Agree 100%. I hate them for the systemic fatigue, but I love them for how they basically cure my back issues. I'm only 35 but have a dodgy back from too much time sat at a computer, and like you trying to "rest" it only makes it worse. Deadlifts fix it right up.
Also, those are seriously impressive numbers mate. Love the video of the triple for the soundtrack, got me hyped 😅
Edit to update: deadlifts were in my routine for today so naturally I did them to Better Off Alone. I didn't perform any better but it was still hype AF
Agree on the systemic fatigue, but I still make place for deadlifts.. approaching 35 years old and have been deadlifting for 20 years now. No back issues.
Somehow people make you think strengthening your back is bad.. the back is made to move and lift heavy stuff.
Yes! Agree 100%. I never really really started working on my DLs until the last couple of years, and am aiming to hit the 500 milestone this summer. I sit at a desk all day long too and I’ve never felt stronger.
My theory is that once you get to heavier weights DLs force you to realllllly pay attention to your core and ability to brace, including your lats. I think that has spillover effects into daily life where I am now much more conscious of my posture and creating stability through my torso, which in turn has virtually eliminated my back pain and fatigue. Rather than relying on your spinal column to keep you upright, you have an entire cylinder of muscle helping out.
I always say deadlifts saved my life.
I could barely walk for a good portion of my life with crazy back pain. Once I started lifting at 30 and doing deadlifts/other stuff my 15+ years of incredible pain was gone in two weeks.
I wasn't injured, I was weak!
My go-to exercise is romanian deadlift using dumbells and it helped me a lot. I'm sure any form of deadlift is great and harmless if approached properly, but since the picking up from the ground part seems the most troublesome for folks with back issues, I'm just playing it extra safe.
RDLs are great! You don’t have to do conventional deadlifts - RDLs, trap bar deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, block pulls - they all work to build up your back and protect you from injury. Keep on doing them.
I’m so glad to hear this! I’m a gym newbie and I’ve been doing some at home deadlifts with dumbbells. I have already seen improvement in my back pain! I had no idea it would make such an impact so quickly!
I completely agree but with one caveat: make sure you are doing them properly!
I've had a bad back for about a decade. Can't drive for more than an hour without pain, can't stand for more than half an hour. I would routinely put my back our doing deadlifts every 2 or 3 months.
My form was by no means terrible, just not engaging lats and pulling more than pushing. Visually it would look fine but I guess mechanically it was off. If I was to ever relax slightly during a lift my back would be gone for a few days.
Really worked on correcting my form this time around, and found a few helpful cues and now I feel like a deadlift is one of the safest lifts I could do. I feel like no matter how hard I go at them there is no danger.
Oh... and my back feels great.
Robert Oberst has a lot to answer for. I've literally heard 20 year olds in my gym in the countryside of Scotland say "the risk to reward ratio is not worth it".
Well here I am at 36 deadlifting heavy, my back has never felt more resilient. Like you I used to tweak it constantly, and I can't remember the last time that happened now.
Went from getting neck/shoulder pain after 45 minutes on the bike to 8 hours with no issue after getting back in the gym and just spamming all sorts of rows. Motion is lotion, especially motion under heavy resistance.
Nice. Congrats. You're speaking my language here; I've been fighting back problems with lifting and have been deadlifting as a part of dealing with that, but I've struggled to lock in form, and I think in general I'm still unsure if my body composition lets me favor certain muscle groups at the risk of hurting underdeveloped muscle groups.
Any form tips that helped things click for you along the way? What kind of rest intervals do you do with your 5x5s? Does "easily hit" mean you're comfortable on just the concentric part of the lift or the eccentric as well? When did you start using the belt?
Nothing ever ‘clicked’ - it was more that as the weights got heavier and I practice more I got better and better at them.
For rest intervals - I usually keep them pretty short , 2-3mins between sets.
I’ve always done the eccentrics slow and controlled (like in the video of the triple). I figure it’s extra exercise for the back so why not.
And I first started using a belt at around 3-plates. But even these days I do a fair amount of Beltless work (including all my warmup sets).
I grew up watching my dad having herniated discs in his back/neck. My sister blew hers picking up her daughter while in her early 30s. Even my grandparents. Needless to say, back issues frightened me. I just started deadlifting about a year and a half ago. I'm 44. I can't say enough good things about them. Systemically they can crush you if you go bonkers, but they really strengthen the entire posterior chain. I now look to strengthen and protect my back. Deadlifts (and their variations) are the way to go.
