Lower back pain with ATG squats

WhatTheDodd? · 11-12-2006, 04:45 PM

Usually I do regular squats, without too much lowerback issue. But when doing ATG squats I feel like im holding alot of the weight with my lowerback, leading to lots of fatigue and also forcing me to stop before my legs are tired. I know my form is damn near perfect for regular squats, but is the form much different for ATG? Specifically, how is it different once you go below parrellel? I stared at one place on the wall, kept back/abs tight, etc. Are there any other tips like that to help?

Thanks for any help you can give!

east football · 11-12-2006, 08:32 PM

Make sure your leaning forward, try staring at a spot higher on the wall, and do you wear a belt?

JoeSchmo · 11-12-2006, 08:35 PM

You might need to strengthen your back more before you start squatting with heavier weights. If you continue to squat without proper support through stronger back muscles, you can actually fracture your back (which is 6-8 weeks of back braces and no working out...). So, if I were you, I would try to stregthen my back before I even attempted heavier weights or ATG squats.

Chicago1287 · 11-12-2006, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhatTheDodd?

Usually I do regular squats, without too much lowerback issue. But when doing ATG squats I feel like im holding alot of the weight with my lowerback, leading to lots of fatigue and also forcing me to stop before my legs are tired. I know my form is damn near perfect for regular squats, but is the form much different for ATG? Specifically, how is it different once you go below parrellel? I stared at one place on the wall, kept back/abs tight, etc. Are there any other tips like that to help?

Thanks for any help you can give!

i had that same problem on friday...it might be the weight is a little too heavy for you?

for me, i was thinking maybe the form wasnt perfect with the weight being heavier, so im gonna try the same weight again until i get the form perfect.

WhatTheDodd? · 11-12-2006, 08:52 PM

I dont use a belt. Maybe I wasnt leaning foward enough or staring high enough on the wall. I definitely feel ATG squats more the next day in my legs, so I want to try to stick with them. Would you recomend I stop squatting to strengthen lower back, or just stop doing ATG? Currently I do SLDL or Romanian deadlifts for lowerback strength, twice a week on same day as I squat, so I imagine thats sufficient lowerback work. However, I do feel that my back is the weak point for me even when doing squats, since I can do over over 4x as much on the legpress as I can parrallel squat (5rm of 165 vs. 700) , so maybe I should lay off.

Thoughts?

JoeSchmo · 11-12-2006, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicago1287

i had that same problem on friday...it might be the weight is a little too heavy for you?

for me, i was thinking maybe the form wasnt perfect with the weight being heavier, so im gonna try the same weight again until i get the form perfect.

If your back isn't strong enough, your form will not simply correct itself through exposure to the same weight; you need to stregthen your back.

Quote:

I dont use a belt. Maybe I wasnt leaning foward enough or staring high enough on the wall. I definitely feel ATG squats more the next day in my legs, so I want to try to stick with them. Would you recomend I stop squatting to strengthen lower back, or just stop doing ATG? Currently I do SLDL or Romanian deadlifts for lowerback strength, twice a week on same day as I squat, so I imagine thats sufficient lowerback work. However, I do feel that my back is the weak point for me even when doing squats, since I can do over over 4x as much on the legpress as I can parrallel squat (5rm of 165 vs. 700) , so maybe I should lay off.

Thoughts?

I would always recommend using a weight belt when performing compound leg or back exercises. You don't have to stop working out your legs to stregthen your back because you can just lighten the weight a little and do things such a deadlift, back extensions (with weight) or good-mornings.

Chicago1287 · 11-12-2006, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeSchmo

If your back isn't strong enough, your form will not simply correct itself through exposure to the same weight; you need to stregthen your back.

well im rippetoes right now....do you recommend that i drop down the weight on the squats about 10 pounds (i had no problem with them 10 pounds lighter) and just keep working on my deadlifts and rows before i raise the squats back up?

JoeSchmo · 11-12-2006, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicago1287

well im rippetoes right now....do you recommend that i drop down the weight on the squats about 10 pounds (i had no problem with them 10 pounds lighter) and just keep working on my deadlifts and rows before i raise the squats back up?

Well, no one is going to have perfect form as they churn out the last few repetitions on the last set; however, if you are consistently bending your back or are consistently having lower back pains with a specific weight, I would revert back to a more managable weight and work on back exercises.