I'm impressed Fitmom. 25lb dumbbells are pretty heavy to pull in a single leg deadlift.
Midwife: Nice to see you.
What are you currently doing for core stability? This is a nice post from Mike Robertson about the role the core plays in preventing unwanted movement and how to incorporate it into our training beyond the planks. My current go to is the pallof press when I"m in recovery between sets of strength/power sets.
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ore_training_1
Speaking of deadlifts. It's one of my favorite lifts as well. Squats and deads and all their beautiful variations. However, it's going to be a while before I'm pulling any real weight or loading the spine. I'm experiencing sciatica for the first time...not fun. Just a touch, but certainly made for a surprise the first morning it happened.
I"m managing it with movement, making "space" in the lower spine, yoga, lower back exercises and NSAIDS but it just plain is annoying. So funny...I get over one injury and I'm off to become a guru about another.
Anyway, just wanted to pop in real quick and give midwife a link to Robertson's article.