Back Pain from RDLs

I have a friend that’s suffering from low back pain when performing a two-handed kettlebell romanian deadlift. This exercise requires stability and for a lot of people, their stabilizing muscles are not strong.

Another issue I see with people performing this exercise is that they let the weight get away from them. If you don’t keep the weight close to your body and let it drift away from you, this is one reason why it causes lower back pain. The further away the weight, the less leverage you have.

Options you have to help with this movement are foam roller assisted RDLs, lowering the heaviness of the weight or switching to a Two-Handed DB RDL.

How to Split Squat and What to Avoid

The magic exercise that works your inner thighs and your cellulite as as well as your trainer's patience is the split squat.

Honestly, any type of exercise done on a single leg will not only give you that “toned" look you've been searching for your whole life, but it will also build up strength.

This is important especially if you have one side weaker than the other, weak hips, or suffer from instability.

There’s more than one way to work legs & there’s more than two ways to squat.

The split squat is great for people that have lower back pain doing barbell back squats or don’t have the flexibility to do a proper barbell front squat.

The two variations explained in this video focus on your rear foot being elevated onto a bench or a hip thrust machine.

You don't have to use these two, I just want you to use a height that allows you to use your full range of motion.

What I also want you to focus on is keeping your upper body leaning forward.

This prevents discomfort in your lower back as well as allowing you to work your backside (weak side) more.

What I want you to avoid is letting your heel come off the ground. There's two reasons why this might happen.

The first is not creating enough space between your front foot and the pad behind you.

The second is not bending your back knee enough. Think of your back knee as an elevator going down to the ground but also back towards the pad.

One thing I forgot to mention in this video was creating enough distance between your feet, meaning, if your feet aren't shoulder width apart, it’s going to be harder for you to maintain balance going down and up.

Also make sure your front knee is not caving in as you're coming down and up. Use a mirror if you can or record yourself from the front  view if you think this is happening. If it's too hard to control, this is a sign that your glutes might be weak. Deadlifts, glutes bridges or any other exercise that works your backside will help fix this problem.

5 No-Equipment Back Exercises

The best way to prevent back injuries is to strengthen your back before injury happens. The aesthetics of having a toned, muscular back is coveted by nearly everyone… so why doesn’t everyone have one? We have a tendency to work the muscles we see because it’s in our sight of vision. This means the muscles we don’t see, we don’t work as much or as hard, right? On a Monday evening, you’re more likely to see men going all out on chest, shoulders, and arms rather than rows, pull ups, or any other pulling exercise. Too much focus on pushing vs pulling will end up doing more harm than good in the form of front shoulder pain, poor posture & no progress in strength.

If you’re sitting down while reading this, are you hunched over or is your back as straight and flat as a wall?

If you’re reading this while standing up, where is your phone in relation to your face? Down by your stomach or up at face level?

If you sit in a hunched position doing computer work or scroll through instagram more than face to face interactions, try these moves out. You also can’t use the “I don’t have a gym membership” excuse.  These 5 no-equipment back exercises can be performed at home, the park, the office…. I think you get the point.

If you need a good analogy to inspire your friend to focus more on back instead of chest… Think about the foundation of a house. You wouldn’t build a house on sand. You’d have a strong, sturdy, reliable base to construct your home, because anything else less trustworthy will result in a collapse. The same applies to your body, the stronger your back is, the stronger your front will become.

Bonus for men: When she digs her nails into your back, it’ll feel like rocks to her instead of warm towel 😉

Good Mornings:

3 sets.

10-15 reps.

Rest 30-60s.

Dolphin Kick:

3 Sets.

5-10 Reps.

Rest 30-60s.

Reverse Snow Angels:

3 Sets.

3-5 Reps.

Rest 30-60s.

Superman/woman Holds: 

1-3 sets.

3 reps with a 15-30 second hold.

Rest 30-60s.

Wall Walks (nose & toes touch the wall):

1-3 sets.

3 reps with a 15-30 second hold.

Rest 30-60s.

Send me a form video if you’d like me to check your form or in need of a modification.