I have watched videos on correct form, and have the NROL4W which has pictures and details the exercises but every second time or so that I lift my weights, my back hurts the next day. Clearly this indicates something wrong with my form, but how do you know when you are not lifting correctly? Is there a way to tell if you're lifting from your back and not the correct part of your body? I think what did it yesterday were shoulder raises, if that's possible. If I go too close to failure, could that be causing the problem as then my form might not be as good? I want to keep lifting because I like it and I'm seeing improvements in my strength, but my lower back is really bothering me and I don't want to make it worse.

Thanks for any advice you might have.

Hi Freedom.

Great job in studying form and doing your best to lift properly. Lower back issues could arise for structural imbalances (where some muscles are working harder in some areas than they should in an effort to compensate for other muscles that just aren't engaged or ready for a specific lift/movement) For example, the core muscles of the trunk help to support the lower back during all of the compound lifts. If the core is not strong enough or if it begins to relax during your session then there will be unnecessary stress upon the back.

Just a thought.

Now, to correct this: First thing I would do is hire a trainer at least for just one session to check your form. Someone who has a good eye and who is familiar with the lifts/exercises you are doing. Make sure that one part of your body is not compensating in some way for a lack of strength to complete the movement successfully.

Second, keep in mind that in almost all cases with the free weights the following will be true:

Keep abs engaged
Shoulders squared
Squatting/deadlifting relies upon great hip mobility and the end of the movement relies upon you driving through the heels not through the front of the foot. Also...and this is a big one these movements are initiated in the hips. You sit the hips back. This sounds easy enough but really takes time to learn to do correctly. I suggest a lot of glute activation, and hip opening exercises. If the trainer you work isn't familiar with glute activation exercises before you do a squat or deadlift then find another one. It's that important.

If you continue to experience back pain, like real back pain then please have it examined by a physician. You probably should anyway. It may be that there are structural issues beyond just improper lifting technique. Especially if your lower back pain wraps around the hip and or to the front of the knee.

I also want to add that you may think about adding core exercises to your workout beyond crunches. Often times these can aggravate an already painful lower back.

Add in planks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaA1r5w4CSk

Bird Dogs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzffg0V9xhk

pallof presses:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGOP0...=24&playnext=2

stability ball rollouts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg4o7...=30&playnext=8

By all means though, get some assistance from a trainer to check form and from a physician if you are experiencing "bad pain" and not just muscle soreness.

Thanks for the advice Lydia! Unfortunately I'm not financially in a position to hire a personal trainer even for one session and do my workouts at home. I will focus more on my form and add in some more core workouts. I think that might be the problem as I don't think I engage my core enough which puts pressure on my back.

Thanks again for your help and the informative answer!

Wow, Lydia said a lot of what I wanted to say! I couldn't afford a personal trainer to help me out with my form while doing deadlifts and squats either, so I understand where your coming from freedomreins.

For deadlifts, I could see how they could hurt your back if not careful. I did a lot of reasearch online on each move they wanted you to do. I went to bodybuilding.com and watched videos of the moves, and I any I was unsure about or that looked difficult I googled for more info. I've hurt my back a few times in the past so I'm glad I was able to find the information online.

I got a lot of small tips that help me keep form. The only problem I haven't been able to fix yet is the pain in my tailbone while doing lunges. Which work outs give you back pain?

Try to find the aggrevator and look more into it.

Lydia, what an informative post. Thank you.

I think that the placement of the feet might be an important thing to look at. And, the advice about pushing through the heels is critical. I have a very hard time with that and have to think about it very deliberately all the time.

This is something that I have to think about too. I find that lifting my toes up - just a bit - reminds me where to push...

Since you say this happens the next day, it sounds like DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) to me. You can read about this at wikipedia. It doesn't mean anything is wrong, in fact it's a sign that your muscle is going to adapt to the new stresses that you are putting it through. There are lots of muscles in your back, and they get sore just like arms and legs while you are getting stronger.

If the pain was felt immediately, or was non-symmetric (only occurring on one side) then it would be much more concerning. There is a good article about injuries on stumptuous.com called "Crac! Boum! Aiee! How not to bust yourself up". I would put a link for you but I don't have enough posts...

Thanks for all the help everyone! Stephanie, I'm not sure specifically what it is, but I feel like it may have been shoulder raises this time because I instinctively felt that I wasn't in the right position and stopped.

I will definitely remember to focus on pushing through my heels!

RJS, I'm not sure that's what it is. I've had this same soreness before when I moved and was lifting heavy boxes and have always had issues with my back. I lifted on Monday and now it's Thursday and am still a bit sore. I have had sore muscles all over, back included, from working out before but it doesn't feel the same as that this time. Thank you for your input, though