Starting Strength, 3rd Edition - Mark Rippetoe [69]
The arched position in which the contracted spinal erector muscles place the lower back is referred to as lumbar extension. You will probably not be able to maintain this degree of lumbar extension at the starting position with the bar on the floor because hamstring tension will pull your pelvis and lumbar spine out of this position to some extent, depending on your flexibility. A few people – usually women and underweight men – are so flexible that they can produce lumbar overextension at the bottom (Figure 4-14). This is not desirable at all because an over-arched lower back is just as bad – and perhaps much worse – a position for the lumbar discs and their normal weight-bearing ability as a rounded one. A loaded, overextended lumbar spine can not only harm the intervertebral discs but also damage the facet joints and the close-by nerve roots. The desirable position is an anatomically normal lordotic curve or normal anatomical arch. But to achieve this, most people will need to concentrate on an exaggerated extension, because even the correct arch will test the limits of most people’s flexibility. The point here is to learn to set your back and identify and control the muscles you must use to do this, so that you can quickly develop the correct position. Once again, just to be sure you understand: an overextended lumbar arch is NOT the position to use to start the deadlift. Normal anatomical position is. But it may be necessary to try for overextension in order to produce normal anatomical position.
Figure 4-14. (A) The correct starting position for the lower back uses a normal anatomical arch. (B) A hyperextended lordotic curve is both unnecessary and counterproductive, as well as being difficult for people of normal flexibility to attain. The idea that the lumbar spine must appear to have a visible lordotic curve in order to be in the correct position is a misconception based on the appearance of skinny people in this position. Muscular men will be 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