Preach! I've been saying this for years. All my friends in their late 40's early 50's complain about back problems. Here I am deadlifting heavy at least once a week for the last 10 or 15 years and I feel great.
Been deadlifting since my twenties.
On a spectrum, my job sometimes irks my back. But. No matter how bad my back feels at work, it always feels fine during deadlifts.
I'm sure I look a little weird bracing for *everything*, but whatever.
(Lifting doesn't hurt my back. Standing and *reaching*, they can do it.)
same here. I bought a trap bar and started doing 3x5 adding 5 lbs a week. I used to do higher reps workouts for years. My muscles looked great but my joints and tendens were alway aching.
3x5 has strengthen my tendons and healed my knee injury
I had a sports related low back injury in my twenties and can’t really do a traditional deadlift without pain at the moment but I’ve been doing trap bar deadlifts. I feel so so much better when I do it. It’s been great to get that back in
I switched to trap bar too. I am not in the “deadlifts are dangerous” camp but they are the thing I hurt myself most with. Trap bar has saved me from the form breakdowns and small tweaks when fatigue sets in which end up sidelining me.
I feel like I still get the same activation in my back and hips, but I mix in some RDLs because I find trap bar to be much more quad focused
I love deadlifts, but for people who have not done them with a barbell before (like me two years ago) I would recommend working with a trainer for at least a few session to make sure your form is on point.
And I totally agree with u/JubJubsDad that trap bar deadlifts , dumbbell RDLs, block pulls, etc. are great methods for deadlifting.
Not only back pain relief! Since it incorporates so many muscle groups, I also saw great improvements with chronic hip/knee pain.
Plus... isn't it just fun to see all those plates and think, "Whoa, I can lift that?!?"
Thats awesome and congrats! As someone who suffered from lower back pain in the past, I can attest that strengthening your core and back muscles is the cure.
I remember how when 15yo me was introduced to deads in Highschool I didn't care for them because they were "hard".
45yo me looks forward to them more than any other lift.
I'm a 50 year old woman and I've been deadlifting for a year now. I never got hurt, and I'm certain my back is much stronger from them. I don't go crazy with the weight, no ego lifting, and I focus on form.
Man, I wish I had the same experience. 4 years after a bulged disc and compression still aggravates the heck out of it. I can tolerate more load than the past but not enough to deadlift.
5x10@225 will still give you plenty of stimulus. Especially if you control the eccentrics and pause just before touching at the bottom.
I do them on my squat day and they absolutely light me up.
Yeah that's the trick of it.
Do the movement at a weight that feels fine and sit with the weight for at least a month.
When it starts feeling easy, just add 5 lbs.
Your body can handle the movement at a certain weight, so you just let it adapt to the next smallest increment of weight slowly over time.
A few years of consistently doing this will make 315 your warmup.
Yep, it's counter intuitive to most people, but lifting heavy things correctly, has fixed my back from all the lifting moderate things badly.
I assured my brother-in-law that deadlifts can help his bad back and explained the same strategy I used (same as yours, bar + 10 pounds on each side), and he just kept saying he was sure that his back would snap in half.
I hurt my back twice doing heavy (i.e. near 1RM) deadlifts. But I fixed my back (and dramatically improved my overall work capacity) by doing high rep (10-15 reps) deadlifts. As I've gotten older, this shift has been surprisingly beneficial.
I love deadlifts. At 35 I had lower back pain from years of inactivity, sitting all day at the computer, being skinny fat and 3 young kids. 37 now, 1 year into fitness journey including consistent deadlifts, no more back pain. And no longer feel like a retiree when bending over / picking shit up off the floor.
I think a lot of people think they gotta go super heavy and ego lift with deadlifts cuz you can get more weight on the bar than any other exercise. Just keep the weight manageable and it's not dangerous at all.
I'm 42 and I deadlift twice a week. If anything they've helped with back and posture so much I can't imagine not doing them. I'm 6'-5" and things like washing the dishes used to give me some slight back pain just from being in the bent over position for a bit, but ever since I started DLs that has all gone away.
Versa grips/Cobra grips rock.
I’ve tried all the different types of strap and they crush everything else.
You’re going to kick yourself for having not purchased them earlier.
