I've had a lot of issues with lower back pain. To the point of, several times in my life, going down with intense back spasms. My latest bout of spasms had me horizontal for about a week (couldn't get up from resting position without extreme pain).

I've seen a lot of personal trainers, chiropractors, physical therapists, etc., and every single one of them says I need to work on my "core".

The thing is, I do core workouts. I do a lot of stretching. I incorporate yoga. I do a significant amount of cardio and HIIT.

I think my issue is more with bracing, specifically prior to squats or deadlifts. There's just a lot to think about between making sure to breathe properly and having good form, that bracing has never been as high on my list. As I've increased weight sizes, this has gotten to be an issue. It is just hard to maintain form, breathing, bracing, etc., all while keeping consistent movement.

Just curious if this could make sense on why I have general lower back pain related to muscle spasms (and sometimes significant lower back pain). Anyone have similar issues?

Any advice on how to maybe think about this differently? Or thoughts/tricks on how to make sure I'm always thinking about bracing?

1. Id look at what core exercises you're doing and make sure you're hitting the whole core- abs, obliques, glutes, lower spinal errectors and even the pelvic floor are all included in that. They are right to say train it, but most people I see do it wrong.
2. Yes. You absolutely should be bracing well if you're lifting heavy. There's a 100 videos on YouTube about bracing. I would add a set of "brace only" lifts into your warm up before getting heavier. That way you practice the fundamentals. Your form and set up should be the same regardless of the weight.

Agree with Zach, as I'm going through this right now. Go down on weight and up on reps for a while and practice your form until you can do the movements right 100% of the time without thinking about it.

It is very likely that your lower back muscles have not been able to adapt to the load you're bearing on it. Your quads may be strong, but your lower back may be lagging and is the rate-limiting step to improving your ability to lift overall

To add onto the advice of above, there may be specific exercises you can focus on to strengthen your lower back

I love romanian/stiff legged deadlifts because I can get good lower back stimulation while focusing on good form- and I find it hits my hamstrings just as much as the lower back. Win/win.

Even if the weight is tiny, practice good form on stiff-legged deadlifts, and progress up in weight as your lower back allows.

Are you using a belt when you lift heavy? If so, where do you wear it?

I had the same issue and the thing that probably helped me the most (other than practicing bracing and experimenting with belt placement) was back/hyper extensions.

I don't regularly wear belts while lifting. I definitely see the appeal but feel that it is another factor in my form that I'm not used.

I would 100% encourage you to get a belt.

I bought this one for like $45.

I used to play basketball and thought that the weightlifters who used belts were meatheads and idiots. I got one on a whim since it didn't cost too much and thought "why not". There is no way I would be lifting the weights I am lifting now without a belt and I credit it for alleviating my back pain in conjunction with focusing some training specifically on my lower back and hip flexors.

There is nothing different to "learn" with one. It's just giving your body something to press against when you brace. If anything, it is going to make the mental cue easier for you because you'll have something you can feel the pressure against.

Any chance you can post video's / pictures of your squat and deadlift? My suspicion is your lower back is moving (flexing) at some point during each lift. With squat, if your overall form is good, it's probably at the bottom as you near / hit parallel. On deadlift, it may be on your setup at the bottom, or it could be at some point during your lift.

I'm all for doing auxiliary lifts to fix weak points. I regularly do hip thrusts for glutes, hip abductor/ adductor, weighted planks / farmer walk's / etc for core stability, and other assorted work as needed. But at the end of the day, it's likely your letting your lower back flex at some point on each lift and over time that can cause disc issues (which may be what you are dealing with). I've dealt with this exact thing off and on over the years. To that end, I am very methodical and deliberate with my form on both and try to even over arch my back during each to keep things locked into place and not allow any movement.

On squats, if your back is rounding at the bottom, this could mean making adjustments to your form, such as widening your stance slightly. On deadlifts (assuming you are doing conventional), a lot of people struggle to get their lower back set, especially if your taller and/or have long legs. Or if you have really tight hips. I have all of the above, which is why I stick with sumo. Yeah, there is some tradeoff's, but it feels more natural to me and their is more room for error when it comes to my lower back.

Lastly, I will second using a belt. A good belt will help keep things tight. I've used Inzer forever belts since I was in high school. They are expensive, but I've had my current one for probably over 30 years and it's still in great shape.

One unintended benefit/consequence of the belt that I've noticed is that if my form starts to deteriorate and I start rounding, the belt will usually dig into my stomach or ribs and be a little painful. So it's a good sign that my form is breaking down and I need to either tighten it up or finish up that set.

For me, doing high bar squats puts a LOT more stress on my lower back and stabilizers in my core. High bar is supposed to be much better for quad development, but for me they're just riskier with no benefit to the stimulus, so I recently just went back to low bar.

I feel doing squats low bar really locks me into the lift and I control my body position much better without thinking about it. It's a little more stressful on my shoulders holding the bar in place, but I feel far more stable at the bottom. I do feel them in my glutes more than high bar, but quad stimulus is still there.

