3 Tips to get rid of lower back pain from squats

3 Tips to get rid of lower back pain from squats
Let’s talk about 3 tips to get rid of lower back pain from squats. In most cases, pain from squatting comes to technical errors; whether the pain is in the lower back or in the knees. Sometimes, the lower back pain can actually originate from the hips (described in my post on how to Fix Your Hip Pain from Squats). All of this can be fixed with a few tweaks. If the problem is physiological, consult your doctor. I’m not a doctor and this is not medical advice. If you’re worried, it’s probably a good idea to consult one. With that said, let’s get started. Tip #1: Know what kind of squats you’re doing and do it right For the back squat, you’re either doing high bar squats or low bar squats. On the high bar squat, the bar is placed on top of your traps. If you are using this variation, your body needs to be more upright during the movement. If you try to sit back too much, the bar gets further away from your centre of gravity. As a result, your low back takes the strain. When you have the bar on top of your traps, it’s better to break at the knees. When you sit back as the first movement, this is breaking at the hips. For the high bar squats, try bending at the knees first. One the low bar squat, the bar is lower on your back and it placed on the middle of your scapula (shoulder blade) and it sits on your rear deltoids. On this variation, you need to lean forward more. This variation will take the stress off your low back. Here is what the differences look like: High bar squats in the picture on the left with bar placed on top of your traps. Low bar squats on the right, bar placed lower on the upper back. If you’re doing high bar and you’re leaning forward too much, it will harmfully strain your back when using heavy weights. If you’re doing low bar squats and going too low, your lower back will round excessively and that can cause back pain as well. You just need to break parallel on the low bar squats to reach proper depth. You can go lower on the high bar squat. Tip #2: Keep your low back tight Whatever variations you are doing, make sure that the lower back is flexed and tight during the squat. Men often have a harder time doing this. Do a back extension and hold it at the very top to get a feel of how you’re supposed to flex and keep that tight. You can also do a mini back extension from lying on the ground like this: Tip #3 Brace your abs Using your abs will keep your back from over extending. Take a big breathe and hold it for the entire rep and brace your abs like you are about to get punch in the gut. This same style of breathing should also be used for other heavy lifts. Squat Depth and Ankle Flexibility Not being able to reach proper squat depth and a lack of ankle flexibility can also mess with your back positioning. You check out my article on this topic here: How Deep To Squat To Protect Your Knees Original article and pictures take http://getthisstrength.com/lower-back-pain-from-squats site