Thank you a lot bro- I’m 19 struggling with a bad back injury and ima start incorporating these into my routine because I definitely see the value in it. I’m tired of hearing “you’re too young for that” and stuff like that cause it never helps
I'm 52 and have been in this loop since I was 24. Everything you explained is what I have been experiencing for almost 30 years. Last week I did some interior painting which I haven't done in a while. After only five days my low back was giving me warning signals to stop and my entire body was tight and stiff.. I am buying an extension machine tomorrow and getting on board! can't wait finally do what I have been needing all these years!!
I'm 21, so the advice of a 26 year old is valid. 😂 I have back pain for like 4 months now, and the doctors don't take it seriously, say that i'm too young, or blame it on my lifting and say if i have pain when lifting i should stop lifting. That bullshit made me seek on the Internet, and after watching a lot of Squat University, your Videos got recommended. I'm doing your excersises for 2 weeks now, and the back pain already got a lot better. Still a long way to go, but i am willing to take the time and effort it takes. I know this is not a quick fix. Keep going man, your Videos truly change lifes. ❤
Just keep one thing in mind. If you feel pain, it’s your body telling you to STOP doing what you are doing. I’m not talking about lactate in your muscles pain. I’m talking about joint, ligament, and bone pain. Take it easy and either rest or go super light. Then progress as long as the pain isn’t there.
Bro you litteraly was the Turning point in my back pain!! I was stretching my hip felexor and stabilising my Core like Crazy but it wouldnt get better . Rounding my spine and working Directly on my Lower back muscles like u show in this Video was the missing piece ! Couldnt thank you enough🙏🏼greets from Germany Brother ✊🏼
When I was 20 years old, I hurt my lower back squatting. I believe it was a slipped SI joint. At the time it was a devastating injury for me. Squats were my best lift and at the time I was squatting about 530 lbs. After a few days when I realized it was not just a minor tweak, I went to a doctor who was dismissive, told me to try swimming, did an MRI and told me it was probably in my head since the MRI looked fine, and referred me to PT. I will never forget when, one day, my PT asked me what my goals were. I told her my goal was to get back to where I was previously and continue progressing from there. The look on her face told me she didn’t believe it was possible, and she told me I should accept a life of normal, pain-free functionality if I could get to it. I stopped going to PT and set out to restore my back to its previous abilities. I spent almost two years in the “injury loop” of resting, returning, reinjuring, before I found something that worked for me. For me it was switching from high bar to low bar squats, and taking my warmups ATG and pausing for a long time at the bottom to stretch. I had to start from 135 all over again, but I eventually was able to restore my strength, and now at 27, I logged my best squat at 585 (and I think I have a lot more in the tank!). It was a long journey and my low back is still a weak point for me in my training. Anything too far of a deviation from a good rep, or too much volume, and I’ll tweak it, but I’ve gotten much better at dealing with these minor tweaks over the years (isometrics, isolaterals, back extensions, etc.). I wish I had some resource like this years ago. Luckily people who find your videos will be months or years ahead on their recovery. Thank you for providing this resource for people, myself included, and for showing people what is possible. An injury is discouraging, but it is not a death sentence. I’ll be trying some of these exercises and tips to bulletproof my own back so I can finally hit a 600 lb squat. Best of luck to anyone else on a similar journey.
I’ve had chronic low back pain due to a disc herniation for years and I’m only 30 years old. Stretching hip flexors, mobility, core stability and practicing my hinging kept getting me injured, but isometric holds and this progression so far seem to be the first big progression I’ve made yet. It’s only been 3 weeks of isometric holds and I’m already noticing pain reduction and progress in low back stability. I kneeled down and bent over to pick up my dogs #2 today and it was the first time in a year I felt somewhat stable doing so. Best video I’ve seen since I’ve injured my back.
@@tanmoyroy6041 I can single leg hyper extension for 15 reps and can do a plate loaded full range back extension now. I also started running and that has been progressing well. I still have some work to do before I’m back out swinging a golf club, but I’ve come a long way since I wrote this last comment
"Resonance" is the exact word for what you do so well! You are giving me hope and excitement about my future. I am 40 years old and an intermediate lifter. My slipped disc was starting to make me think I might lose the ability to lift lower body at all. Now, you are helping me see a path forward.
I'm 50 and appreciate your videos so much. I have been in pain for 3 years I rely on my back to do concrete work. These exercises are doing more than any money stealing chiropractor has done for me. I'm relentless on my self rehab once I seen some improvement. Thank you again I look forward to keep learning and having a pain free back forever cuz I will never stop after being in pain for 3 years and almost hung up my concrete profession of 32 yrs.