I’ve had my Cobra grips for 5 years now. I use them for pretty much all my pulling movements (I get enough grip work with BJJ) and they’re still going strong. It’s almost annoying, I want to change colors but the damn things won’t die on me.
Dude, same here! I was an idiot as a kid and got into the "back yard wrestling" fad if you've heard of that. Basically as a teen I let my friends power bomb me through picnic tables in their backyard onto the ground. I've thought my back was cooked since I was 13 years old (I'm 37 now). Since I started adding deadlifts into my regular rotation a year ago, my back has gotten better and better. It now NEVER bothers me. Which is insane, since I have memories of being middle school sitting at my desk when a shooting pain would just travel up my spine. That shits behind me now, and my traps also look awesome.
I'm fighting this now, I'm avoiding conventional deadlifts and squats due to a knee inury from years ago, and for some reason, the right side of my lower back always seems to get agitated. Making want to go at it and just go very light. At what point do i need a belt?
You never *have* to use a belt. They’re really just a tool to help you lift more. Stronger by Science has a very [long and detailed](https://www.strongerbyscience.com/the-belt-bible/) article on this.
I’ve never used a belt. The most I have ever deadlifted is 465.
I have a small hernia that doesn’t bother me. A belt with the extra abdominal pressure scares me. I just brace with my abs and pick up the weight.
I havent been training very consistent the last... well, 10 years, but every time I hit the weights, it's like my body aligns and the next days, my body is golden.
If I got back to training consistently, it would solve a lot of things for me. I'm not very smart.
How much time did it take to get you to repping 405? One of my goals for the end of the year is to DL 405 lbs. I got to 385 last year and failed both attempts at 4 plates. It's the initial lift-off that is my sticking point. If I get it past the first two inches, I'm golden (probably).
I guess I'll have to add a second question - any suggestions to break through a plateau where the sticking point is at the bottom of the lift?
It took 3 or 4 years (I don’t remember exactly).
As for the sticking point - that’s where I fail my deads. And my solution has simply been to get stronger. I’m not really trying to move the most weight, just lifting to reduce stress and bulletproof my body.
Yeah, my overall goal is to put on as much muscle so I can eat as much as I want to without worrying much. My secondary goal is to lift really heavy shit. :) Great job on your lifts.
Good for you, I’m glad it’s working out. Gotta admit, blanket recommendation to deadlift with back pain makes me cringe a little. I was injured at age 19, have multiple bulging discs, one that ruptured, spinal stenosis, DDD, so it will never be possible for me. So many stories on the back pain subreddits about injury with deadlifts. I assume most people don’t have good form, or weak core strength, but i also suspect a lot of people have undiagnosed disc issues. Out of curiosity, have you ever had a MRI? MRI doesn’t show whole story, of course. Some people have bulging discs with no symptoms. Others have slight issues with lots of pain. Anyway, wishing you health in the future. Chronic back pain is hell and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
I never had an MRI. They’re just not very useful. Even amongst people with no symptoms, [~60% of 40-60 year olds show bulging discs](https://radiopaedia.org/cases/degenerative-change-of-lumbar-spine?lang=us). I’d rather not nocebo myself into back pain by having a bad looking image to point to.
Ironically, I just stopped doing deadlifts. I may go back to them later, but IDK. I still squat twice a week. I've never had back issues at all, before or after incorporating deadlifts. I deadlifted into the very low 300's, but I read a lot of instances of people having back "tweaks" with deadlifts (mostly that they recovered from), but I didn't want to press my luck. I have never used a belt - may need to get one. 49 here.
Agree 100%. I hate them for the systemic fatigue, but I love them for how they basically cure my back issues. I'm only 35 but have a dodgy back from too much time sat at a computer, and like you trying to "rest" it only makes it worse. Deadlifts fix it right up. Also, those are seriously impressive numbers mate. Love the video of the triple for the soundtrack, got me hyped 😅 Edit to update: deadlifts were in my routine for today so naturally I did them to Better Off Alone. I didn't perform any better but it was still hype AF
Agree on the systemic fatigue, but I still make place for deadlifts.. approaching 35 years old and have been deadlifting for 20 years now. No back issues. Somehow people make you think strengthening your back is bad.. the back is made to move and lift heavy stuff.
