Strengthen lower back?

Since I still have a low squat number ( I hit 176 lbs/ 80 kilos for 5 reps (3 series) last week and I was feeling the burn a lot in the lower back area), I'm thinking of switching to front squats for a while. My DL is stuck at 154.

I tried front squats yesterday with 40 kg/ 88 lbs and I felt it engaged the lower back area more than the back squat ( I go below parallel). I'd like to know if this would be productive for a month or so, or just stick to the good ol' back squat and just deload whenever I hit a plateau.

Also, sweet baby Jesus, the day I got the 176 lbs fatigue hit me very hard a couple hours later.

Thanks as always.
 
No offense to you TS, but the last thing someone moving that amount of weight can do is identify a specific weak point. First off, you just need to get stronger at the lifts. Second, your form could likely be off and be out of position which strains your back. There can be a place for core work, but you aren't even close to there yet. The lifts will strengthen your core.
 
The number 1 recommendation that I would give you would be to find a knowledgeable coach who can teach you how to lift correctly. He will screen your squat and deadlift to ensure that your form is proper. Once the movement patterns are established, you can do your own thing. I see too many people rush into a program like starting strength, stronglifts, or 531, rush the process, then many people will eventually quit due to boredom or due to injury. Walk before you can run.
 
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Agreed that the OP is weak enough that increasing virtually any lift will have carryover effects to virtually any muscle, but I'll push back and say that the training effect of squats and deadlifts past the novice stage on core musculature is.....severely overstated. Even on maximal deadlifts i've never experienced any level of notable abdominal fatigue (even compared to really basic gymnastic movements). Basic EMG studies (which of course aren't definitive) seem to back that up too.

Furthermore, just mechanistically, there's just no direct resistance against the contraction of the abs and psoas. What other muscle group would we think is developed maximally by just contracting it against the action of the antagonist isometrically? It would be like thinking all the posterior chain needed was tensing the glutes during military presses.
 
simple cobra pose would be much easier for that purpose.
yeah man , but , my posture just sucks in general i wear a shoulder- blade brace goes all around even goes around the back too ..my posture ( over the last couple of years ) and being i broke my hand a year ago, my pushups(with my broken -hand ) like are with bad form so that doesnt help my posture either .. so i wear the shoulder blade -strap brace around but it feels like i am wearing a bra and yeah im a 37 year old guy and then it radiates into my right thigh .. thing is i never get pain on the left side of my back , legs, or shoulder its weird
 
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Equipment isn't always needed. These should help your low back. Be mindful of your shoulder injury when doing the back bridge.






whenever i talk to my mom it feels like i am in a car and someone is driving up a a hill at 150 mph a hour and step slamming the brakes .. and my neck sends a electrical magnetic signals throughout my body and i can barely lift my hands ..

she talks like porky pig and talks over me and for the rest of the day or week my body feels like shit @corpse suggested a couple of things which helped .. a lot ..

but this guys in the youtube knows his shit and his stretches are not just some kinky girl who is trying to look good and get ratings ,subscribers
those stretches just saved my life .. changed me from mr .Glass to average joe but average joe is better than mr glass
 
whenever i talk to my mom it feels like i am in a car and someone is driving up a a hill at 150 mph a hour and step slamming the brakes .. and my neck sends a electrical magnetic signals throughout my body and i can barely lift my hands ..

she talks like porky pig and talks over me and for the rest of the day or week my body feels like shit @corpse suggested a couple of things which helped .. a lot ..

but this guys in the youtube knows his shit and his stretches are not just some kinky girl who is trying to look good and get ratings ,subscribers
those stretches just saved my life .. changed me from mr .Glass to average joe but average joe is better than mr glass

Good to hear.

I met him (Tim Anderson) before at the Original Strength seminar they did in Toronto a couple of years ago. Spent the day with him and one of his certified OS instructors along with maybe a group of 12-20 people. We did these exercises all day long. Really nice guy and yes, he knows his stuff. Highly recommended. I have one of his books and workshop book from the seminar. The channel is really worth exploring. If you can get to a seminar it is also worth it.