This is gold. I’ve been in and out of back doctors, PTs, orthos, chiropractors since I was a kid and nobody has spoken about the issue with such clarity and practical relatability. Need to actually try this approach and get back to you but just hearing someone talk like this is so inspiring and a breath of fresh air. Thanks for doing what you’re doing.
Yes, agree what you are saying here. I injured my back at rock quarry. I was working tripped injured right side pinched a nerve. So, around 2019 to 2020, I started realizing the rdl - Romanian deadlift helped my spine pain. After doing clam shells and back bridges for years, I'm just relieving pain for a few minutes or hours. Then I started adding a few things here there, now after starting to see your video, the new thing will be back extensions have to order the bench.
I really like the idea of slowly and safely pushing into new positions and loads, giving the body time to adapt, and also the neurology to adapt to the positions. I can totally see how after years of doing this you have a bulletproof back.
Im bedridden at 24... The back extension machine arrived and I will start today. So far Im only able to do assisted holds for 30 seconds and assisted extension. I want to live life again. I will update everyweek.
@@franzhulk2947 I'm off painkillers now:) I can still only hold for 30 seconds isometric but decided to work more on McGill big 3 to better engage the core!
Thank you sir. Your assessment of the medical community is spot on. I'm 52 with lumbar stenosis and arthritis. I have been living with pain for 10 years. Your video has given me hope of a life without pain.
I'm 63 and I am open-minded to the content rather than the source i.e. age and really appreciate your content respect your approach and love implementing it into my work outs. I do a lot of weight training and want to be able to do this with safety and my age.
I'm so grateful for you making this video. I'm suffering from lower back pain for 4 months now. I have been so depressed and my life quality went down the drain. I bought a roman chair and now I'm happy to be able to train my back every day. Thank you for providing a route, a way forward. This is truly a light on the horizon for me
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! ❤ I am much more confident now that I will be able to recover and even become stronger. Thanks for giving me hope. As you said, all I needed was a recovery route. Know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am 25. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are too young to teach something. Age is just a number. 💪
I spent a long time doing the core strengthening exercises before finding yourself. I guess each injury is different but the training in your videos is by far the best for me. My back feels better than it has in a long time
Just did my first one of these workouts! I did good work recovering a back issue, but when I went to start lifting again I experienced a lot of sharp pains. So I found your videos, got one of these machines started by warming up with my foam roller, doing your elephant walk hamstring stretches and then was able to do 1:30 two leg tension standing, 00:25 one leg standing tension and 10 full curls. I will report back in 1 month. Let's gooooo!
Years. So many years in this rut, as you describe. You had me when you dissected your intro. Ben Patrick's approach has helped me in huge, huge ways and I noted in the beginning of this vid how similar your approach seemed.... And now I know why. :D This is everything I'm terrified of at age 49 and everything I've known I needed to do and couldn't figure out any sort of path. Thank you for this.
So glad you finally did a long form video, reminds me much more of the knowledge you share on Speed Secrets! I needed this video! I've been struggling with low back pain since 2020. I've spent so much time and thousands of $$ with PT, Chiropractors and even got a cortisone injection. All of them only offered temporary solutions and never left me with a timeline of actually being back at full ability. Discovering ATG was a big breakthrough but so is this video! The two most valuable things that I took away was 1. you need to have a clear path of progression and 2. the journey requires two critical virtues, patience and humility. Thanks so much and please keep up the great work!
I can just about curl over a few times, but it's a little painful and a lot of effort. I'm going to dial it back a bit, work through this from the beginning and see how it goes, thanks, it was super clear and properly helpful. much appreciated :)
I think the algorithm youtube gods blessed me with this video. I herniated a disc when i was 18. Im 26 now and all these years its been a never ending cycle of pain and workarounds. Ive been avoiding surgery because i still think i can win against this condition. I will start to incorporate this excercise to my routine. My goal is to do it with 225 painless. Long road ahead
Discovering back extensions really made a huge difference for me. I am excited to try it single leg and advance to QL extensions now. The other thing that really helped me was doing single leg of a lot of things, like switching from leg press to bulgarian split squat or regular RDLs to B-stance RDLs. The biggest one for me was going from hip thrust to single leg hip thrust, which I really felt lock down my posterior chain. I've noticed now that my left oblique and QL are weak so I will be working on that next. You've really helped synthesize everything I've figured out while reconstructing my back over the past year. Thanks!
Finally have hope after watching you and knees over toes guy for my low back issues that I’ve been dealing with for about two years on and off. Definitely not a fun time but I know I will get back to where I need to get. Thanks man.
