I have been lifting for a while now. I use to include deadlifts in my plan, but I felt my back being worked hard enough from bent over DB rows. Is that wrong? Should I lighten up on those or maybe even straighten up? I have a very long torso, maybe I am bending over too far on the rows and it is making the mechanical advantage of the weight too high.
I did a workout about 4-5 days ago and my back has been sore ever since. I isn’t necessarily pain, but it does make moving around and bending over difficult. It feels like I worked my back hard just yesterday. I took a break from lifting to see if it would go away, but it hasn’t.
I don’t do any specialized stretching for my back such as decompression or foam rolling, but I’m about to look up the articles on them.
In your experience, do I have a serious problem or can I fix this thing.
Thanks for your help. I love this forum.
Tapeh: …
(Sorry, Tapeh forgets to participate sometimes.)
You shouldn’t feel anything in your lower back when doing rows. If you could show a video that would help diagnose what could improve form wise. But from what you said, when you do bentover rows, keep your back arched hard, and bend from the hips.
You’ll feel tension on your hamstrings, not your lower back. Row from that position. You can even use body english if you want, just so as long as you keep your lower back arched hard.
Rounding your lower back = trouble. I messed up my low back pretty bad a couple years ago and have since recovered and am much stronger now than I was then. I’m no powerhouse that’s for sure, but I can only compare my achievements against myself.
Nearly any exercise you do, you want to keep your lower back arched. Whether it be benching, deadlifting, squatting. They all benefit from a hard arch and that arch will protect your spine.
As for your pain, it sounds like your form was shitty and the lumbar muscles are fatigued, and it should get better soon. If you got pain down the leg, or it feels different than a muscle, then it could be worse. Give that time.