Have you tried all his resets (breathing, neck nods, rolls, rocking, cross-crawls/crawling/marching)?
 
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fitness-with-fibromyalgia
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Good to hear.

I met him (Tim Anderson) before at the Original Strength seminar they did in Toronto a couple of years ago. Spent the day with him and one of his certified OS instructors along with maybe a group of 12-20 people. We did these exercises all day long. Really nice guy and yes, he knows his stuff. Highly recommended. I have one of his books and workshop book from the seminar. The channel is really worth exploring. If you can get to a seminar it is also worth it.

Have you tried all his resets (breathing, neck nods, rolls, rocking, cross-crawls/crawling/marching)?

okay the ones in bold are the ones that i think i have done or i am not doing right
http://www.fmaware.org/articles/fitness-with-fibromyalgia/
fitness-with-fibromyalgia

is that rocking? ^^^^ in that picture

but yes i 70 percent of time breath when i stretch

can you give me a good youtube vid on cross crawling? i have been trying it

when you say neck nodds do you mean chin tucks ? how do i do neck nods ?

when you say rocking do you mean getting on your back and grabbing put your legs and pulling your knees in toward you and rocking back and forth? like that pictures

in florida i found a (matt furey) pushup power pump at the gym and i hooked it up to my back and i crawled with it on my back and i did something called " The Alligator Walk" .. maybe i should get the "Matt Furey push up power pump" again i dont have any problems getting my chest bigger so i dont need it for that .. but maybe the push up power pump can help fibro.. i havent used it( power pump) in 10 years before fibro.. but its only 50 bucks what do i have to lose right? ... BTW , i was a beast then like ( living in florida for a year) this was 11 years ago .. i am 37 now
can you send me a link in private message of this book( you are talking about) i dont know if the moderator will like that you advertising in front of everyone on forum .. so send it in a PM and ill check it out ..

1) what is marching? 2) will nodds help me more than chin tucks? 3) would cross crawling even be worth it or should i just join a yoga class which is only 7 dollars being i belong to the gym 3) i need to know more about " rocking" are you saying get a rocking chair 4) maybe i should find some way to breath and mediate ..when i feel stressed at my job as a telemarketer so i get yelled at by clients so i grit my teeth and i get swollen and then i have my mom yell at me on the phone and i flare- up , very bad( dont live with my mom ) .. feels like i just spared with jon jones 5) what if what if get my lower lower abs to get tighter and strong becuase i have like 14 percent body fat on my upper abs and like 21 percent on my lower abs maybe dieting and the tightening of the lower abs will shield me from a anger / stress fibromylgia attack

.. i sent the link of very weird stretches specifically just for fibromlygia .. people on here are going crazy over dead lifts !.. they are fun to do but never helped my health problems .. not really

i think i just need to get strong tigther rhomoids because last year i broke my left hand ( not my good hand ) and i got compound fracture so it kind of screwed up my form i had to wait months to get decent grip and i got overdevelopment in my chest muscles because it was hard to pull weights toward me and possibly even a muscle imbalance . its cool you know to have big strong pecs ( who doesnt want that right?) but my PT ( physical therapist) said "you dont need to work out on your chest that much or even at all " just do light weights for your rhomoids, delts and work on your posture .. i got the Dr Ho back brace.. she wants me to pull the weights and squeze the delts and do it slowly
sorry for the bad punctuation i just have so little time
 
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Deads, hyperextensions, glute bridges, single leg stiff leg dead, kb swings and planks!! Lots and lots of planks (several variations)
 
