So My Lower Back Really Stings Right Now

Set a PR on deads last sunday and a PR on SLDLs today...all while on the twelfth week of my cut!
That's the good news. The bad news is my lower back is so sore I can't bend down to touch my toes at this moment in time. What's going on?

Peace.

Whats going on is you are about to blow your back out and possible cripple yourself for life. Did you really think you could put all that strain on the weakest part of your anatomy and not get hurt? You better listen to your body and back off. BTW "touching toes" is the worst possable thing you can do even for a healthy back. If I were you I'd start every weight session with a nice long stretching and back strengthening session. If you keep doing what your doing your going to have a short BB career............good luck.........Rich

soreness is fine as long as you don't have any sciatica in your legs. when I did my PR DL of 747 my low back was sore for at least 8 days straight...

like LAM said, sore is ok. is it really stinging? how does it feel, and where?

<--- just had back surgery for hernated disk

It's a dull numb soreness at the bottom of my spine...and it hurts more when I lift either leg in a leg extension type motion. Might be bad, huh

Peace.

Okay this really sucks, I missed my shoulder workout today and I'm just gonna sit around and get some food in, rest up and hope that things get better soon...My lower back has an indistinct pain that comes and goes, and there's a very faint pain that goes down the side of my right hip and glute, nothign extraordinarily painful, but it still aches and I'm starting to get pretty paranoid. This is pretty horrific, hopefully it doesn't derail me from my cut, I was really starting to get somewhere, too

Peace.

don't listen to rich, you don't want to be stretchin before your WOs like that, read up about stretchin methods first and you will learn that its not a good idea. Do you ever actually train your lower back and body parts that are supplementary to the deadlift,, or do you just deadlift. You lift is only going to be as strong as your weakest part of teh chain, ya feel me. Make sure you train your abs heavy and lower back to build the strong type of core you need in order to have the transfer of power during the lift. Your lower back and abs must be strong, your hams and glutes must be strong and you have to work on all of those points, not just throw on heavy weight and lift it. I suspect that if you got all of those points built to where they need to be there wouldn't be so much pressure on the lower back soley. Make sense?

gr81 said:

don't listen to rich, you don't want to be stretchin before your WOs like that, read up about stretchin methods first and you will learn that its not a good idea.

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What is wrong with stretching before you workout?

If your muscles aren't warmed up and you just start stretching them there's a good chance you'll pull something. I think that's the case anyway.

derekisdman said:

If your muscles aren't warmed up and you just start stretching them there's a good chance you'll pull something. I think that's the case anyway.

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I understand that. However, I always do a few minutes of jumping jacks before I start stretching to prevent such a thing. I do a full body stretch session before every workout I do, cardio or lifting. When I'm done I stretch the muscles that I worked directly.

warming up your muscles and doing some traditional static stretching are two diffrent things. you should absolutely warm up your muscles, but stretching will weaken you before your lifts, its not good for your tendons. As for the conventional idea that you need to stretch in order to not pull something, I would advise you to start researching the topic b/c you will find that the conventional ways are not necessarilly correct.

gr81 said:

warming up your muscles and doing some traditional static stretching are two diffrent things. you should absolutely warm up your muscles, but stretching will weaken you before your lifts, its not good for your tendons. As for the conventional idea that you need to stretch in order to not pull something, I would advise you to start researching the topic b/c you will find that the conventional ways are not necessarilly correct.

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All I know is that when I stretch properly before and after I lift, it makes a big difference in terms of feeling like I pulled something when I'm finished. Granted, it makes more of a difference when doing something like playing basketball, but it helps when I lift too. I have heard it lowers strength, but as long as I stretch before every workout there shouldn't be a problem because I can still gauge my strength properly.

I am telling you man, stretch afterwards in order to help recovery, do not engage in this type of stretchin before hand, read the literature on this and you will see. I used to do teh same thing and believe the same thing, trust me. I am not syaing to not warm up, there are different ways of stretching (i.e. ballistic) and warming up that you can do pre WO that is beneficial, the traditional prograssive static stretching is not productive pre WO thou. You will be suprised what you will learn if you research ithe topic a bit.

