My back

[Psyco Diver 69]

My shoulder finally healed (remember that tree slam I did a few months ago?) ok it heal about a month and I'm getting back into the gym so I can get to work for my swim season but my back is the problem.When I go to go do squats I can get up to 200lbs before my back starts hurting and the max I did was 210 but at that point I was thinking my back was going to snap, and I feel I can get up to 250 maybe 260lbs. I experence this too when I do calf lifts (toes on a board and going up and down using your toes with weights) and military presses.

What can I do to strenghten my back? I'm going to a real gym soon and the only gym I've been too is the one in my high school, which isn't the best gym.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Actually doing squats is a great for developing the low back. Your probably getting the equivalent of arm pump in your back. A couple other good exercises would be the Roman Chair, dead lifts, stiff legged back extensions. In the stiff legged back extensions you place a barbell with light weight on your shoulders and bend down and up keeping your legs straight and stiff. These also develop your hamstrings. Also make sure you develop your abdominals cause the entire midsection needs to be balanced.

 

[BillyWho]

Psyco, I second Rumpels comments with emphasis on the ab workouts, and maybe use a weight belt for a bit till you get your back strengh up to par :) .

 

[michigan]

i've recently realized that people have been teaching us to lift weights the wrong way. weak backs are a problem for 95% of the people in the gym, and i've found that its a humbling process to fix the weak back. we spend all sorts of time doing leg extensions, smith machine squats, and machine rows, and the result is a very strong upper back and legs and a horribly weak lower back. then we try to do a real squat or try to pick up a stalled four stroke and the lower back screams in agony. if we spent our time doing compound exercises like bent over rows, deadlifts, and military presses from the start, our lower backs would develope along with the rest of our bodies. i went through the process of using less weight on the important exercises in order to let my lower back catch up, and it is wortwhile but not fun.
also, i would stay away from weight belts becuase they are a crutch that will allow you to work with more weight than your back can handle, and they will only prevent you from developing the lower back strength that you need to develope.
try to reduce the weight that you use and choose your exercises wisely. your lower back will quickly develope if you train it.

 

[Big Tuna]

I agree with everything mentioned above, and would like to stress the importance of training all of your bodies muscles equally. Train your entire midsection lower back, obliques, abs, and even hip flexors. It is also very important that you get a good warm up and stretch before you begin to train. It takes me about 20 minutes to get warmed up and stretched before I even touch a weight. Also not mentioned was technique, make double sure you are using good form all the way to the last rep, and not starting to let your back arch as you tire out. Chest out, chin up, and try to keep your knees and the bar over the balls of your feet when you're squatting(just a reminder:) )