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fitness-with-fibromyalgia
fitness-with-fibromyalgia
e7.gif


okay the ones in bold are the ones that i think i have done or i am not doing right
http://www.fmaware.org/articles/fitness-with-fibromyalgia/
fitness-with-fibromyalgia

is that rocking? ^^^^ in that picture

but yes i 70 percent of time breath when i stretch

can you give me a good youtube vid on cross crawling? i have been trying it

when you say neck nodds do you mean chin tucks ? how do i do neck nods ?

when you say rocking do you mean getting on your back and grabbing put your legs and pulling your knees in toward you and rocking back and forth? like that pictures

in florida i found a (matt furey) pushup power pump at the gym and i hooked it up to my back and i crawled with it on my back and i did something called " The Alligator Walk" .. maybe i should get the "Matt Furey push up power pump" again i dont have any problems getting my chest bigger so i dont need it for that .. but maybe the push up power pump can help fibro.. i havent used it( power pump) in 10 years before fibro.. but its only 50 bucks what do i have to lose right? ... BTW , i was a beast then like ( living in florida for a year) this was 11 years ago .. i am 37 now
can you send me a link in private message of this book( you are talking about) i dont know if the moderator will like that you advertising in front of everyone on forum .. so send it in a PM and ill check it out ..

1) what is marching? 2) will nodds help me more than chin tucks? 3) would cross crawling even be worth it or should i just join a yoga class which is only 7 dollars being i belong to the gym 3) i need to know more about " rocking" are you saying get a rocking chair 4) maybe i should find some way to breath and mediate ..when i feel stressed at my job as a telemarketer so i get yelled at by clients so i grit my teeth and i get swollen and then i have my mom yell at me on the phone and i flare- up , very bad( dont live with my mom ) .. feels like i just spared with jon jones 5) what if what if get my lower lower abs to get tighter and strong becuase i have like 14 percent body fat on my upper abs and like 21 percent on my lower abs maybe dieting and the tightening of the lower abs will shield me from a anger / stress fibromylgia attack

.. i sent the link of very weird stretches specifically just for fibromlygia .. people on here are going crazy over dead lifts !.. they are fun to do but never helped my health problems .. not really

i think i just need to get strong tigther rhomoids because last year i broke my left hand ( not my good hand ) and i got compound fracture so it kind of screwed up my form i had to wait months to get decent grip and i got overdevelopment in my chest muscles because it was hard to pull weights toward me and possibly even a muscle imbalance . its cool you know to have big strong pecs ( who doesnt want that right?) but my PT ( physical therapist) said "you dont need to work out on your chest that much or even at all " just do light weights for your rhomoids, delts and work on your posture .. i got the Dr Ho back brace.. she wants me to pull the weights and squeze the delts and do it slowly
sorry for the bad punctuation i just have so little time

A lot of people that say they breathe are not doing diaphragmatic breathing or quite understanding how to do it. I thought I understood it, but I didn't until a biofeedback tech took the time to show me.

For some reason I thought the breathing originated from the diaphragm (hence diaphragmatic breathing?). If you have some issues with anxiety or stress, this is a really good way to stop it. When I breathe, it originates from the pelvis until you you fill up your lungs. I did something called "heart rate variability" before and my ideal count was 4 seconds in, 4 seconds out, hold for 2 seconds and repeat. For someone else it may be 3,3, 2 depending on their size? But in any event, you can do this anywhere and in any position. There's a phone app I use called "paced breathing" that can help you to do this by following along with the tone rather than having to count the numbers of in,out,hold until you get the hang of it. Try it for five minutes and see if you notice a difference in your mood. It took me a few minutes to get the hang of the breathing in this manner, but now I can change my mood within a matter of about four to six breaths. Closing your eyes will help too.

Rocking doesn't involve having you on your back, but stomach facing the floor on all fours. Rocking integrates your feet, ankles, knees, hips and shoulders which each rep.

Here are two examples of rocking (but not limited to these):





Play around with foot positions while on all fours will affect the movement as well. You don't have to move your feet for each rep of movement, but some will feel better than others. Avoid anything that is painful:



There are more versions of Rocking that you can find on Youtube simply by putting in "Original Strength rocking." That applies for the other five movements I listed as well.

