Need ideas to catch up my low back

**Sust Man** · 03-11-2009, 07:21 PM

Ok so I have years of lifting experience. I am 6'3", 200lbs. My dilemna is that my back (especially the erectors) seem to be disproportionally weaker than the rest of my body. It seems that no matter what I do to target them, the just don't grow. For example: I workout on squats with 3 plates for sets of 10, but deadlifts are hard as hell to do sets of 8 with one plate + 10 on each side.

Part of this may be due to leverage, as I have to really bend over and bring my back into it in order to clear my knees on the way up. So for low back specifically, I have tried deadlifts, roman chair back raises (where your legs are locked in place and you face the floor), good mornings, etc. The other day I tried roman chair raises with no weight since I hadnt messed with them in a while. I did 3 x 15 and my erectors were full of lactic acid/burning after each set. I've done lower rep with some weight added as well, but it doesn't seem to give me results either.

When I took muay thai, we used to do these sort of frog leap things where you would be in a low squat position and hop from the floor to a bench, up and down for about 20 reps or so. I couldn't do more than about 6 or 7 tops. Maybe I need more functional style training like this instead of weight training?

**StritationOrBust** · 03-11-2009, 09:14 PM

On leg days at the end of my workout i do straight leg deadlifts and then good mornings. I do the good mornings as a power lift; sets of 8,6,4 to failure. Of course with good morning when i say to failure I mean as close to failure as possible, not really a lift you want to fail on. Great form is key with good mornings, as well as deadlifts. I also do heavy deadlifts at the end of my chest workout, sets of 8,6,4 to failure. I wouldn't suggest doing these heavy lifts more than once a week each(don't know what your split is like) because the lower back takes longer to recover than any other major muscle group. Personally i think good mornings are a must in any routine, but thats just me.

Again let me stress that form is of the essence here, especially when your starting to learn these lifts, but it sounds like you hav experience with them.

I have two steel rods running down the side of my spine. Looks great when you have your shirt off.

PM me if you have questions.

GL

**reardbandit** · 03-11-2009, 09:40 PM

Deadlifts, deadlifts, more deadlifts. Ain't nothing in the world cooler lookin (imo) than a super developed back. Stiff legged deads are sick for low back and hammys, as well as good mornings. If you go to a gym with a safety squat bar, you can load up the good mornings with more weight, but as Stri said, not a god lift to fail on.

Those frog leaps just sound like simplified box jumps (plyometrics). You may get a little benefit to your back, but it wont target that specifically.

**Sust Man** · 03-11-2009, 10:10 PM

Ok deadlifts. So what about deadlifts for a tall guy? Its just that clearin the knees part of it.. My deads are almost like 2 movements....straighten the legs, then engage the erectors to pull the weight up. (I wish there was a better way to explain this). It feels like my lo back is doing most of the work, which means that lifting much more than 1 plate on each side feels like a back strain waiting to happen. I've tried many different occaisions doing these for a month or two at a time, but my strength just never seems to increase on them. Any thoughts?

**Jfew44** · 03-11-2009, 10:16 PM

Do yourself a favor and get someone who knows proper form or watch some youtube videos on deadlifting with good form. I have the same problem (6'3") and I herniated a disk in my back by deadlifting with bad form. You DO NOT want that problem. I've just started deadlifting again with lower weight. Don't be worried about the weight you're doing if you're doing it right. Your back will grow.

**StritationOrBust** · 03-11-2009, 10:35 PM

Standard deadlifts start with the legs to get the weight moving off the ground. Keep the back straight when your lifting. Like Jfew said, get someone to watch you, or practice with low weight in front of a mirror.

Back injuries are caused when the you bend the spine and the the discs between the vertibrae become compressed on one side and hyper extended on the other. This can cause you to "slip" a disc. Which is when the disc, which is basically a sac full of liquid, herniates. This is what you would call a "bad" thing.

Anyways, just because your starting the lift with your legs doesn't mean your doing it wrong.

Also you want to go past just coming to a straight up erect position like your standing. To properly exercise the spinal erectors you need to go past the center and push the shoulders back a couple inches. The weight will be resting somewhat on your thighs as you do this.

**Sust Man** · 03-11-2009, 11:16 PM

Ok. I guess I just need to have somebody watch me again. I don't think the average trainer at my gym will really know what to look for, as I've had people watch me before. Theres a guy in my class who really knows his stuff, so I'll have him take a look. Thanks for the input.