So I started running the Starting Strength 3 months ago at the age of 22 (had way too many setbacks, squatting 85 at the body weight of 80 right now, so I’m still a novice) and ever since I started lifting more than 60 kilos I have developed low-back pain. It feels stiff, especially when I bend over by flexing my low-back. Also some hip pain too. Worsens when I sit down for hours, relief when I lie down. No pain at all during the workouts though. Plus a throbbing pain around my left ankle that worsens when I take a deep breath and kind of runs up my calf.
I’m keeping my back extended at all times and recording every single set. My form is not perfect but I improved it a lot.
I also had an MRI and turns out that I have a very minimally bulging disc at L5-S1. The doctor however told me that it’s not something to worry about since the bulge is very mild. Dr. Baraki also helped me out with this on the forums, here. So it shouldn’t be sciatica I guess.
So the question is, how much soreness/pain is normal, how do you know if you’re just sore or you blew something up and do you train through it? I know that not training isn’t the solution so I did back extensions at the gym today, hoping that the pump would help.