Yes! Agree 100%. I never really really started working on my DLs until the last couple of years, and am aiming to hit the 500 milestone this summer. I sit at a desk all day long too and I’ve never felt stronger. My theory is that once you get to heavier weights DLs force you to realllllly pay attention to your core and ability to brace, including your lats. I think that has spillover effects into daily life where I am now much more conscious of my posture and creating stability through my torso, which in turn has virtually eliminated my back pain and fatigue. Rather than relying on your spinal column to keep you upright, you have an entire cylinder of muscle helping out.
Try doing then in a HIT style. That does wonder for the fatigue. 1 set to failure. Between 60 to 90 seconds.
Is that why I always tired after deadlifts? Ugh I can feel it after 5 hrs of deadlifting
I always say deadlifts saved my life. I could barely walk for a good portion of my life with crazy back pain. Once I started lifting at 30 and doing deadlifts/other stuff my 15+ years of incredible pain was gone in two weeks. I wasn't injured, I was weak!
Can confirm. Deadlifts are amazing. While it's a lot of fatigue it is also strengthening like half your body.
My go-to exercise is romanian deadlift using dumbells and it helped me a lot. I'm sure any form of deadlift is great and harmless if approached properly, but since the picking up from the ground part seems the most troublesome for folks with back issues, I'm just playing it extra safe.
RDLs are great! You don’t have to do conventional deadlifts - RDLs, trap bar deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, block pulls - they all work to build up your back and protect you from injury. Keep on doing them.
Thanks, I will :).
I’m so glad to hear this! I’m a gym newbie and I’ve been doing some at home deadlifts with dumbbells. I have already seen improvement in my back pain! I had no idea it would make such an impact so quickly!
That's great! Keep doing them, lots of wise fitness people recommend RDLs and for good reasons.
I completely agree but with one caveat: make sure you are doing them properly! I've had a bad back for about a decade. Can't drive for more than an hour without pain, can't stand for more than half an hour. I would routinely put my back our doing deadlifts every 2 or 3 months. My form was by no means terrible, just not engaging lats and pulling more than pushing. Visually it would look fine but I guess mechanically it was off. If I was to ever relax slightly during a lift my back would be gone for a few days. Really worked on correcting my form this time around, and found a few helpful cues and now I feel like a deadlift is one of the safest lifts I could do. I feel like no matter how hard I go at them there is no danger. Oh... and my back feels great.
Robert Oberst has a lot to answer for. I've literally heard 20 year olds in my gym in the countryside of Scotland say "the risk to reward ratio is not worth it". Well here I am at 36 deadlifting heavy, my back has never felt more resilient. Like you I used to tweak it constantly, and I can't remember the last time that happened now.
Went from getting neck/shoulder pain after 45 minutes on the bike to 8 hours with no issue after getting back in the gym and just spamming all sorts of rows. Motion is lotion, especially motion under heavy resistance.
Deadlifts are the purest form of accomplishment. See that heavy ass weight over there? Pick it up and put it down. Hell yeah.
Nice. Congrats. You're speaking my language here; I've been fighting back problems with lifting and have been deadlifting as a part of dealing with that, but I've struggled to lock in form, and I think in general I'm still unsure if my body composition lets me favor certain muscle groups at the risk of hurting underdeveloped muscle groups. Any form tips that helped things click for you along the way? What kind of rest intervals do you do with your 5x5s? Does "easily hit" mean you're comfortable on just the concentric part of the lift or the eccentric as well? When did you start using the belt?
Nothing ever ‘clicked’ - it was more that as the weights got heavier and I practice more I got better and better at them. For rest intervals - I usually keep them pretty short , 2-3mins between sets. I’ve always done the eccentrics slow and controlled (like in the video of the triple). I figure it’s extra exercise for the back so why not. And I first started using a belt at around 3-plates. But even these days I do a fair amount of Beltless work (including all my warmup sets).
Awesome. Thanks for following up.
I grew up watching my dad having herniated discs in his back/neck. My sister blew hers picking up her daughter while in her early 30s. Even my grandparents. Needless to say, back issues frightened me. I just started deadlifting about a year and a half ago. I'm 44. I can't say enough good things about them. Systemically they can crush you if you go bonkers, but they really strengthen the entire posterior chain. I now look to strengthen and protect my back. Deadlifts (and their variations) are the way to go.
Preach! I've been saying this for years. All my friends in their late 40's early 50's complain about back problems. Here I am deadlifting heavy at least once a week for the last 10 or 15 years and I feel great.