I think my problem was that I spaced my deadlift PR and my SLDL PR too closely together, and I wasn't fully recovered from my conventional deads, pushed myself too hard the final set of the SLDLs. I do admit that I have been neglecting core work in a big way lately, though, I used to be one of those dudes who got two core sessions of very heavy kneeling cable crunches and dragon flags twice a week, and I used to do good mornings, hypers etc. as well, nowadays I've just been dead-ing/SLDL-ing...so you make a very good point about the assistance exercises

Now I jsut wanna get better and find out what's wrong with me....hopefully someone can steer me in the right direction because clinics are closed for the weekend...my lower back aches and there's a faint indistinct pain along the top side half of my right thigh and glute...it's getting better but I just hope it doesn't derail me for long at all....

gr81, I never stretch before workouts, only afterwards, where I use weighted/loaded stretching...ie for my chest I would assume a flye position with a reasonable weight for 30 seconds or so....has worked nicely for me but I'm rather unsure as to whether this is correct protocol. For my back I like getting into a wide pull-up position for 30 seconds, whereas for my tris I like getting into the bottom of a dip movement. Warm ups are definitely essential, my back would be blown out by now if I didn't do warm ups, considering the array of powerlifting movements I use an love

Peace.

""""""""""don't listen to rich, you don't want to be stretchin before your WOs like that, read up about stretchin methods first and you will learn that its not a good idea. Do you ever actually train your lower back and body parts that are supplementary to the deadlift,, or do you just deadlift""""""""""

Yeah dont listen to Rich, hes only had 7 low back procedures and been to several of the top neuro-rehab centers in the country. Yeah hes the last guy you should listen to!

If you dont warm those muscles up before you do your lifts you are asking for trouble. Right now your back is speaking to you and its telling you your doing something wrong, as in putting to much strain on it. When I say "stretch" I mean "warm up" as in a series of low back floor exercizes and stretches. No matter what you do, no matter how strong you make it, the low back is the weak link in the human animal. None of us here can get away from that flaw in human anatomy. Asl DR. Chiro. If you keep banging it until you "feel sciatic pain" then you'd already have a neuro problem. Right now you have at least strained low back muscles. Keep at it long enough and you might blow a disc. At the very least, if you listen to GR81 and not me, your going to hasten the inevitable disc degeneration that everyone goes thru as they age.

First off I'd quit deadlifting altogether until you get a handle on the pain. A trip to a chiropractor might be a good idea too. I dont care what the experts say about stretching before a workout. When I stretch and warm up my back muscles with specific floor exercizes I lift much better and safer. The muscles that support your back, your glutes, and your hamstring are all strung together, when you stretch and warm up one you are helping them all.

It also might be that you are pushing to hard, lifting to much, and not useing proper form. BBs and weightlifters are very hard driven, goal orientated ,types and are always striving for the next level. I suggest you back off, increase reps with less weight, and really pay attention to form. Remember its the slow and steady one that wins the race. Theres is probably only one area in this forumn where I can claim some level of expertise and thats with back injurys. These folks here have forgotton more about training,diets, and building muscle then I will ever know. But brother I have "been there" with my back. And believe me its a place you dont ever want to be.

I really suggest you do listen to me. Or even better go to a doctor or chiro whos trained in rehab and sports medicine. You dont want to play with this kind of injury/pain. I once thought I was invincable too!!

And best of luck to you..................Rich

If you dont warm those muscles up before you do your lifts you are asking for trouble.

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first of all, I didn't say not to warm up, quite the contrary. I said that progressive static stretchin routines are not advised pre workout, post wo is fine. I made it clear that a warmup is necessary, just not what you told him to do. and quite frankly having so many lower back injuries doesn't tell me you are an expert on anything expect how to injure your lower back! why would anyone listen to you if you have had so many problems doing what it is you do?

First off I'd quit deadlifting altogether until you get a handle on the pain.

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the pain will not go away simply by ignoring it, instead he needs to proporly prepare himself to do these lifts by training and strenghtening the bodyparts involved in the lift, not ignoring them. Read the quote in my sig by Dave Tate and that explains it all. BTW I would rather take my advice from Louie Simmons whose Westsied Barbell club has numerous 900 lbs squatters and 1 1000 lbs squatter, none of whom have lower back injuries by training their accessory bodyparts to handle the weight. His form should be evalued and corrected no doubt and if it is truly an injury then he shouldn't train through it. otherwise he needs to get his weak points up to par and his injuries will magically disapear. The lower back is weak only if you don't train it! there is nothing wrong with training it to manage teh heavy weight, and neglecting these core parts will result in injury, I guarantee it

CowPimp said:

I understand that. However, I always do a few minutes of jumping jacks before I start stretching to prevent such a thing.