I’ve been struggling with major lower back pain since junior high, I’m now 28 years old. I have months of improvement with weightlifting, then end up throwing my back out again. I’m currently on my 4th “herniated disc” injury and Today was my first day doing these stretches. All about progress
thanks a lot! every lower back exercise I tried was focused on eliminating motion, and it felt really strange to me, cause when I do use my back it gets tired and hurts! I had to laugh (and cry a bit) from you showing how you put on a backpack, and then you sneeze and all this goes to hell. that's exactly what happened to me, being sick is a trigger to pain. now I'm going to try your way, because I feel what works for me, and yes, good core stability is great, but I have to move my back!
Fixing up my long-neglected knee with Ben Patrick's stuff, here for your back stuff before that inevitably becomes a problem too. The principle of regressing to our capabilities instead of avoiding movements just brings so much clarity. Just want to say thank you, your content is amazing and I love the detail you go into to explain all of this.
I've been stretching while watching this video. This guy is a pure soul. He literally puts everything aside and he puts himself inside our court. He lets us judge him, where he just gives us very good advice with pure heart. Anyone who downvotes or b***s in this video please go f*** urself. In summary, he says look you can do this that anything if you literally be patient. Then, you can start doing these exercises. I show it to you not for a showoff but for you can see that you can fix urself. Got to love this dude.
Appreciate you so much more than you know. Thank you for doing this work to find the answers for us that have chronic back pain. I was in pretty good shape for some years but after some hardships I didn't pay attention to my physical fitness at all for years. I have had back pain for years but managed to deal with it through exercise. But after falling off the wagon it just started getting worse more and more. Then last year I completely blew my lower back out so bad I could barely walk for 4 days. It makes a person feel so weak and useless, depressed or just like there is no hope at all of ever being pain free and having good mobility, just quality of life. I found your channel through a friend at work who has lower back issues as well and did the exercises you recommend. I have started doing them as well and it makes sense, it works. It helps. Those people that don't have chronic back pain who want to talk shit about your program, they just don't get it. All of us who are desperately looking for answers and for relief truly appreciate you and everything you do. Thank you.
I have been stretching my tight adductors hip flexors and back... but they never loosen up. Until I saw some videos by you and others who said "well maybe they are tight because they are weak?" And its TOTALLY TRUE. Since i went back to SLOWLY doing correct form deadlifts, squats, adductor machine, hamstring curls etc... i feel MUCH LESS lower back pain. Thank you for showing the way and giving hope to an eventually painfree life again. It would be the first time after 15 years of lower back discomfort and 2 years of downright pain. Yes i have been shifting left and right while sitting for a decade now...
100%, I had the exact same issue. I spent months stretching my hips without really making any meaningful progress. Once I added loaded hip flexor, butterfly, and good mornings alongside the stretching my hips opened up immediately. You have to get stronger for your body to trust the joints to relax.
thanks!! this is great! My back is fine for about 8 months and then in spring it spasms and i turn 90 for about 4 months until it settles again. Will put this into practice! thanks!
This is the problem with the "intellectuals in the ivory tower." Too many doctors and professors only have book knowledge and theory, but _*lack direct experience*_. They'll try to discredit you for not having a 10 years of university. Yet none of them have actually injured and healed their back, or deadlifted 400+ or dunked a basketball. They prevent everyday people like us from healing by telling us "don't do that program because it doesn't work", yet it does work for thousands of people. Theory and book smarts should be respected, but not above experience.
Thank god i came across your videos. Because before finding you i saw a bunch of squat university videos saying that if i have a disc bulge i need to just "brace and stabilise my spine" and let me tell you this never worked for me. Something as simple as just sneezing or coughing used to re aggravate my pain basically bringing me back to square one. I went to multiple doctors got a mri done found at that i have l4 l5 and l5 s1 disc bulge at just the age of 17 year old. Doctors told me to NEVER lift again and taught me how to do bend like a fricking robot. But after watching your videos i joined a gym and started using the back extension 3 times a week. Now i am able to do 16 unassisted reps and my pain basically doesn't exist. Now i am also able to bend and do tasks like i normally used to do. I know i have still got a long way to go but just wanted to tell you how grateful i am to you. (Also my English isn't very good soo yeah)
@@tanmoyroy6041 doing great lol, now I am able to do 22 unassisted reps still not Jefferson curls though. I have started running too it used to hurt my back before but not anymore. And if you ask about pain, as I said before it is basically gone now
Great message! Thanks for taking the time to share a stream of consciousness that is not cut down into an attention grabbing reel. We need more honest reflection out in the digital space. I went through the ringer myself with low back pain from Dec 2018-Fall 2020. I had to go through trial and error to arrive at solutions and the ATG organization was a big part of that. Keep doing your thing man! You have a great message to share, and the world needs more authenticity. Sincerely, Logan Skye Reever CSCS
you have the perfect video and your words are too powerful and great at speaking where anyone can understand .. its another skill that I want to learn from you as well...
