Weightlifting & Fitness - Everything old is new again!

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

9 hours ago, amac said:

Has anyone ever gotten lower back pain from benching? Googling  told me to retract my scapula and engage the core which I already do

I’ve got a goofed back to begin with, but yeah, if I’m using heavier weights I’ll get some tightness in my back.

[braylon]

On 4/12/2019 at 5:47 AM, Hunter2_1 said:

I get lower back pain from life in general, lol.

How's your core? Strong abs and core tends to stabilize lower back. Does feet on bench stop the pain?

I always bench with my feet on the bench to alleviate the discomfort in my back. Is that something I should not be doing?

[Hunter2_1]

42 minutes ago, braylon said:

I always bench with my feet on the bench to alleviate the discomfort in my back. Is that something I should not be doing?

Not an expert, but I'd say if it takes back pain away - it's advisable to continue doing it until the issue is sorted.

Do you stretch before workouts? Have a strong core etc? Those would be my go-to's.

[braylon]

7 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

Not an expert, but I'd say if it takes back pain away - it's advisable to continue doing it until the issue is sorted.

Do you stretch before workouts? Have a strong core etc? Those would be my go-to's.

The issue has been ongoing since I was like 13 😂.. but yeah, I think I could do myself a favor by working on my core a little more than I have lately.

[showtime]

Okay so, over the past few weeks I have been doing push ups every day.  Not that many, probably about 50 a day.  Over the last two days, my right elbow is starting to hurt at times.  I think I need to take a break for a few days.

[MWil23]

17 hours ago, showtime said:

Okay so, over the past few weeks I have been doing push ups every day.  Not that many, probably about 50 a day.  Over the last two days, my right elbow is starting to hurt at times.  I think I need to take a break for a few days.

Are you flaring your elbows out instead of keeping them close to your chest? You may be putting too much pressure on your shoulders/elbows and not using your chest/core and triceps enough. It could be a technique issue.

[1234567]

On April 11, 2019 at 6:50 PM, amac said:

Has anyone ever gotten lower back pain from benching? Googling  told me to retract my scapula and engage the core which I already do

I know this is prob gonna sound overly obvious, but you don't arch your back off of the bench when you press do you? A lot of guys do that when pressing heavy weight and don't even realize it's happening. 

[amac]

15 hours ago, 1234567 said:

I know this is prob gonna sound overly obvious, but you don't arch your back off of the bench when you press do you? A lot of guys do that when pressing heavy weight and don't even realize it's happening. 

 I was told that arching your back slightly was the way to go.

[1234567]

50 minutes ago, amac said:

 I was told that arching your back slightly was the way to go.

Not if you're going heavy. The problem is that if you don't pay really close attention, you'll start flexing your lower back muscles when it's arched up off the bench. Over time, this will begin to strain your lower back, and you'll develop that soreness that you were talking about. Try keeping it flat on the bench for a while and really focus on keeping those muscle groups relaxed. I had the same issue in college; hopefully this will help you out 👍

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

3 hours ago, 1234567 said:

Not if you're going heavy. The problem is that if you don't pay really close attention, you'll start flexing your lower back muscles when it's arched up off the bench. Over time, this will begin to strain your lower back, and you'll develop that soreness that you were talking about. Try keeping it flat on the bench for a while and really focus on keeping those muscle groups relaxed. I had the same issue in college; hopefully this will help you out 👍

Yeah not really man.  No flat backs, it’s rough on your shoulders.

 

Let Alan Thrall explain.

[1234567]

29 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

Yeah not really man.  No flat backs, it’s rough on your shoulders.

 

Let Alan Thrall explain.

Yeah I've seen these videos before and I get what they're saying. But the benefits of arching your back can be replicated by simply lowering the bar to the correct place on your chest in the first place. Like Alan says, it's *harder* to do it correctly when your back is flat because it's a longer distance to your sternum. But it's totally doable. I suppose it could come down to individual anatomy as well. At least for me, the arch caused lower back issues that went away after I stopped doing it. So far (knock on wood) I've never had shoulder issues from flat back, but I then again I've always been pretty careful to lower the bar correctly. So I dunno? It might be a core strength problem as well vs the arch itself. Hard to say without watching him do it I guess. 

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

9 hours ago, 1234567 said:

Yeah I've seen these videos before and I get what they're saying. But the benefits of arching your back can be replicated by simply lowering the bar to the correct place on your chest in the first place. Like Alan says, it's *harder* to do it correctly when your back is flat because it's a longer distance to your sternum. But it's totally doable. I suppose it could come down to individual anatomy as well. At least for me, the arch caused lower back issues that went away after I stopped doing it. So far (knock on wood) I've never had shoulder issues from flat back, but I then again I've always been pretty careful to lower the bar correctly. So I dunno? It might be a core strength problem as well vs the arch itself. Hard to say without watching him do it I guess. 

While can get back discomfort from arching, you aren’t actually injuring your back, it’s just muscle tightness. Stretch well and it will go away.

Shoulder impingement is a whole other kettle of fish.

But yeah, different strokes for different folks, do what works best for you.

 

[MWil23]

13 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

While can get back discomfort from arching, you aren’t actually injuring your back, it’s just muscle tightness. Stretch well and it will go away.

Shoulder impingement is a whole other kettle of fish.

But yeah, different strokes for different folks, do what works best for you.

 

Speaking as someone who has had shoulder impingement, I concur. Plus slight back arching helps me lift more which makes me feel stronger and more of a man.

[squire12]

Arching your back during benching is a mechanism to make the lift more like a decline bench press vs a flat bench press.  Arching your back up with cause the arm to torso angle to be more like a decline bench.  

Just about everyone can lift more in a decline movement compared to a flat bend movement.  Thus the arching is a way to put your body in a naturally stronger position.  Fairly natural compensation when lifting heavy.  

[Tetsujin]

Hit 315 lb for 10 reps on the bench yesterday. I was worried my spotter was going to keep touching the bar. I told him "I'm going for 10", so he hovers low directly over me for every single rep.