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I prefer a warmup with actual weights, working your way up. Jumping jacks? I left those behind in junior high school. I wouldn't rely on that to hit your hams and lower back.

Okay so someone give me a decent warmup protocol/set of exercises to perform before I get to the heavy deads. I usually do deads on a back day after pull ups and chins, I'm gonna throw in an extra day to train my core on one of my off days. Sufficient? Also I'd like to know any methods you cats use to accelerate the recovery process....

Peace.

what better way to prepare your body for a certain lift by doing that actual movement. get yoru hert rate up with some type of activity and start warming up. plymetric movements are great, you basically want to prepare your body for a movement so start introducing that movement. protien and propor nutrition are the keys ways to recover as well as remembering to let your CNS recover as well as the muscle groups you trained

Premo55 said:

Okay so someone give me a decent warmup protocol/set of exercises to perform before I get to the heavy deads.

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Deadlifts with light weights, or in your case SLDL.

135/390 = 35% 10 reps
225/390 = 57% 5 reps
315/390 = 81% 1 rep

Thats what I used for my last bench workout.

Gr8,I've been training for years, dude, so I know that stuff...but thanks

Mudge, my warmup protocol for any heavy compound movement has been
35% 10-15 reps
45% 8 reps
60% 5 reps
75% 2 reps
90% 1 rep

Too much?
Peace.

Looks fine to me, as long as it keeps you injury free and you feel its working for you. I have never been big on warmups and only have really felt them neccessary somewhat lately.

I never lift without doing at least one warmup set prior to that particular lift. I'd say the low back is different then any other part of the body. Its also the hardest to fix once it blows. If you have pain in your low back you just have to back off and re-think. I had to quit deadlifting altogether. Its sucks cause I really liked them, deadlifting is awsome and intense. They are also a real back breaker if done incorrectly.

Premo is already injured. This isnt some benign "soreness". He should treat it with ice and rest like any injury and then come back slow. If he waits for sciatica to start then hes waited to long, sciatica is a symptom of nerve root interference in the low back. Numbness and pain traveling down the glutes can also be a symptom. It aint a muscular thing your dealing with here Premo, like if you injured a bicep,or a hamstring, a pec or a tricep. An injury to the low back is a neuro-skeletal-musclular thing and it is a bitch to correct or get over.

Compared to a lot of the sports Ive played I'd put weightlifting way down on the list of back injury prone activities. In fact I consider weight training to be the "answer" to back pain, as are other rehab exercisez. Be that as it may you can still injur your back doing it, and it doesnt matter what gr81 or Lou Simmons do and say. Everybody, and everyones back, is different. I too have heard the arguements about stretching pre and post lifting. Again, the low back is different. Prior to lifting, most of all squats, I do a series of floor stretches and exercises that are a standard back rehab workouts. They include all-fours reverse leg lifts, cobra lifts, side leg lifts, stomach group exercises, and stretches. Premo I suggest you try it for yourself and see which way works best for you, and helps your back more. 12 years ago the experts said I'd be in a wheelchair "10 years from now". And guess what? Im still squating 300lbs 12 reps at a time. Im still hitting baseballs to my kid, still working full time, still in better shape then 90% of the guys my age. The iron IS the reason I am, not the reason Im not. Pumping iron is the key to regaining function after a back injury.

Because I have some bad news for you. The symptoms you already have, and the fact that the leg lift causes pain in your low back, indicates you already have a problem. If it were me, and I say it again, I'd go to a DR of Chiropratic medicine thats schooled in sports rehab. Best of all ask DR Chiro here what you should do.

My only interest is I want to prevent as many good people from going thru what Ive been thru as I can. Believe me the low back is "different" and must be developed differently then other body groups, "slow-steady-& safely" is the key..........................take care..........Rich

Thanks man. You've been of great help. I'm gonna drop deads until my lower back starts feeling better and get in the gym for a few light workouts. Hopefully things get better soon, I'm feeling a lot better today than I did yesterday, and the pain has almost subsided. I'm glad my body gave me this warning sign before I continued beating my back up.

Peace.