Deadlifted medium-heavy weight with no pain
I was scheduled to try for 360 pounds today, but in light of my recent back pain I didn’t go for it. Instead, I did an extra light set, then the increasingly heavy sets I was scheduled to do, without the final set. So I did sets of 5 at 130, 220, 265, then 300 pounds. I was extra careful about my form. It seems that I have very little leeway with regard to how straight my lower back can be during deadlifts. I must keep it 100 percent straight (even a little arched), because if I let it become even the slightest bit rounded the pain kicks in. It is easy to lose concentration for a split second and let it round, but today I did all my reps perfectly. It has been a few hours, and I am in no more pain than I was before I deadlifted, so I’m sure the problem was my form.
I believe I need to do two things in order to continue progressing with the deadlift: get better conscious control over the muscles in my lower back, and increase the flexibility of my hamstrings. To strengthen the neuromuscular pathways from my brain to my lower back, I’m going to add some Supermans and some Hyperextension Bench exercises into my regimen. To increase the flexibility of my hamstrings I’m going to continue doing the stretches I recently added to my stretching regimen. Tight hamstrings cause your back to round when you squat down to pick up the bar.
I’ve always stretched after my workouts, and I’ve always included hamstring stretches, but I’m going to be more aggressive with those stretches from now on. The ones I’ve recently added involve laying on your back, looping a towel around one calf, then sticking your leg straight up and pulling on the towel. I use the belt from a terrycloth robe, and it works even better than a towel. I do one version with the belt wrapped around my calf, and one with the belt under my foot like a stirrup. That one is really intense.
I’ve been using that same belt to do the rotator cuff stretches I wrote about a while ago. I’ve been doing those stretches every night before bed since 3/20, missing only 2 nights since then. I’ve gained measurable flexibility from the stretches, and they’ve been amazingly helpful in reducing rotator cuff pain. I used to be wary of making quick or uncontrolled movements with my arms, because of the pain in my rotator cuffs. It was especially bad at night when I was laying in bed. But now that pain has been nearly eliminated.
