Does your lower back hurt when squatting?

Do you struggle with the overhead squat?

When we look at the overhead squat we note that it’s an amazing exercise to strengthen the back and shoulders but it requires a lot more mobility than a front squat or back squat.

The overhead squat requires you to be able to keep your lower back active at the bottom of the squat. Which many struggles with.

If your back hurts when you squat and you have a butt wink at the bottom of a squat (rounding of the lower back in the right image) this is a pretty good indication that you are not keeping the lower back and glute’s active at the bottom. In some cases, a butt wink can be very small and unnoticeable so getting someone to check your form or recording yourself is highly beneficial to protect your back and give you the guidance required to progress and be pain-free. 

Many of us try to squat “ass to grass” but in doing so, we round the lower back, this puts the force of the squat into the lumbar spine rather than keeping the force distributed evenly through the spine and hips. 

When focusing on the squat we need to make sure we keep the lower back and glute’s active. Don’t worry about getting low to the point we lose activation as long as you are able to maintain a neutral curve in the spine. 

Having a butt wink in an unweighted or lightweight squat is generally fine but when we start adding weight we want to stay active and keep the load distributed evenly through our spine and hips in order to not cause damage to the lower back. 

Have a think about this when squatting next and makes sure you ask either the coach or fellow member to watch your form.