I don't wear my belt for my first 2 warmups, then put it on for my heaviest warmup and work sets, so I feel what it does for me.

But I'd definitely spend some time looking at the difference in high and low bar squatting to see if that may help you find a way to use your core more efficiently. I had no idea how different the 2 lifts are or that there even was a difference until I was years into doing squats (my default was high bar).

Agree with this 100% and have arrived at the exact same conclusion for my body type.

If I do high bar squats now, I put a wedge under my heel so I'm not as limited by my ankle flexibility, making it easier for me to keep an upright torso and I also don't go as heavy.

CC09LawAg said:

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Agree with this 100% and have arrived at the exact same conclusion for my body type.

If I do high bar squats now, I put a wedge under my heel so I'm not as limited by my ankle flexibility, making it easier for me to keep an upright torso and I also don't go as heavy.

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weightlifting shoes man...

but I do put my heels on my 5 lb plates sometimes for the same reason.

Not trying to derail, but high bar squats should not involve your back nearly as much as low bar. For those that are saying otherwise this doesn't make sense to me. With low bar you have way more bend at the hips and you're literally creating a lever/moment arm out from the hips. One of the benefits of low bar vs high bar is lower back muscle development.

I'm a low bar guy too.

You may use it more, but low bar puts into a position for me where it doesn't have the potential to move like a high bar squat.

There's something about the position my arms have to be to hold the bar in place that doesn't allow rounding of my back as I squat with low bar. With high bar, I have a tendency to drop my chest at the bottom as I try to get depth.

I can only speak for myself, but the issue I was having was that with a high bar squat, your legs are generally closer together than in a low bar squat and this was causing me to fold over more due to the way my hips/legs are structured and the aforementioned ankle mobility issues.

I can hit proper depth way easier on a low bar squat which is keeping me from rounding my lower back or getting caught leaning forward and putting the weight on my toes, which was causing me to have to strain my lower back. I've addressed the issues some and could probably do better on high bar now if I tried, but I'm focusing on lifting heavy right now and less on quad development so I haven't explored it much.

Thanks for all the informative replies; I do appreciate it!

With the belt, is it ever a concern that you may be ignoring pain or what your body is trying to tell you? I can do a ton more weight, keep my form and everything just "feels" better while utilizing a belt but I feel like if there is an underlying issue with some part of my form (like poor bracing technique or rounding of the back/butt wink), the belt can sometimes mask that... Until it is too late.

I've just heard a few too many horror stories about not listening to the body and getting hurt.

jtraggie99 said:

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Any chance you can post video's / pictures of your squat and deadlift? My suspicion is your lower back is moving (flexing) at some point during each lift. With squat, if your overall form is good, it's probably at the bottom as you near / hit parallel. On deadlift, it may be on your setup at the bottom, or it could be at some point during your lift.

I'm all for doing auxiliary lifts to fix weak points. I regularly do hip thrusts for glutes, hip abductor/ adductor, weighted planks / farmer walk's / etc for core stability, and other assorted work as needed. But at the end of the day, it's likely your letting your lower back flex at some point on each lift and over time that can cause disc issues (which may be what you are dealing with). I've dealt with this exact thing off and on over the years. To that end, I am very methodical and deliberate with my form on both and try to even over arch my back during each to keep things locked into place and not allow any movement.

On squats, if your back is rounding at the bottom, this could mean making adjustments to your form, such as widening your stance slightly. On deadlifts (assuming you are doing conventional), a lot of people struggle to get their lower back set, especially if your taller and/or have long legs. Or if you have really tight hips. I have all of the above, which is why I stick with sumo. Yeah, there is some tradeoff's, but it feels more natural to me and their is more room for error when it comes to my lower back.

Lastly, I will second using a belt. A good belt will help keep things tight. I've used Inzer forever belts since I was in high school. They are expensive, but I've had my current one for probably over 30 years and it's still in great shape.

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Thank you for the post. Sounds like you nailed it on the head and have dealt with something similar.

I surprisingly do have quite a few videos of my form as I find it helpful to review, in addition to showing my drs/PTs/trainers/friends for their thoughts. Unfortunately, I'm a little against posting in a public setting for privacy concerns.

I honestly don't get a lot of negative feedback on my deadlift or squat form, though, with exception to something you mentioned, back-rounding. Aka the "butt wink". Which is what I think has been the cause of the pain but basically every Dr I've talked to said it is a weak core.

If it were me, I'd try four things - I would do back extensions, I'd work on the ATG split squat, I'd work on my ankle mobility, and I would spend some time everyday doing "third world squats".

I would program those for a couple of months and see if you notice any difference. I did all of those in a deload phase and haven't had back pain since but obviously correlation does not equal causation and this is anecdotal.

Besides all of the above, if you have or can get access to a Reverse Hyper Machine, as simple as it is, it will work wonders for lower back pain. You don't even really need to use much weight on it.