Sore back from deadlift...

[LanceBoggs]

Just started Ripp last night and began under the eye of a trainer to work on form, not really worried about weight.

We did squats and dead as those were the first two things I wanted to get my form down on. I actually did pretty well with squats, but I guess my form was off on my deads, because my back was a little sore afterwards and is just downright stiff and uncomfortable today.

I actually am having a little problem bending over due to discomfort around my lower lumbars. Any advice on how bad I might have messed myself up, how to fix this in the future, etc?

[JoeRockhead]

If your form was good then it is likely that you just have muscle soreness (DOMS). Which is perfectly normal and will decrease as you get more used to doing the exercise.

If it is a strain or other injury then your form was imperfect. Make sure your form is perfect next time and it won't happen again. Lower back rounding is the biggest culprit here that you want to avoid. Make sure you don't stiff-leg the weight upwards.

As long as your form is good you won't injure yourself. You can do some really light exercise to get some blood flowing into the muscles, spend some time in the jacuzzi (with a lady friend is even better), get a massage etc.

Here's a nice post with some good deadlift form tips:

Originally Posted by _Dominik_

Watch your shoulders at the start of the lift. The hips shoot up first and then they move. You want everything rising at the same time otherwise you'll be stiff-legging them.

It's not difficult to correct but you'll need to engage the legs more. If you're already doing squats, think of it like a 1/2 squat. We can all squat a lot of weight from that position so there's really no excuse not to use the legs to initiate the lift and get the bar moving as you pull back and up. It shouldn't be all back.

A few tips, in no particular order:

* Always warm up properly. I start with 135 x 10 even though anything under 3 plates feels like an empty bar. I add a plate at a time for a few reps up to my work sets. I could save time by jumping straight to 315 or 405 or whatever, but I've never injured my back taking my time warming up properly and that's how I'd like it to stay.

* Don't attempt more than 5-10lbs above your last PR.

* Heavy singles are fun but don't neglect rep work because it'll help strengthen everything back there and induce more hypertrophy which will allow you to keep chasing a big 1RM.

* Find a stance that feels comfortable. You want to find the optimal balance between hips too low ("reverse squatting") which blows your leverage and hips too high which puts the lower back in a high risk position.

* If the bar is too far away from you, you'll increase the lever arm which in simple terms means the bar is too far away from the fulcrum which is your hip joint. This makes the lift harder. If the bar is too close, depending on your proportions, it could scrape your shins excessively and slow the bar down too much. Experiment.

* At the start of the lift push your ass right back, keep your chest up, shoulders in a neutral position, and look straight ahead and not down. This will help maintain an arch. (Yes, that means bending your knees.) Ideally you want the angle of the back to be 30° or greater so the erectors are bearing most of the load and not the ligaments, etc.

* Breathe properly. Take in some air before you pull and push your abs out--don't suck them in. This increases intra-abdominal pressure which helps protect the vertebrae of the lower back. I use the "valsalva maneuver" (holding my breath) to get through the typical sticking point just below the knees. As soon as I blast through it I slowly let the air out.

* Drive with the legs at the start of the lift as you pull the bar back and up, pushing through your heels.

* Don't allow the hips to shoot up without the shoulders rising which will cause you to "stiff-leg" it, putting the lower back in dangerous position. There are some freaks with almost unbreakable backs who can get away with this, but don't try to copy them. If the hips move, the shoulders should follow them. Try to get everything moving synchronously.

* As soon as the bar clears the knees, with your back ideally somewhere around 45° or higher, begin driving the hips forward to meet the bar by squeezing the glutes hard and bringing your shoulders back to a neutral or relaxed position at the top for a clean lockout.

* Reverse the movement by pushing your hips back and lower the bar to the floor, maintaining an arch. You can just as easily hurt yourself lowering the weight as you can lifting it.

- When the bar clears your knees starting driving the hips forward and lock out your knees and hips so you're perfectly straight. A crude one, but imagine you're in prison and you just dropped the soap. Clench those glutes and pray. Seriously, really squeeze everything back there to fire the glutes. You'll see some powerlifters hyperextend the back to signal lock out but that's not necessary in training. Bringing the shoulders back to a relaxed position is enough.

- Here's a really important one for the future when you're handling heavier weights. Don't bend your arms. On every rep your biceps are partially flexed. That's how biceps tears happen. Keep the arms perfectly straight like hooks. If it helps, concentrate on activating the triceps instead.


I think your best bet is to start out deadlifting with form as close to "textbook" as possible. Straight back and plenty of leg drive. The best way to do this is to keep your chest up, shoulders in a neutral position, look straight ahead or slightly up, and push your hips right back, with your back somewhere around 45°.


