lower back fatigue from squatting

ive been squatting for years and this has always been a bit of an issue, i just added rdls to my routine following squats and i didnt realize how bad the fatigue was until i started. no pain, just like i worked the shit out of my back. had to stop deadlifts a year ago due to a sports related back injury. is this a form problem? ive added a lot of volume to my squats recently which has made the fatigue and burn intense. im doing 6 sets of 10-12. any thoughts?

swap with front squats - it's can't be done without good form!

Regarding squats, I've read a few posts in the forum that mentioned back fatigue when discussion was at a higher rep range. I believe the big quad guys advocate higher weight and lower rep citing back fatigue as a possible issue. I too have a severe back injury and get lower back muscle fatigue. What I believe has helped is using 1 or 2 front end sets between 30-50 reps with 135 then going in to my heavy pyramid of 5 or less reps. I usually finish with a drop set starting heavy. Yes this fatigues the hell out of you, but I believe this helped me increase stamina in my lower back. My goal for this was to make my back adapt knowing the fatigue was a weak point. I also do not wear a belt.

I've never done Romanian dead-lifts though...I started doing traditional dead-lifts and rack pulls several months ago under a fear of what might happen with my back. I actually detailed it in an older thread. With the exception of the front end sets, I've been following a similar heavy pyramid routine for both and it has greatly strengthened my lower back. I'll give rdls a try soon and see what happens.

Belt-less pause squats have added tremendous core and lower back strength for me. Pausing in the hole like that will bring out any weakness and give it no choice but to get stronger.

heymrwaters said:

Belt-less pause squats have added tremendous core and lower back strength for me. Pausing in the hole like that will bring out any weakness and give it no choice but to get stronger.

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I 2nd that...I actually started doing that with my first couple sets of heavy weight at the bottom of a deep squat....I'm certain I got that from you in a separate thread.

Sounds like it may be a form issue and you may be leaning too far forward, but without a video it's hard to say for sure. If you are in fact leaning too far forward you may want to try a low bar squat position whereas instead of placing the bar up high on the traps you allow it to drop down lower on your traps. This helps keep me more upright during the movement. Another thing you may want to try is place your heels on some 5lb or 10lb plates while you are squatting. Also keep your head up during the movement, pick an object in the mirror just above eye level and stare at it during your squat. Check your stance also. A wider stance will help you remain more upright than a close stance will. You may want to practice with some bench squats, this will help you get into the habit of "sitting" down into the movement rather than bending at the waist.

TouaregV8 said:

Sounds like it may be a form issue and you may be leaning too far forward, but without a video it's hard to say for sure.

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I was thinking possible form or lack of mobility issue as well.
Often times lack of ankle flexibility doesnt allow one to really get the knees out over the toes and puts a lot of the load behind the center of gravity which causes people to carry the bar low on the back AND bend over at the waist to keep the bar in line with center of gravity.

Zyglamail said:

I was thinking possible form or lack of mobility issue as well.
Often times lack of ankle flexibility doesnt allow one to really get the knees out over the toes and puts a lot of the load behind the center of gravity which causes people to carry the bar low on the back AND bend over at the waist to keep the bar in line with center of gravity.

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This is what I was thinking if it is in fact form related

Traditionally highbar squatting should have your chest and posture more straight up


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