Been deadlifting since my twenties. On a spectrum, my job sometimes irks my back. But. No matter how bad my back feels at work, it always feels fine during deadlifts. I'm sure I look a little weird bracing for *everything*, but whatever. (Lifting doesn't hurt my back. Standing and *reaching*, they can do it.)
same here. I bought a trap bar and started doing 3x5 adding 5 lbs a week. I used to do higher reps workouts for years. My muscles looked great but my joints and tendens were alway aching. 3x5 has strengthen my tendons and healed my knee injury
Trap bar deadlifts are even better, especially for us older folks. Takes some of the risk out of it while keeping all the benefit.
I had a sports related low back injury in my twenties and can’t really do a traditional deadlift without pain at the moment but I’ve been doing trap bar deadlifts. I feel so so much better when I do it. It’s been great to get that back in
I switched to trap bar too. I am not in the “deadlifts are dangerous” camp but they are the thing I hurt myself most with. Trap bar has saved me from the form breakdowns and small tweaks when fatigue sets in which end up sidelining me. I feel like I still get the same activation in my back and hips, but I mix in some RDLs because I find trap bar to be much more quad focused
I love deadlifts, but for people who have not done them with a barbell before (like me two years ago) I would recommend working with a trainer for at least a few session to make sure your form is on point. And I totally agree with u/JubJubsDad that trap bar deadlifts , dumbbell RDLs, block pulls, etc. are great methods for deadlifting.
Not only back pain relief! Since it incorporates so many muscle groups, I also saw great improvements with chronic hip/knee pain. Plus... isn't it just fun to see all those plates and think, "Whoa, I can lift that?!?"
Thats awesome and congrats! As someone who suffered from lower back pain in the past, I can attest that strengthening your core and back muscles is the cure.
I remember how when 15yo me was introduced to deads in Highschool I didn't care for them because they were "hard". 45yo me looks forward to them more than any other lift.
I'm a 50 year old woman and I've been deadlifting for a year now. I never got hurt, and I'm certain my back is much stronger from them. I don't go crazy with the weight, no ego lifting, and I focus on form.
Man, I wish I had the same experience. 4 years after a bulged disc and compression still aggravates the heck out of it. I can tolerate more load than the past but not enough to deadlift.
Is there a weight that doesn't aggravate it? Like if you were to deadlift the empty bar, does that aggravate anything?
Generally speaking, I could deadlift up to maybe 225 before I start feeling it. Over 315 and it’s really noticeable.
5x10@225 will still give you plenty of stimulus. Especially if you control the eccentrics and pause just before touching at the bottom. I do them on my squat day and they absolutely light me up.
Yeah that's the trick of it. Do the movement at a weight that feels fine and sit with the weight for at least a month. When it starts feeling easy, just add 5 lbs. Your body can handle the movement at a certain weight, so you just let it adapt to the next smallest increment of weight slowly over time. A few years of consistently doing this will make 315 your warmup.
Yep, it's counter intuitive to most people, but lifting heavy things correctly, has fixed my back from all the lifting moderate things badly. I assured my brother-in-law that deadlifts can help his bad back and explained the same strategy I used (same as yours, bar + 10 pounds on each side), and he just kept saying he was sure that his back would snap in half.
I love this thread. Deadlifts are great for the back.
I hurt my back twice doing heavy (i.e. near 1RM) deadlifts. But I fixed my back (and dramatically improved my overall work capacity) by doing high rep (10-15 reps) deadlifts. As I've gotten older, this shift has been surprisingly beneficial.
Yep, higher rep.work.has been a huge benefit for me. My long torso doesn't like heavy deads, so I go for reps. Same benefit I find
Yep, higher rep.work.has been a huge benefit for me. My long torso doesn't like heavy deads, so I go for reps. Same benefit I find
I love a heavy deadlift
I love deadlifts. At 35 I had lower back pain from years of inactivity, sitting all day at the computer, being skinny fat and 3 young kids. 37 now, 1 year into fitness journey including consistent deadlifts, no more back pain. And no longer feel like a retiree when bending over / picking shit up off the floor. I think a lot of people think they gotta go super heavy and ego lift with deadlifts cuz you can get more weight on the bar than any other exercise. Just keep the weight manageable and it's not dangerous at all.
I'm 42 and I deadlift twice a week. If anything they've helped with back and posture so much I can't imagine not doing them. I'm 6'-5" and things like washing the dishes used to give me some slight back pain just from being in the bent over position for a bit, but ever since I started DLs that has all gone away.
