Lower Back Pain After Deadlifts? 3 Form Fixes, From A Certified Trainer

Women'sHealth

Lower back pain after deadlifts? Watch this video with trainer Nellie Barnett for three fixes, from core bracing to improving the hip hinge, to feel better and lift heavier.

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 That's how we do it.

00:05 (upbeat music)

00:08 Hi, Women's Health.

00:10 I'm your trainer, Nelly Barnett,

00:12 and I absolutely love doing deadlifts.

00:14 One question I always get though,

00:16 is I have lower back pain and how can I fix it?

00:18 Well, I have three easy fixes for you

00:20 that are gonna prevent lower back pain

00:22 and allow you to lift even heavier.

00:24 The first thing to understand is that

00:26 the deadlift is a compound exercise

00:29 that uses nearly every muscle in your posterior chain.

00:32 That's the backside of your body.

00:34 When you're performing the deadlift,

00:35 your hands are always down straight,

00:38 and then you are driving through the heels

00:40 as your knees, hips, and shoulders come into alignment.

00:44 The first fix, and this one's pretty much the most important

00:47 is understanding proper core bracing.

00:49 This becomes your body's natural weight belt

00:52 because it's helping to prevent lower back pain

00:54 and prevent any rounding of your spine.

00:57 A way to ensure a neutral spine

00:59 when you are doing the deadlift is with core bracing.

01:02 So let's practice a technique.

01:03 Put your hands on your ribs,

01:05 and then you're gonna take a deep breath into your stomach,

01:08 expanding your diaphragm,

01:10 and then tighten your abs and your obliques.

01:12 Let's do one together.

01:14 Take a deep breath in, engage.

01:18 There you have it, your body's natural weight belt.

01:23 The second fix is understanding mind-muscle connection.

01:27 Now, since the deadlift is a compound exercise

01:29 that's using so many muscle groups,

01:31 we have our hamstrings working, our glutes, the back,

01:35 I especially wanna focus on the latissimus dorsi.

01:38 A great way to make sure that you're activating this

01:40 is to imagine you have lemons under your armpit,

01:43 and instead of clamping down, you're gonna squeeze.

01:46 You're gonna squeeze your shoulder blades back

01:48 and engage those latissimus dorsi.

01:52 Let's put that into action.

01:54 So with your arms straight, grab that barbell.

01:56 Remember to brace, activate the latissimus dorsi, and pull.

02:01 That's how we do it.

02:10 The third fix, and this is a foundational movement,

02:12 is the hip hinge.

02:14 You really wanna make sure that your hips

02:16 are not too low or too high

02:17 because that can cause lower back pain.

02:20 When you're performing your hip hinge,

02:22 you're starting with those arms straight, grabbing the bar.

02:25 Like I said, the hips are not too low or too high,

02:28 and you are going to pull that bar up

02:31 as your hips push forward.

02:34 So really make sure those latissimus dorsi are engaged,

02:37 you brace your core, and then you push those hips forward

02:41 as you bring that bar up.

02:43 If you find that you are pulling the bar up

02:45 and rounding the spine,

02:47 that's an indication you're doing it wrong,

02:49 or if you're starting too low and pulling from the bottom

02:52 as you're trying to sit into it.

02:54 Those are two wrong ways of doing this.

02:56 Another indication is if you're slamming that weight down

03:00 on your descent, that means it's too heavy for you.

03:03 So it's better to start with dumbbells,

03:05 then increase to the barbell,

03:07 and then you can start adding plates.

03:09 With these three secrets,

03:11 it should fix any lower back pain that you're feeling

03:13 so that you can lift even heavier.

03:15 For more sweat secrets, head to womanshealthmag.com.

03:18 (upbeat music)

03:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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