You’ve provided the route and it makes so much sense. I’ve gotten to such strong levels and amazing fitness but still braced and avoided these movements. My change started with Ben Patrick and I’m continuing with your program. I appreciate the specificity on the back. Herniated discs are so alienating and this is very encouraging.
Modern medicine is broken. I remember when I was 27 i was told i needed to get a rod fused to my spine. So glad i didnt. I searched and searched until i found a Drs group that worked with primarily professional athletes. None of the Drs i talked to who were "experts" in back surgery had a clue about what they were doing. I went from being given a 50/50 shot ill never be the same again, to 97% documented success rate. Making the muscles stronger after my minor procedure has helped me immensely. I cant wait to try these exercises out.
Thanks for this. I’m 40 with a pretty strong athletic physique. Weight training for about 20 years. Had a severe L4-L5 herniation and a discectomy 2 years ago. Definitely improved but I’ll be following this closely as I’m the guy with flare ups too often!
how is your journey going. Im same boat 45 and did a discectomy 2 years ago along with stem cells and every other thing i could throw at the wall. Been doing ATG for about 6 months and felt amazing then out of no where im in acute pain with same area L4-L5. Really struggling with this setback
Thank you. Been looking for exercises to reeducate, but i always ended up just enhancing my pain. Will include those isometrics, single legs, progressive difficulty increase and time to adapt steps which I probably hugely skipped. THANK YOU
Thanks for your videos! As an athlete and a still kinda young person I don't wanna surrender to back problems and avoid all the stuff that makes fun, is pretty natural and shouldn't be an issue. Started my rebuilding journey this week, looking forward to what the future holds^^
I admire you posting things like this. I used to be upset that you were basically just posting ben patricks systems but honestly it shouldnt be gatekept under his paid programs. No offense to him he needs to feed his family. And he puts out a lot for free and the payment is mostly for the coaches. This info should be free and popular
I get you haha. Funny enough is we are great friends. He's my direct mentor and we always discuss this misunderstand that viewers sometimes have. There is no competition between us and our content, it's only framed that way to people on the outside primed to seeing things through the lens of drama. He is posting about the things he has learned from those before him and his experiences coaching. I am doing the same. Those that I mentor will go on to do the same! There's no scarcity when you're in it to help people. When your end goal is to change the game, you play for the impact not for the credit!
Thank you man, it's easy to look up all these exercises, but creating a progression has been difficult. Gonna work through this and do my posterior chain some justice, so I can squat and deadlift the right way for once.
I figured this out when I was 39 years old over a decade ago. I had back pain most of my 30s until I started doing your workout. Doctors like Stuart McGill are part of the problem because he prefers that everyone's spine is just fused together with minimum mobility. But his data is based on dead pigs and anecdotal evidence from seeing some old former gymnasts with back problems. But he doesn't see healthy gymnasts, and the bad back gymnasts he sees may have bad backs based on traumatic injuries.
Thanks for the video, im gonna try this. Would i be correct in treating this like a workout. Do 1 session once every 3 days (i.e 72 hours rest in between sessions)
Hi @lowbackability After getting injured again I have been doing your BBB Roadmap for about 5 weeks and I Feel heaps stronger already in my hips and low back, Just a few questions to ask so I can put some goals or gains for the future How much would be good to aim for as a 6 foot 90KG Male 43 years old now. 1. What weight for Tibialis Bar. 2. Floor ATG split squat weight and reps. 3. Reverse Squats weight and reps? 4. Back extension can do Hold for 2mins at the moment I have a bulging disc in low back and done a grade 1 tear ACL right knee 3 months ago. I want to get to playing A grade basketball and beat some young fellas. Since starting these exercises I haven't had no more pain. I am trying to get some old people at work with low back pain to start this.
Thank you for all you information I had to teach my pt exercises for the back that did more for me then anything he gave me. I took Luis Simmons what he did for broken back revert hyper and found some progress now looking to take it to next level as I have a grade 1 hearniation and some of the supporting bones of vertebrae are broken
Wow this is gold. The more i train, the more i knew lower back is everything from bottom to head. I already did some back and hip extension with weight but never knew single leg extension just bodyweight really hit different! I realise i am not that strong. Some said this training is bs, they just weak mf and doesnt understand the core of training. Glad find your channel yesterday and found my joy in lower back training, love from Indonesia.
