIFF legged deadlift, not a straight legged.

I never use a belt, no problems here.

Do you keep your head up? Are you on a platform? I am on the ground because I do not like to go lower out of fear for my back, throwing a disc out or something which can cause a life long injury.

If you believe that you are using 100% form then this is either genetic predisposition (depends what kind of pain we are talking here) or just dumb luck.

At the moment I only do 2 sets, between 4 and 6 reps. If you are getting to 7 reps I dont know how I'd call it too much weight with 100% form as you say, I did 415x5 last week just fine and many go higher than that. Its not about weight if you can do it right.

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sabre81

i never use a belt either. You should be able to gauge if your using too much weight. How stong are your legs? Make sure the weight is not too heavy for your legs as well as your back. I have witnessed people tweaking their back because they had to use most of their concentration to control their wobbely legs. Also, are you working abs? If you have weak abdominal muscles, your back is not being stabilized as much as it should be.

Damn

Saturday Fever

You did 1 thong wrong for sure, 2 things I'm guessing.

1) You did too many reps on deads.
2) You got fatigued and your lower back rounded.

Lower back rounding is BAD. You need to implement serious lower back training into your routine and you need to approach it from a rehab standpoint now.

yay.

Yanick

i have to agree with SF. If i'm going to be repping deadlifts i will use a weight that i know i can handle and i will stop well short of failure, this is not an exercise where i wouldn't mind 'cheating'* a couple of extra reps out (like say bent over rows).

Also, what i think alot of people don't realize when they concentrate on doing a complete ROM is the fact that you have to bend at the hips not your spine. If you're hamstrings are tight you're ROM for sldl's might not be as long as you think, while at the same time trying to improve flexibility for greater ROM. When doing them i suggest using a mirror with a light weight and see where you start to flex you spine and learn to stop just before that happens.

*when i say cheating i mean a controlled type of cheating, eg on barbell rows i'll give a lil bounce from my legs to get the weight moving.

"...we have to remember that training is a complicated dance of stimuli and response. Our goal is to understand how to manipulate the stimuli in order to evoke the responses we desire." -Nathan J. Polenchek