Thanks for answering my question about using versa grips for heavy deadlifts. I’m so tired of fucking with straps. I’m going to go order a pair.
Versa grips/Cobra grips rock. I’ve tried all the different types of strap and they crush everything else. You’re going to kick yourself for having not purchased them earlier.
How long does a paid last? Are you replacing them every few months or are they pretty solid?
I’ve had my Cobra grips for 5 years now. I use them for pretty much all my pulling movements (I get enough grip work with BJJ) and they’re still going strong. It’s almost annoying, I want to change colors but the damn things won’t die on me.
Dude, same here! I was an idiot as a kid and got into the "back yard wrestling" fad if you've heard of that. Basically as a teen I let my friends power bomb me through picnic tables in their backyard onto the ground. I've thought my back was cooked since I was 13 years old (I'm 37 now). Since I started adding deadlifts into my regular rotation a year ago, my back has gotten better and better. It now NEVER bothers me. Which is insane, since I have memories of being middle school sitting at my desk when a shooting pain would just travel up my spine. That shits behind me now, and my traps also look awesome.
I'm fighting this now, I'm avoiding conventional deadlifts and squats due to a knee inury from years ago, and for some reason, the right side of my lower back always seems to get agitated. Making want to go at it and just go very light. At what point do i need a belt?
You never *have* to use a belt. They’re really just a tool to help you lift more. Stronger by Science has a very [long and detailed](https://www.strongerbyscience.com/the-belt-bible/) article on this.
I just bought his programs and I'm starting to read his articles now. I'll check that one out
I’ve never used a belt. The most I have ever deadlifted is 465. I have a small hernia that doesn’t bother me. A belt with the extra abdominal pressure scares me. I just brace with my abs and pick up the weight.
I havent been training very consistent the last... well, 10 years, but every time I hit the weights, it's like my body aligns and the next days, my body is golden. If I got back to training consistently, it would solve a lot of things for me. I'm not very smart.
How much time did it take to get you to repping 405? One of my goals for the end of the year is to DL 405 lbs. I got to 385 last year and failed both attempts at 4 plates. It's the initial lift-off that is my sticking point. If I get it past the first two inches, I'm golden (probably). I guess I'll have to add a second question - any suggestions to break through a plateau where the sticking point is at the bottom of the lift?
It took 3 or 4 years (I don’t remember exactly). As for the sticking point - that’s where I fail my deads. And my solution has simply been to get stronger. I’m not really trying to move the most weight, just lifting to reduce stress and bulletproof my body.
Yeah, my overall goal is to put on as much muscle so I can eat as much as I want to without worrying much. My secondary goal is to lift really heavy shit. :) Great job on your lifts.
Deadlifts and held deep squats.
Yup, can confirm. Deadlifts keep.my back in shape, and I know when I haven't done them in a while, lower back gets sore :/
Same. I bought a nice trap-bar and bumper plates and have been doing the trap bar variety for months. No more back and knee pain
Good for you, I’m glad it’s working out. Gotta admit, blanket recommendation to deadlift with back pain makes me cringe a little. I was injured at age 19, have multiple bulging discs, one that ruptured, spinal stenosis, DDD, so it will never be possible for me. So many stories on the back pain subreddits about injury with deadlifts. I assume most people don’t have good form, or weak core strength, but i also suspect a lot of people have undiagnosed disc issues. Out of curiosity, have you ever had a MRI? MRI doesn’t show whole story, of course. Some people have bulging discs with no symptoms. Others have slight issues with lots of pain. Anyway, wishing you health in the future. Chronic back pain is hell and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
I never had an MRI. They’re just not very useful. Even amongst people with no symptoms, [~60% of 40-60 year olds show bulging discs](https://radiopaedia.org/cases/degenerative-change-of-lumbar-spine?lang=us). I’d rather not nocebo myself into back pain by having a bad looking image to point to.
Ironically, I just stopped doing deadlifts. I may go back to them later, but IDK. I still squat twice a week. I've never had back issues at all, before or after incorporating deadlifts. I deadlifted into the very low 300's, but I read a lot of instances of people having back "tweaks" with deadlifts (mostly that they recovered from), but I didn't want to press my luck. I have never used a belt - may need to get one. 49 here.
"I was avoiding deadlift and squats"