Lower back rounds during Squats

Posted by Woo! in StrongLifts.com Forums:

I can Squat under parallel a little without my lower back rounding, but after that it does. Will glute activation help or should I do something else?

I can’t touch my toes yet. I can touch the tops of my shoes though, the top fleshy part above the laces tart of shin area. Is this why my lower back rounds? I can’t really explain it but I just round if I Squat lower than parallel.

Is lower back tightness possible without having your chest forward? I haven’t been paying attention to my chest but my back is tight. So hopefully it was fine in the past and I do it naturally. Otherwise, I’ll make sure I keep my chest forward.

Coaching Wesley. Wesley is a friend of my brother, who became my friend too. He never lifted weights seriously before. He started StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Program 4 weeks ago & trains in my home gym under my supervision.

Wesley is strong. Deadlifted 5×100kg & Overhead Pressed 5×5 40kg last week. He does competitive Frisian Handball. He’s in the off season until spring and wants to build muscle & strength during the next months.

Wesley’s Squat. The picture at the top shows Wesley’s Squat technique in week 2. There are several things wrong with Wesley’s Squat on that picture, things we’re working at. For now focus on his lower back. It rounds.

When Woo! asked why his lower back rounds during Squats, my initial response was: keep your chest up. I thought his whole back was rounding. Then came Wesley & did what looked exactly the same as what Woo! wrote.

Here’s a video of Wesley doing an Overhead Squat. It shows how his — and I suppose Woo! too — back rounds during Squats. Pay attention to Wesley’s lower back: it tucks in when he reaches parallel.


Why Your Lower Back Rounds. Just like Woo!, Wesley can’t touch his toes. He told me he has “a weak back”: his back hurts when standing for long periods. His hamstrings often get tight when playing Frisian Handball.

There are 2 reasons why his lower back rounds:

• Tight Hamstrings. When you Squat, your hamstrings pull the pelvis downwards which makes your lower back round. Normally, you have to Squat deep before this happens. Unless you lack hamstring flexibility.
• Weak Back. Now it’s not really a weak back, but I need to give it a name. What happens is that Wesley doesn’t know how to keep his back tight during the Squat. He loses lower back tightness. Yelling didn’t help.

Squat Stretch

How To Fix Rounding of the Lower Back. Keeping your chest up still applies. You can’t round your back if you keep your chest up. Keep your chest up on all exercises. Other things I have Wesley do:

• Hamstrings Stretches. Leg swings don’t work. He can’t keep his pelvis still. I make him do goodmorning hamstring stretches which he says hurt a lot. I understand he needs to do them more.
• Squat Stretch. Great exercise to stretch the adductors & get used to Squatting below parallel. Sets of 20-30 sec. He had problems keeping that position for more than 10 seconds at first, but has improved since.
• Supermans. Picture below. Supermans teach him to use his lower back muscles so his back stays tight during Squats. Sets of 10 holds.
• Box Squats. His idea. He felt he needed a reference point to hit the same depth on every rep. I’ve added sets of Box Squats to his program.

Supermans

Correct technique necessary to increase the weight isn’t there yet. But flexibility improves: the Squat position feels more comfortable & it takes his lower back longer to round. His Squat technique will be ok by next month.