If you're not using your legs to initiate the lift, you'll wind up stiff-legging it. Basically the hips shoot up and you'll be stranded in a crane like position and have to fight like hell to avoid hitching it up since you can't drive your hips through. It's also more dangerous. Leave that to the monsters with superhuman back strength who have already proven their backs are unbreakable.

Drive with the legs as you pull back and up. All the back muscles will be working isometrically to stabilize the upper body.

Staying down instead of coming back up again makes it harder, especially if you pause for a few seconds, since you have to generate all that force without getting help from the stretch reflex. I like doing most of my rep work that way because it's harder.

[LanceBoggs]

It doesn't feel much like muscle soreness, more like a pull. I'll try to warm it up tonight and see how it feels. It's a little hard to get up and down atm, and was uncomfortable to sleep on.

Think I should take a couple days off or hit the man button?

[SteveCNY]

is it just tight? my lower back gets real tight after a good set of deads.

[JoeRockhead]

Originally Posted by LanceBoggs

It doesn't feel much like muscle soreness, more like a pull. I'll try to warm it up tonight and see how it feels. It's a little hard to get up and down atm, and was uncomfortable to sleep on.

Think I should take a couple days off or hit the man button?

Don't train if you feel you might be injured, you could make it worse which would force you to be off even longer and set you further back.

[LanceBoggs]

Originally Posted by SteveCNY

is it just tight? my lower back gets real tight after a good set of deads.

It felt tight last night after I did them, later on at home it felt more achy and stiff. I tried to stretch it out which helped for a bit.

This morning it was about the same as last night and bending over to put on my shoes was a bit of a chore.

[SteveCNY]

honestly, i wouldnt be too concerned with it. you did squats AND deads in the same workout. to low back might just be real sore and tight. give it a day or 2 and see how u feel. do some stretches for it.

[LanceBoggs]

Originally Posted by JoeRockhead

Don't train if you feel you might be injured, you could make it worse which would force you to be off even longer and set you further back.

I've never really done deads before so not 100% sure how I should feel after doing them my first night (did three sets of what seemed like an ok weight to work on the form). Is their a definitive way to know if it is soreness or a light injury? I'm kind of worried about it.

[SteveCNY]

Originally Posted by LanceBoggs

I've never really done deads before so not 100% sure how I should feel after doing them my first night (did three sets of what seemed like an ok weight to work on the form). Is their a definitive way to know if it is soreness or a light injury? I'm kind of worried about it.

if it was an injury, you wouldnt be able to do alot of things. iw ould interfere with youre everyday life.

my low back gets so sore from heavy deads that sometimes putting on socks is very hard lol

[reksman]

SteveCNY is right. I don't think it's an injury because you would not be able to do a lot of things due to PAIN not just dicomfort. If you were with a trainer I hope they would have told you if you had bad form.

You also mentioned that you normally don't do DL's so expect soreness. If you went light it is less likely that you actually injured yourself.

The DOMS should diminish and go away in a few days. If you feel pain after several days you might want to get it checked out.

[LanceBoggs]

There is only one little catch in my back movement that I would classify as pain, the rest is just soreness. I went to stretch out a bit in our workout room here at work a few minutes ago and when I tried to round my back their is one little area that actually hurts, like a sharp pain, but its not unbearable.

I might just ice it and sit tight for a couple of days and see how I feel.

[New_Kid]

Sounds normal to me other than the pain when you round your back. Try not to round it on purpose and that should go away, per my experience, anyway. Welcome to deadlifting

[914-NY]

**** i did deadlifts today f...felt it for like 25 min after i was done.. felt iti durng my squats.. and by the time i left gym didnt feel not a thing..jus legs is tight.. probably cuz not my first time dead lifting though...

remember back strigh head up

[earlcampbell]

Always stretch your lower body before and after a workout with deads. Also do some plate back extensions on days without deads.

[Seany6]

Sounds just like DOMS.. I got it real bad(Over a week, but I just kept working out with it) when I started Deadlifting without A weight belt, but in general DOMS isn't as bad now i find when not using the belt. With this soreness I was making noises every time i bent over to pick something up lol, similar to you? I actually think i may have pulled something but I just kept DL'ing with a lighter weight.

" Always stretch your lower body before and after a workout with deads. Also do some plate back extensions on days without deads."

Heh, i do mine first in my workout and jump straight into my working sets with no warmups.. maybe im waiting for an injury. :P

[LanceBoggs]

I'm feeling allot better today, I think it might have just been soreness despite my horrid form (something I'll be fixing before next week).