You are so real and this route is so accessible and truly incredible information thank you so much.. 🙏🏻 by the way.. would there be a way of performing back extension if you don’t have access to a gym? So a way of replicating it at home? Many thanks
Hey man, first off all thank you so much for making rhese videos! Second, im a 29 year old with alot of hesitation and nervousness with my lower back because of a disc injury when i was 21 but I'm trying to get back to being mobile and strong again. How often would you recommend training these dedicated movements and reps and sets and stuff too? Im probably gonna have to start pretty slow and start with the holds at first.
I love that this is non traditional and a new approach - particularly the ‘tissue is the issue’ mantra. It makes sense. That being said, are we neglecting the theory that discs pushing on nerves cause spasms? Do we still need to relocate disc material away from nerve endings through extension before trying this? If flexion exacerbates pain do we still do this progression? I am definitely capable of reaching the pinnacle of this ability, but if flexion continues to cause spasms I do not understand how to progress. Would love to get your input here. Thank you
@@michaelnewell5422 totally. My goal is not to discredit the traditional route, but to fill the gaps and provide further steps where trad. route leaves off. Immediate approach to disc herniation is rest and all the bracing and lumbopelvic stabilization exercises most PT protocols endorse. Passive extension may help with the disc in the short/intermediate term. The goal is to take what the cobra/press up does passively, and now do that actively with strength. That’s where the back extension iso holds come in. Many people I’ve worked with stuck to that iso hold level for 6+ months before starting reps. Your greatest feedback tool will be your changing tolerance and symptoms. Often times you do not need to “fix” the disc injury. Majority of them do reabsorb with time but people still struggle with chronic pain due to the secondary dysfunction and breakdown that occurs after it. Keep building. Play the long game!
This is inspiring. I appreciate your approach although I’m very hesitant. What exactly was your injury? I recently herniated my disc at L5/S1. It is healing and I am doing the McGill big 3, yoga, gentle mobility exercises, and basic glute exercises.
Hi! You're absolutely right, just looking for answers and trying not to freak out because you are so young. How many times a week should I incorporate this into my workouts? And could I use this as a warm-up for time efficiency? Thanks man, seriously❤
Love to get some advice from down the road in Sunset Park! Wondering why it's called extension at the top, when the muscle are contracted, and flexion at the bottom when they seem to be extended?
What are your thoughts on reverse leg raises? Doing them holding onto the pommel horse was a staple in gymnastics training and they always felt amazing to me. Good additional exercise? Replacement if back extensions cause pain? Can do them in straddle as well which really activates some under trained muscles like the glute medius. Great video btw love it!
Thank you for this video. I've been trying to work through a herniated disc for the past 5 months or so, so this gives me some new things to try. Two questions, though: 1. I didn't quite catch you're perspective on the advantage of isometric holds over hip hinges on the roman chair. I would have thought both keep your back straight and since movement recruits muscles to also move, that would be more advantageous. 2. I don't have a roman chair but do have a rogue ghd. Can I run similar exercises and progression on that or should I really add the other device to my home gym?
Nice channel bro. Gives hope! Is it safe or okay to do neck rotation while in spinal flection position? Sometimes I rotate my neck while I am flexced -- not the easiest motion, but I would lile to hear your thoughts!
6:43 do you ever use this as a hip extension (i.e. back is braced through the whole movement) in other contexts to target the posterior chain, or are you always flexing and extending the back no matter what? I've seen this used as an alternative to something like an RDL which is a separate but also important movement pattern.
Where would you start if you’re 3 weeks into a bulged disc causing severe nerve pain and weakness in your right leg ? Doing a lot of deadhangs, core stablisation work (Stuart McGill big 3), and just started doing small progressions for ATG split squats but find them quite difficult still. Can only walk short distances
Great stuff. Thanks for the breakdown it's invaluable. Do you have any good alternatives to the BX machine if someone doesn't have access. Thanks again!
I experimented with Jefferson Curls about two years ago. I actually was VERY strong in this movement from the start. In just a few weeks of playing with the movement was able to do 50% BW for 20 reps, getting wrists below feet with knees straight. Never had back pain during or after Jefferson curls. However stopped doing them for a while because I pulled my hamstring (minor) playing soccer. Then developed bad low back pain that lasted for about 8 months (3 major episodes) Have been pain free for several months now. Have returned to most activities I had stopped during back pain. But haven’t tried loaded Jefferson curls or other dynamic trunk extension exercises since. Do you think it’s good for me to reintroduce these? Not clear if they were related to onset of back pain/injury in first place…
