Low back exercises?

[TunnelRat]

Until my shoulder gets better I'm not able to do a number of the more common (and more helpful) exercises -- no bench presses or overhead presses or dips for me.

So, in the meantime I've been looking at some exercises that I haven't done before, such as Good Mornings and Romanian Deadlifts. It seems these lifts fly in the face of everything my mother taught me about not using my back to lift.

Query: are these lifts safe to do...? I understand that some people are doing them, and with fairly heavy weights. I just worry about hurting myself by doing something stupid (one of my specialties...).

Is there a trick to doing them without blowing out my back?

 

[scientific muscle]

Yeah, don't flex the spine, keep it extended and tight and move at the hip joint. This way you work your hip extensors isotonically while working your erectors isometrically. The best way to get injured is to round your back while doing these, kind of like a conventional deadlift.

 

[Martin Levac]

Like Sci said. The bend is at the hips, not at the waist. The prime movers should be the glutes and the hamstrings while the back acts as a lever connecting the legs to the arms. The back always acts as a lever anyway, never as a prime mover. The stiff legged deadlift is a good way to stretch the hamstrings as well.

 

[EL_VIEJO]

What Sci and Martin are saying is critical. I've actually watched a guy a couple of weeks ago doing stiff legged DL's with a flexed lumbar. I haven't seen him since.

Remember my description of RDL's - it's all about sticking your butt out. The bar will go up and down on its own. Do watch the Dan John video that Quad has linked to so many times if you haven't already. As far as I'm concerned, a 'good morning' is a Romanian DL with the bar across your shoulders. Neither of these will hurt your lower back if you use proper form. Hell, you DL with over 2x your bodyweight. I'm sure the guys you know that are your age would be shocked to see you do that.

 

[Fausto]

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Hell, you DL with over 2x your bodyweight. I'm sure the guys you know that are your age would be shocked to see you do that.</div>

Exactly Tunnel! What's up? Your back should be just right for those two, do you ever bend your back while doing deads? No? Well then, same rule applies here, good mornings are pretty good for the lower back, one cannot use a lot of weight before getting the groove though!

I think that is all there is to it! Get the groove, then you'll be fine!

 

[coach hale]

Various exercises to chose from

Good mornings (vary foot width)
Waiter's bow
Zercher good morning
Db swings

I think you can go to elite fitness type in those exercises and you will get a description

coach hale
www.maxcondition.com

 

[TunnelRat]

<div>
(coach hale @ Feb. 04 2008,18:12)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Various exercises to chose from

Good mornings (vary foot width)
Waiter's bow
Zercher good morning
Db swings</div>
Yes, thank you, Coach.

I had been trying to do a Zercher-type variation, a sort of a Waiter’s Bow. I’ve been using first a 25 lb plate and then a 35 lb plate, rather than a bar, holding it to my chest as I bent over at the hips. Yesterday I used an empty bar on my shoulders and just did a clunky old Good Morning; I found that it was much easier. I’ll begin to add some weight to this exercise, but slowly as I gain more confidence with it.

I'm trying Ed Coan's strength program, and he calls for Good Mornings (along with several other back bending exercises...). I've been keeping a log, but I haven't posted it here because I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up with the program.

 

[Lol]

<div>
(TunnelRat @ Feb. 05 2008,13:28)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Yesterday I used an empty bar on my shoulders and just did a clunky old Good Morning; I found that it was much easier. I’ll begin to add some weight to this exercise, but slowly as I gain more confidence with it.

I'm trying Ed Coan's strength program, and he calls for Good Mornings (along with several other back bending exercises...). I've been keeping a log, but I haven't posted it here because I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up with the program.</div>
If you do good mornings, don't have the bar high on your traps or you will end up with a load on your neck vertebrae as you lean forwards rather than your shoulders plus you will have increased the moment of force from your hips to the bar. Put the bar on your scapular spine and keep your shoulders adducted and tight.

All the best with your program.

 

[Ruthenian]

Pay close attention to the comments on form! I let my back round a bit to try and stretch my hamstrings more and pulled my back badly on a RDL at about 260 lbs. The tragedy is that, though it has healed, I now find it psychologically difficult to get at all heavy with these. They are great exercises, but do it right.