For beginners, any concerns about rounding back?

Over the past couple years, I have had mild lower back pain (like 80% of the population), which was exacerbated by squats and deadlifts. Eventually I switched to deadlifting off boxes, and not squatting very much at all. Nothing serious yet, just a result, I think, of surrounding muscles being very tight. I started addressing the issue about a year ago, with myofascial releases, light stretching, banded mobility, standing desk, etc... and it made a world of difference. I was not pain free before starting GST a couple months ago, but it wasn't bad at all.

So now I'm feeling a bit more soreness in the mornings (but the back feels fantastic during/after stretching), and I'm wondering if it's a result of the stretch series and the multiple positions in which I'm rounding my lower back in the FS and MS series. I know we won't always feel 100% and this is part of the game, but I wondered if there were any recommendations to try to keep a straighter back in certain positions (pike, pancake, etc...) instead of simply trying to reach as far as possible and get the head to the knees/toes. As long as the discomfort isn't too great, would you just keep at it as instructed, or is this issue a common one with tight people?

Ideally in every bending forward positions you should try to hold the chest up to the ceiling and hold the lower back straight as much as you can, e.g. pancake, pike and front split.

Hi Patrick,

The spine is designed to both flex and extend; and must do both in order to enjoy optimal health.

Have you been training your jefferson curls?

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

2 minutes ago, Coach Sommer said:

Hi Patrick,

The spine is designed to both flex and extend; and must do both in order to enjoy optimal health.

Have you been training your jefferson curls?

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Yes, I have - my straddle up leaves a lot to be desired.  I will probably be on this element for a long time, so will get plenty of practice with J curls. It is hard to know with what weight to begin/progress. I started with two 5 lb dumbbells, then went to two 15lb dumbbells, and it feels good. Any recommendations for someone with decent strength but lack of mobility? Post a form check in the appropriate forum, I suppose?

This is nothing too serious yet, I just wanted to get out in front of things and see if this was a common issue for beginners to deal with. The last thing I want is to overdo it, especially when dealing with the lower back. Thanks everyone for the input.

The first thing I recommend is to see a physio about your back. As you already stated, you don't want to mess with lower back pain. I'll try to answer your other questions in order:

The recommendation for someone with mobility issues is to put building more strength on hold until the mobility is adequate.  The two always progress together.  

Upon beginning Jefferson Curls, start with a conservative weight and don't increase it for at least 3 months. Depending on how quickly you jumped to 30 pounds, you may want to drop it back down. When I add weight to Jefferson Curl, I hardly notice the increase. 

Always feel free to post form checks when you are not 100% sure. 

Thanks, Everett. I've heard @Coach Sommer on more than one occasion say to put your other activities on maintenance mode, so that's what I've done with my other lifting upon beginning GST.

I also want to say what a difference it makes to have so many trainers available and committed to answering questions on these forums. It really makes the product far and away better than anything I've seen.

Smart move putting everything else on hold. I too saw the value of this forum early on so I'm glad to have helped.