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  1. #1
    Registered User DaveRepola's Avatar
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    Deadlifting hurts lower back...

    I've been trying to get into deadlifting but everytime I deadlift it kills my lower back. I have watched numerous videos on how to properly deadlift and I keep a very close eye on my form and lift with my legs, not my back...and I even wear a leather back support belt, but regardless of what I do, once I set the bar down my lower spine kills me for 5-10 minutes. Is my back just weak? Am I not paying close enough attention to my form? Should I do it without a belt?

    Any suggestions would be appreciated


    FYI I'm deadlifting around 245lbs and I'm 175lbs 5'11
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  2. #2
    Polski Bro mobikwa's Avatar
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    Take a video. You may think you're doing it right but without seeing yourself you'll never know.
    Look under your chair. YOU GET A REP, AND YOU GET A REP, REPS FOR EVERYONE! If I get a rep, you get a rep, every time. Give me a link to make my life a little easier.

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  3. #3
    Registered User DaveRepola's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by mobikwa View Post
    Take a video. You may think you're doing it right but without seeing yourself you'll never know.
    Thanks for that tip, but I've already done it and from everything I've watched/read my form is fine....
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  4. #4
    Time to Cut Hockey16z's Avatar
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    Try just 135 and practice keeping your back perfectly flat and the bar really close to your shins/legs. Then progress slowly back towards 225+. You should notice your lower back not hurting as much.
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    being old rules retiredrunner's Avatar
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    Do you keep your chest up and ass out? Big gut breath and tight abs before pull? Drive heels into the ground, shove hips forward when bar passes the knees? Bar close to shins?
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    Registered User DaveRepola's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by retiredrunner View Post
    Do you keep your chest up and ass out? Big gut breath and tight abs before pull? Drive heels into the ground, shove hips forward when bar passes the knees? Bar close to shins?
    I do all of that minus the big breath and tightening my abs...I'll have to try that...
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  7. #7
    Registered User DaveRepola's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Hockey16z View Post
    Try just 135 and practice keeping your back perfectly flat and the bar really close to your shins/legs. Then progress slowly back towards 225+. You should notice your lower back not hurting as much.
    I usually warm up with 135 and it doesent hurt my back at all. My back doesent hurt until I get to 200+, even though I don't change my technique and I'm already warmed up.
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  8. #8
    being old rules retiredrunner's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by DaveRepola View Post
    I do all of that minus the big breath and tightening my abs...I'll have to try that...
    Yes, absolutely. That's part of the reason why people wear belts, to make it easier to maintain a tight core.
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    Registered User DaveRepola's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by retiredrunner View Post
    Yes, absolutely. That's part of the reason why people wear belts, to make it easier to maintain a tight core.
    I thought the belts were just to help keep your lower back straight?... Wouldn't be the first dumb thing I assumed.
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    Registered User DaveRepola's Avatar
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    Are you supposed to bend back at the top of the lift or just get your back straight?
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    being old rules retiredrunner's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by DaveRepola View Post
    I thought the belts were just to help keep your lower back straight?... Wouldn't be the first dumb thing I assumed.
    I assumed that as well when I first started out, and stopped using it when I found out otherwise.

    Originally Posted by DaveRepola View Post
    Are you supposed to bend back at the top of the lift or just get your back straight?
    If you mean shrug the bar at the top, then no. Getting it straight is good enough.
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  12. #12
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    You seem awefully defensive while asking for input. The best solution is to post a video of you deadlifting so we can review your form. More than likely you are using very little leg power, and doing more of a stiff legged dead. Get you hips lower. Keep your head up and weight on your heels.
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    Somewhere out there Mark Rippetoe is screaming.

    Buy the book "Starting Strength" before you deadlift again. SOunds like your form is all messed up, and lifting again with bad form isnt going to help. Best 20 bucks you will spend in all of 2013, trust me.
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    Registered User boardroom's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by DaveRepola View Post
    Thanks for that tip, but I've already done it and from everything I've watched/read my form is fine....
    How about you ask an experienced lifter to help you? Your form is wrong - plain and simple. Post a video for us so we can help you out instead of getting defensive and claiming to know everything about one of the hardest to master exercises by "watching videos".
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    Registered User k9pit's Avatar
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    Do you have any pre-existing back issues?

    If so, that could be a culprit. If it is more internally painful that regular muscle soreness/weakness, you may want to get a quick visit from a doc/MRI just in case. It may not apply, but that amount of load could aggravate a pre-existing issue even with form being 100% on point.

    If not, it could boil down to just form however.

    If you are adamant that your form is 100% legit.....it could be a case of too much too soon as well. Sometimes just because your mind and will can move the weight (number) doesn't mean your entire body is ready to move that amount yet.
    If let's say 225 doesn't hurt you, you could DL that for 3 weeks, then gradually move up to 235 for 3 weeks then 245 and see if your body has acclimated and adapted to the stress. If I were you I'd record all of the sessiosn just in case your back starts hurting on i.e., week 5. In that case you could review and see if your form deviated a bit from what you believed to be good during the sets.
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  16. #16
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    I dont care who you are, if youre an inexperienced lifter deadlift is an exercise that youll want some real life supervision/teaching for. You simply dont have the kinesthetic awareness or technical knowledge to perform some exercises without hurting yourself.

    when i first started lifting i was the same. best case if you dont make any changes is a lower back sprain, worst case.. god knows. as much as you want to keep adding weight at all costs in the long run it pays to be humble.
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    I find that alot of people who are conscious about form when they start tend to over arch their lower back. You want the back to be flat not concave and not bent.
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