The last couple of months I’ve been getting pretty bad pain in my lower back during squat and deadlift.
After some examination I noticed that during these two lifts my hips would be tilted forward, which also made me realise that Im like that when even out of the gym.
Basically due to the tilt my glutes and core don’t engage properly.
Does this issue mean I have a weak core (I don’t do any direct core work)?
Possibly, could also be overly tight quads pulling on the hip flexors which stress the lower back.
Could be overly tight hamstrings.
Could be adductors or abductors.
Best to get evaluated by a massage therapist or PT. In person is the best way to get this sorted.
You can look up smashworx on youtube/instagram he’s got a lot of good content and can point you in the right direction as well.
He’s got “tests” etc you can do.
You mean anterior pelvic tilt, like your lower back is arched? You could have any number of issues that can’t easily be diagnosed in this format, but based on that alone you probably have tight hip flexors (psoas in particular) and quadratus lumborum. Stretch your hip flexors (half kneeling hip flexor stretch) and do myofascial release work on them (psoas in particular) and your QL. Don’t stretch your lower back, that can cause more problems.
This sounds like “crossed pelvis syndrome”, look it up.
I used to have these same issues to some degree, what I would recommend on top of what I said above is doing the McGill Big 3 regularly, like before each workout and on off days as well, plus glute bridges to warm up, like 5 sets of 5 second hold/squeeze. When it comes to lifting, an extended spine is better than a flexed spine but you should be aiming to stay neutral. It will take time to fix this, but it can be done.
Has bad form or excessive volume been eliminated from the equation?