Comments on: Why Your Lower Back Hurts on Squats & How to Fix it

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:40:43 +0000

Hi Mehdi,

i also noticed that my lower back rounds slightly just as i go below parrallel. I am going to do supermans and squat stretches to get my flexibility up and strengthen my back and maybe start doing box squats to give me a good base to work on as i am relatively new to squating. My question, is shall i stop squating while i get my flexibility and do supermans and if so for how long would you reccomend doing these things until i squat again?

P.S. Stronglifts is great, keep up the good work.

Thanks

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:28:30 +0000

One thing that I forgot to mention is that I am closing on my 1.5 body weight in about a month.I may have started to heavy to soon.
I weigh 180 lbs and am squating 255 lbs.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:31:52 +0000

I am not new to weight lifting but am new to strength training.I haven’t done a lot in the realm of squating and need some advice.I have pretty good flexability in my thighs and still hurt my lower back today.I have been doing squats with a belt until today and after my second set my lower back just above the hips had a sharp pain.I may be hyper-extending my back. If after taping i find this to be the case is there anything that I need to do or change? I also have the bar high on my shoulder. Think I ought to drop down in weight until I get comfortable/confident with the bar in the low position?

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:21:08 +0000

I’ve also observed that it is important to stick the backside out rather hang off the knees. Good info. Thanks

By: NQ

NQ — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:14:09 +0000

I’m also 6′5″ and have had similar problems – I have improved a lot since I started working on my hamstring and groin flexibility.

By: Mehdi

Mehdi — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:33:13 +0000

@Jack Height is irrelevant. Flexibility matters. Check this post if your lower back rounds. The Squat Stretch mimics the movement best, that's the exercise you should focus on.

By: Jack

Jack — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:55:01 +0000

The other day I saw two people at the gym who did full squats and I was amazed at their form. I find the squat the most difficult exercise because of my height (I’m 6′5), and I was wondering if my height will prevent me from ever achieving that kind of depth. I can go to parallel but once I get lower my lower back rounds. Are there other exercises besides leg swings and the squat stretch that I could use.

By: Mehdi

Mehdi — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:30:12 +0000

@Lauren
Glad to read you like it Lauren, especially coming from you. I know you’re a big fan of posterior chain training

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:57:51 +0000

Nice post Mehdi, a lot of people lack the hip mobility to do a proper squat. Glute activation is key. Getting those babies going will really get you a better squat. Thats clear from the two videos. As soon as they are firing, so many other problems disappear. Thanks for yet another insightful post.

By: Mehdi

Mehdi — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:12:44 +0000

@Kabir
Thanks to you for the videos, appreciated. It’s not perfect yet, but your back is fine now, that’s a good base to start from.

Fixed the labels on the videos btw, thanks for that too Kabir.