Hi guys, new to the form, love your work Austin and everyone else, been watching you guys on YouTube for a while. Apologises if this or something similar has been answered before (or I am posting in the wrong place) , but I have yet to find an answer to my particular problem. Background/about me:
Age: 35
Height: 5’9
Weight: 140lbs, athletic type
Max - Squat/Dead/Bench: 200lbs, 300lbs, 135lbs
Aim/goal: gain muscle/weight
Been in the gym 2 years.
My stats are not impressive I know but I used to weigh less and was generally unfit and skinny, thats why I started going to the gym, and has been going good till recently. So I was deadlifting a set with 175lbs and felt a pain in my neck that I get now and then so stopped training for a week. My neck pain went away at least, generally though I never have any aches or pains. Problem is this time I felt it in my lower back for the first time, and would not go away upon return to gym. I visited my doctor who referred me to physical therapist and found my deadlift form was off, not the worst he ever seen, but I was definitely rounding my back slightly. He reckons I “pulled a muscle down there” and so does the doctor, because I have been deadlifting with poor form for 2 years. I have switched to trap/hex bar and improved my form. Problem is after 7 months (initially resting for a 2 weeks) I have been going back to the gym as normal over this time and although I can get close to what I was lifting before without any bad pain (just a little uncomfortable, rarely pain when lifting, only afterwards) the bigger problem is for 2 or 3 days after deadlifts or squats (even training with very little weight) I cannot hold a cup of coffee in my hands without feeling a stabbing pain in my lower back. I went back to my doctor who says I should just quit the gym (very unhelpful and I am NOT going to do that) as generally when I do not workout my back feels OK, so the deadlifts and squats are definitely aggravating whatever is going on down there. But my doctor is pretty negative about the whole situation and will not even give a clue what he thinks the problem is (he did say its definitely NOT sciatica though I have not been X-rayed yet). I am considering another opinion/going elsewhere. As far as I am aware I am doing everything else correctly - warming up, cooling down, eating properly, etc.
I have read Austin’s article on aches and pains and its very good, however my question is this - do I keep training and hope the stabbing pain I feel after the gym just goes away over time, or do I revisit my doctor and try to get an X-ray (to be sure) or pay a chiropractor money? I know it’s probably nothing but the nociception I am feeling but the fact is this has been going on 7 months and will not go away and I’m getting pretty down about it. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Thanks for your response Michael! I have found the links helpful and have been looking more in depth at what you guys have been saying. You are right I have been given bad advice in my earlier training years - As it turns out I reckon I was just a bit too hasty on load and getting back into it after the injury - my form was still off, and believe it or not I used to work up to my one rep max EVERY workout on EVERY lift (just thought that if I could lift it at the end of my sets I might as well!) silly, I know. Lately been watching my form and de-loaded, back is feeling a lot better, and I only plan to train one rep max’s again when I am 100% better (and maybe only once a week at the most!), I’ll let you know how it goes, thanks
Glad the information has been helpful. I’d also recommend checking out our programming information on the forum, YouTube channel, and podcasts. I’m not sure if we are talking the same language about 1RMs but I can’t think of scenarios where I’d have an athlete attempt 1RMs weekly.
Yeah looking back on what I just wrote, sorry I was unclear, I meant that I might attempt a one rep max much further down the line, and not every week! But yes in regards to my older training method I was doing one rep max deadlifts every week for 2 years. Insane I know. If anything I’m lucky I have not done any serious damage and can still lift
