Starting Strength

in the correct position when the low back appears flat due to the muscle mass of the erectors. Be aware that a hyperextended position is not actually desirable, but an inflexible person might need to try to hyperextend just to get into a correct lordotic position.

    The majority of the problems encountered in the deadlift will involve an incorrect lower back position. Most novice trainees who exhibit the most common incorrect back position in the deadlift – a round lower back – are completely unaware of their back position. They are unable to identify the correct position, the incorrect position, or any position in between. This may be your problem if you struggle for more than a couple of workouts with your deadlift form. You may lack the kinesthetic sense – the ability to identify the spatial position of your body or a body part – required to perform the movement correctly. The cause of this may be related to visual perception: you can’t see your lower back, and you haven’t even attempted to look at it. You can tell if your elbows are flexed or extended, but you have no idea if your low back is flexed or extended, probably because you haven’t thought about it before, because you can’t see the muscles involved. Arms are in view, both in a normal field of vision and in a mirror, and it is natural to relate voluntary control to an observed, observable movement. In contrast, the lower back is behind you, and it would require a truly innovative mind to think of an excuse to look at the action of the lower back in a mirror from profile while picking up stuff in the garage.

    Figure 4-15. A rounded lower back is the most common problem encountered for most people learning the deadlift. Step 4 in the setup is where this must be corrected.

    Fixing low back problems requires an awareness of what the lumbar muscles do, what it feels like when they are doing these things, and what must be done to do them every time. Repeat the action of lifting your chest and sticking your butt out several times to practice the voluntary contraction of these muscles. Just to be sure, get on your belly on the platform and do the drill described in the “Back” section of the Squat chapter a few times, too. Setting the back is essentially the opposite of a sit-up, which is an active flexion of the spine. Active extension of the spine activates the muscles on the other side of the torso, and thinking about it this way can help.
    Once you know what an extended low back feels like, you can get yourself into a good position at the bar in steps. Take your correct starting stance, set your back, and lower yourself into position a little at a time by shoving your butt back, your knees out a little, and your shoulders forward, going down until you feel your lower back break out of extension. Then come back up as high as necessary to set it in extension again, and then try to get a little lower than the last time. In this incremental way, you can eventually get into a reasonably good starting position at the bar.
    Back injuries are fairly common in the weight room, and unfortunately this is a part of training with heavy weights. Both squats and deadlifts, as well as cleans and all other pulling exercises, can produce these painful, inconvenient, and time-consuming problems. But knowing what actually causes them can lend a whole new perspective on how necessary it is to prevent position errors that result in these injuries.
    If you go to the doctor when you have a back injury, nine times out of ten she will tell you that “You just tore a back muscle. Take these drugs and quit lifting so much weight.” This diagnosis and recommendation reflect a lack of personal experience with these types of injuries and a lack of understanding regarding how and when muscles actually get torn and how they heal.
    Torn muscle bellies bleed. They are vascular tissues, and a tear of any significance disrupts the connective-tissue components of the muscle belly to the extent that the contractile and vascular components burst; blood then begins to accumulate in the area of the tear, producing a hematoma. This looks like a large bruise and goes through the same processes that bruises do as they reabsorb and heal. Bad tears will leave a visible gap in the muscle belly. Minor tears hurt like hell, too, but they don’t bleed enough to make a noticeable bruise. Little ones heal quickly, while a major tear can take several weeks.
    The majority of muscle tears