ATF Squat and Back Pain

[u418936]

When I squat, I go as deep as it says to go in "Starting Strength", which isn't quite ATF. A lot of times, at the bottom of the squat, my lower back gets super tight--especially with heavy weights.

Last week, I strained my back doing squats. It's not a serious injury, but I'd like to avoid it in the future. I'm guessing the injury/tightness is related to a lack of flexibility somewhere, but I'm not sure. Maybe it's a form issue, but I can almost guarantee that my back never rounds during squats. I can deadlift a lot more than I can squat, so I don't think lower back weakness is the problem. Does anyone have any advice?

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

You ever watched a vid of yourself squatting? Sounds like an issue with inflexibility somewhere, or just a weak lower back (compared to the rest of your posterior chain). Deadlifting more than you squat doesnt mean you wont have problems with your squat form.

You warm up before you squat?

 

[Guinness5.0]

It sounds like you are describing a muscular pain rather than a spinal one. Is this right?

Vids would be great, esp. from the side/rear, and showing your feet the whole time.

My guess would be that one or more of the following is/are the issue(s):
-Tight hamstrings/calves/glutes/erectors
-Inadequate warmup
-Weak abs
-Strength imbalance
-Form issue (which would likely be caused by any of the above)

Do your heels stay planted to the floor? Tightness in the post. chain can cause them to rise, which could cause a forward lean. Stretching post-workout is always a good idea.

You may round more than you think. I certainly did until someone pointed it out to me. A vid would be a great way to evaluate your form. It can be quite surprising to see what is actually happening versus what yu think is happening

 

[u418936]

I'm pretty sure the pain is muscular, because I don't feel any pain in the back of my legs or my butt. I had a herniated disk a long time ago, so I know what those types of injuries feel like.

To warm-up, I do light cardio for 10 minutes, and I do 3 or 4 sets of squats with the bar. I use the 5x5 spreadsheet from this site for my workouts, so I also do four warm-up sets with weight on the bar before I do my work set.

For the last three weeks, I've stretched after my workouts, but I didn't do any flexibility work before then. My flexibility sucks.

I think my lower back is pretty strong. My 5-rep max for deadlifts and pendlay rows are 425 and 285, respectively. When I hurt my back squatting, I was doing 365x5.

Maybe my abs are weak. I do Needsize abs twice a week, and I struggle to do 3 sets of 8. My abs are a lot stronger than they used to be, but I'm not sure how to measure ab strength.

I'm careful not to let my weight shift forward when I squat, but it's probably impossible to tell whether my form's causing the problem without a video. I have my wife watching my form (she's read the squat chapter of "Starting Strength" for me), but she's no expert. I'll buy a video camera so I can see what I'm doing. In the long run, it's definitely cheaper than messing up my back. I'll post a video when I'm healed up. Thanks all.

 

[needsize]

when you hit rock bottom on the squat, its very difficult to keep your back straight, your body wants to lean forward...it helps the further down your back the bar is, it keeps your centre of gravity lower...looking up or at least straight ahead helps...and nothing beats a video, I take one every so often of all my maojor lifts

 

[coolcolj]

I guess your lower back is tucking under at the bottom

 

[u418936]

I guess your lower back is tucking under at the bottom

Any idea how I can fix this?

 

[coolcolj]

Any idea how I can fix this?

see my posts here

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=533889

 

[u418936]

see my posts here

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=533889

Thx. Much appreciated.