Thanks for the advice guys, passed rep all around

[Beejis60]

I get DOMS at everything I do except arms. I get it real bad for 3 days or so when I do legs; so bad that I can't take stairs anywhere or even ramps. It hurts the most going down steps and ramps than going up, but I still walk like I've been raped though. I've heard of some supps for DOMS ease, but I've never seen them. Has anyone seen or heard of them?

[New_Kid]

Originally Posted by Beejis60

I get DOMS at everything I do except arms. I get it real bad for 3 days or so when I do legs; so bad that I can't take stairs anywhere or even ramps. It hurts the most going down steps and ramps than going up, but I still walk like I've been raped though. I've heard of some supps for DOMS ease, but I've never seen them. Has anyone seen or heard of them?

Do you hit legs once a week? When I started squatting twice a week, it decreased soreness and improved gains... food for thought.

[QoorbaL]

serious?I squat 3 times a week and im never sore...

[spytech]

A sore back from deadlifts? You have got to be kidding me.

You must never deadlift again. Why the **** does everyone assume that a tight/sore lower back from deadlifting instantly means they might have hurt themselves or done something wrong, but when they have tight/sore biceps from their 200 sets of curls they get all proud about how huge they are going to be?

[LanceBoggs]

Originally Posted by spytech

A sore back from deadlifts? You have got to be kidding me.

You must never deadlift again. Why the **** does everyone assume that a tight/sore lower back from deadlifting instantly means they might have hurt themselves or done something wrong, but when they have tight/sore biceps from their 200 sets of curls they get all proud about how huge they are going to be?

When you don't do something for over a decade, and then an area you are not used to being sore hurts do you not think its natural to be concerned?

Frankly sir I don't like your tone, I'm starting a new program with exercises I'm not familiar with and want to make sure I don't hurt myself.

[Beejis60]

Originally Posted by New_Kid

Do you hit legs once a week? When I started squatting twice a week, it decreased soreness and improved gains... food for thought.

More like once every two weeks because my legs grow so damn quickly I can't wear my jeans a lot of the time and I don't have the cash right now to be buying new jeans yet (just moved). I have toyed around with my workout a lot recently and found I do get soreness right after some workouts but the soreness is gone by morning.

[Flex500]

Originally Posted by LanceBoggs

Just started Ripp last night and began under the eye of a trainer to work on form, not really worried about weight.

We did squats and dead as those were the first two things I wanted to get my form down on. I actually did pretty well with squats, but I guess my form was off on my deads, because my back was a little sore afterwards and is just downright stiff and uncomfortable today.

I actually am having a little problem bending over due to discomfort around my lower lumbars. Any advice on how bad I might have messed myself up, how to fix this in the future, etc?

it should be like that, deadlifts work the low back. Your lower lumbar muscles will and should be very sore.

[Flex500]

Originally Posted by LanceBoggs

It doesn't feel much like muscle soreness, more like a pull. I'll try to warm it up tonight and see how it feels. It's a little hard to get up and down atm, and was uncomfortable to sleep on.

Think I should take a couple days off or hit the man button?

when most people take like a week or two off from legs and train them real hard it causes severe doms. This week, after having two off it honestly felt like I hurt myself I could barely walk.

It sounds to me like you just have a severe case of doms in your low back.

[Beejis60]

^Agreed. I think it's very important to restart deads like you've never done them before. I'm sure with a "man complex", it's easy to not start with 135 or something, but it needs to be done. I start out doing a 500 squat without having done squats in months because I'm stupid, but if when I restart my deads, I do, seriously, start at 135 and workup to maybe 315 for the first day back. Maybe do a small 2 or 3 set workout a few days later of 225 up to 405. Then start with 315 the following week, etc. This is what I will be doing over the next few weeks until I hit my working sets. I want to actually be able to bend over and tie my shoe for a week, but I don't mind not walking straight.

[booyaolian]

Is it normal if I don't feel any soreness from my back after my first deadlift workout?
The first squat made me sore for like 5 days. I basically used same weight as squat.

[bbsource]

stiff back from deadlifts, normal especially if you have not been doing alot each week. Just keep doing them and the stiffness should go away.

[kdogg3270]

the lower back tightness that comes from doing deadlifts ( i am fairly new to this exercise) scares the hell out of me. as far as trying to do a lot of weight. Right now i am around 175lbs max on my deadlift( i weigh 160lbs).. i will get used to it & get stronger i suppose.

but i am afraid to push past the soreness in my lower back..how do you overcome it? just keep doing them?

[dicksmothers]

Originally Posted by LanceBoggs

I've never really done deads before so not 100% sure how I should feel after doing them .

sore, tight and in pain

its gets easier after that

[Stteven]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=112127931