Marching:



Neck Nods aren't chin tucks:

 
Do good mornings. I started including them In my program and my deadlift and squat increased

I use the cable machine to do weighted good mornings and I love it!
 
Don’t forget reverse hypers. Louis Simmons from west side barbell ‘invented’ this contraption after some serious back injuries. I’ve hit these 3x a week for going on 4 years now. My back is still fucked, but not nearly so bad.
 
Don’t forget reverse hypers. Louis Simmons from west side barbell ‘invented’ this contraption after some serious back injuries. I’ve hit these 3x a week for going on 4 years now. My back is still fucked, but not nearly so bad.
They're great, but i've never seen a gym that has one.
 
They're great, but i've never seen a gym that has one.

Most CrossFit gyms have a reverse hyper. You could probably find one at some powerlifting gyms as well. I ended up buying one for my small home gym.
 
Most crossfit gyms have just a normal hyperextension. The reverse hyper is....the reverse of that. I've never seen a crossfit gym in Austin that had the "torso stays in place, legs swing" hyper machine, and we have like.....too many to count here.
 
They're great, but i've never seen a gym that has one.

Have you ever tried this?



Another method: I've put a stability ball on top of a laying hamstring curl machine before so I could hang onto the handles on the machine. Then I took a band and put it over the roller and looped it over my heels.

Alternatively, if you're at home with no hamstring curl machine but you have a stability ball, you might be able to find something low to anchor a band on and loop it around your heels.
 
I have recently gone back to lifting due to a shoulder (acromioclavicular) injury, which is mostly rehabilitated now; I feel some inflamation after hard BJJ sessions but it isn't painful. I can do some lifting 3 times a week. Gym equipment isn't the best or most appropriate, and I can't switch gyms since I train BJJ there, plus I'm a cheap rat I guess.

I have tested the exercises, squat and deadlift, to see where I'm at and the numbers are depressing. I could barely deadlift 154 lbs (Yuropean here, I'm converting the weights, bar unaccounted for since it's not an Oly bar and I don't know how much it weighs, less than 30 lbs for sure) for 5 reps without resting due to my lower back being really weak. I tried squatting the same weight and it wasn't really a problem. I'm 6'1 @ 203, around 20%bf.


My intended routine is a 5x5

- Deadlifts or squats
- Bench press or dips
- Military press
- Rows
- Add pull ups and chin ups down the line.


How do I specifically strengthen the lower back since it's my weakest point? Should I assume it's not just my lower back but my core that is underdeveloped? How to fix it so I can start adding weight?

There was a time I could DL that same weight for reps like it was nothing. :'(

Thank y'all.

Advice on better routines is appreciated, the problem is the gym doesn't allow dropping the weights so I can't really do Oly lifts.


If you're only deadlifting around 155lbs then you would be best served by doing more deadlifting. Your entire body is a weak point at this stage and you will make better gains by running a beginner program like Starting Strength or Stronglifts. You need a high frequency of the main lifts, not a bunch of accessory work.
 
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Good.

If you do a full bridge you should feel a stretch in your abdominals. Back bridging is a full body exercise.

I found another vid that has some regressions and progressions that others may find helpful depending on their level.



i buy two pound womens weighted gloves and i go running with them it helps for the pain

but, there any way of strenghtening the muscles that are a notch above the hip underneath the arm pits and inbetween the obliques and the back muscles how do i strengthen them ? because they are weak as ***
feels like i am like semi - human and i have a fin that is growing out there only thing that helps is opoids and xanax for the pain
 
Just deadlift more, use a glute ham raise machine too if they’ve got one. You can get a 2.5 bw dead without doing much other “core” or lower back work quite frankly.
 
Are you doing the deadlifts sumo style? You might need better deadlifting technique also
 
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